Need a display case

I suggest you look into building a case yourself. Generally if you can build the model, you can build a case. Check the phone book and see if there are retailers in your area.

I've been putting my better models in Plexiglas cases for years and it takes just a very few minutes to put one together once the parts are cut. I order the parts cut and the edges finished for gluing. I build 1/48 aircraft and use 1/8 inch material. For bonding, most places that sell Plexi sell the bonding agent as well. The actual base can be made in a number of ways. Mine vary from particle board with a rabbit cut around the edge to Gator board and Foam Core.

HTH

MB

You can also look into buying one already made. I picked up one for a model submarine I was building for a coworker. A simple Google search will find several online sources. If you want more info contact me off group

Barry

Never made one before, and i wont have time, or afford to do a few before i get it right. i was hoping for something off the peg. I dont feel confident enough to do one yet.

i will take a look cheers

Try looking in your phone book for a retail store fixture supplier

They have all sorts of odd size and types of display units from acrylic boxes to whole glass cabinets and shelves

Sometimes they even have used stuff cheap

jules wrote:

Milton, in this age of digital photography...perhaps you should upload an online step-by-step photo version of your ever-excellent "how-to" on building your own display cases!

:o)

If this will help here are a couple of links that I checked out.

That type of thing, but i couldnt find any this side of the pond. Its got to be quite light as i have to take it 1500km. eitehr by coach or plane.

There is a company " IMEX" that makes acryllic display boxes. Clear sides and top, black plastic base. Should keep project protected and free from dust. Hobby Lobby carries them. They run about 8 bucks when HL runs the half price sale. HTH BA

Imex dont do them big enough, i checked out the full range here in the UK

Buy a cheap aquarium and flip it over onto a nice piece of wood or surface that makes the model look nice. They work like a champ! John

I have a pile of aquariums, i know it would look good but way too heavy. final kit has to be taken to E Germany

Buy an aquarium in Germany

But then how do i trasport the finneshed model on the base?? wouldnt last 5 minutes not coverd

I see that you've ruled out building one, but maybe that is your best shot considering the transport and time constraints you're up against. You can carry it flat and assemble it on site in Germany - so that's a plus. Just try for something simple, you or the recipient of the MiG can always replace it with a better cover later. I take it that this is a gift for the relative of your gal-pal that took you out to see the MiG?

I'm nobody's carpenter and my brother isn't much better. He discovered one night around 7pm that his daughter owed the science teacher at her school a class project that she had volunteered her father into making - he needed to build a bug box and it was due the very next morning! He rushes down to Lowes (home improvement store) and picks up half a sheet of remnant plexiglass, a couple of lengths of lumber, some finish molding, nails and the rest of the hardware one needs to fashion a bug box - which is more or less a shadow box with a hinged plexiglass lid. He gathers it all up and races over to my house where I've got a miter saw and table saw fired up taking care of some home improvement work of my own.

The trickiest part was cutting the plexiglass on the table saw - only because we had never done it before and didn't know what to expect. It was a simple straight cut and it cut fine. Once he got passed that it was just a matter of framing up a box - which you wouldn't need to do because you'll use a flat base. Next he trimmed the edge of the plexiglass cover with mitered strips of molding and nailed it all together. Given some more time we could have gotten fancy with a bit of routing and bevelling here and there, but he was in a bind and time was running short. He slapped on some hinges, a catch and a carry handle and the job was done. All and all, his first attempt yielded professional looking results. It took about two hours, but he was making it up as he went. With a little forethought and maybe a basic design to go by, probably around one hour if he had to make a second one. It turned out well enough that I was encouraged enough to put my first custom model display on the To-Do list for some time after I wrap up my current home repair projects. I'm going to build a large one with a frame and a smaller one without a frame to test the bevel feature on my table saw.

As for your plight, if you have access to a store that carries plexiglass, you can most likely get them to cut it down to size and possibly on size into the five individual pieces you're going to need for a model display. That might take a little wallet grease though.

Because you're not trying to join the plexiglass panels directly with a slick bevel joint or something fancy, it's a straightforward matter of covering the joints with the properly mitered strips of molding. If you have decent mitering skills and tools you should be OK. Just pre-cut, pre-drill and prefit all the pieces ahead of time for easier assembly once you get to your destination. If you don't have the skill or tools to build your own, your other options should be fairly well known to you by now.

Best of luck with whichever path you choose.

WmB

I need to protect the built kit, not a easy job with such a flimsy kit. Your right its for her fathers birthday. I may have to have a go making one, if thats the cheapest way, i havent any spare cash at all, not a penny and looking at some prices for some made up, i guess maybe he will have to get one, there not too cheap here. If i can make one for about £15 then i can at a push do that.

How about building another there, then transport of one unopened is not an issue? Shipping a completed one may be a real pain, especially if messed up in transit. John

"jules" wrote in news:7Nxwf.106372 $ snipped-for-privacy@fe2.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

Jules,

It is here in the Colonies, but go to

have lightweight acrylic cases in virtually any size you want. Reasonably priced and they sell one at a time or in bulk. Not sure what postage would be.

Good luck in your quest and Happy Modeling

Mark

How big of a case do you need. I have an extra one that is big enough for a

1/48 A-26. It is 16 3/8" X 18"X 7.5" tall. There is also a base with it.

Is this big enough/

Mike West/Lone Star Models