Stands/assemblies for drying models

[Shashman]

Hi guys,

 

What method do you use for holding/storing your models while they're drying?

 

At the moment I'm using a black plastic base which has rows of holes in it. It's designed to be used with alligator clips mounted on metal sticks which you then poke into the holes, but A) the clips that came with it are way too strong and would warp/snap any part I'd hold with them, and B ) The holes in the base seem to have some sort of obstruction in them meaning the metal sticks need to be pushed really hard for them to sit in place, so I've resorted to just using wooden toothpicks poked into the holes to balance the model on, which is a bit too wobbly and hardly secure enough for my liking. Also, depending on the paint finish, the toothpicks actually end up sticking to the model a lot of the time.

 

All drying in my flat is kept in a very handy seed propagator (think; mini greenhouse) due to the presence of a fuzz ball of a cat, so I'm looking for a method which would fit inside this propagator (I would say it's about 30cm high, 50cm long and 30cm wide).

 

Could you show me your methods or tell me about products I could look into, please? 👨‍🔬

 

 

[bmwh548]

Spray can (or similar) with some white tack on the cap and the body of the model car stuck to the white tack.

Small parts usually have some sort of mounting pins/pegs that aren't visible after assembly so the alligator clips grab on to those. If there's no pins I use a toothpick and a pinch of super glue on a non visible area.

[RJP]

I'm (a) a brush painter and (b) an old guy so am thoroughly set in my ways.

 

I tend to build out as far as I can before major painting.  That includes the undercarriage legs but not the wheels.  A model will sit quite happily on its gear while the paint cures.  Cover as necessary but ensure air can circulate ; a frame and screen of some sort will keep the dust off.  

 

Kitchen shops have pie carry covers and mesh salad tents that work well.

Edited March 4, 2020 by RJP

[Shashman]

29 minutes ago, RJP said:

I'm (a) a brush painter and (b) an old guy so am thoroughly set in my ways.

 

I tend to build out as far as I can before major painting.  That includes the undercarriage legs but not the wheels.  A model will sit quite happily on its gear while the paint cures.  Cover as necessary but ensure air can circulate ; a frame and screen of some sort will keep the dust off.  

 

Kitchen shops have pie carry covers and mesh salad tents that work well.

Hey RJP, thanks for the tips!

 

I'm covered (see what I did there) as far as protection is concerned, with the seed propagator, it's just the standing part I'm looking for advice on

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

This is a question I have never asked myself in all my years doing this. I just leave them for the paint to harden wherever I leave them really.

[Shashman]

5 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

This is a question I have never asked myself in all my years doing this. I just leave them for the paint to harden wherever I leave them really.

Really? What if you're painting a circular section, like a fuselage where it could roll over and get stuck to wherever you've left it?

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

53 minutes ago, Shashman said:

Really? What if you're painting a circular section, like a fuselage where it could roll over and get stuck to wherever you've left it?

I'd normally just stand it on its nose or tail were that the case. I have a talent for just winging stuff and improvising apparently 😀

[bhouse]

Blue tac, runner cut to size, clothes pegs, yoghurt pots...

A different improvised solution for every painted part!

[RJP]

Too much paraphernalia just gets in the way.  An upturned model box lid is the best drying rack I have ever found.  Better than that, you already paid for it when you bought the kit.  Cheap and easy.

 

If for some reason you can't actually rest the project on something, a wire coat hanger (for example) can be bent into a handle to poke quite nicely into apertures like wheel wells or jet pipes or even prop shaft holes and you can hang it up.  That would be the same handle you held the model with while you painted it.

 

I'm not sure I see any advantage in getting hi tech.

[dogsbody]

Though I haven't painted a whole model in decades, I do have a square shaped metal frame that a clear plastic cover goes over that can be used for some fairly large kits. If I remember correctly, it's about an 18 to 20 inch cube. If/when winter is over and I can open the window in my basement hidey-hole, I plan on painting again whit my airbrush. As it's a 1/72 scale Hurricane, I have this small base made of Lego. I will probably rest the model on that while it dries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

[spitfire]

I use all sorts of tricks to hold my builds, usually when I get to the overall matt varnish stage, wooden stirrers, bits of stiff wire, tubing through the prop hole in the nose all sorts of things.

Below is a Yak hung up to dry from a bookcase, the books are holding the wire.

Here is a P-39 with some wooden stirrers.

Here's a 109 out to dry.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Shashman]

Some very ingenious solutions here. Great stuff, thank you!

 

I don't know why I hadn't thought of the upturned box idea before, that's a good one.

[Jamiec360]

If you're doing single prop plane the Sphere stand is great, basically like a Cleco fastener as you would have for temporary rivets but with a screw connector which goes into the prop hole and then the other end into a pin vice which in turn goes into a laser cut wooden stand. Then you can do as you want with the model the front where the holder is will be covered by the spinner anyway. I got the 1/48 set and it works brilliantly, has 2 fasteners one slightly smaller for 1/72, the pin vice and the correct size drill bits if the prop opening is too small for the front of the fastener. 

 

Especially good when doing clear coats or single overall colours.

 

For jets I try to use a dowel in the jet pipe sometimes padded out with some masking tape and always before I add the nozzles. 

[Shashman]

On 11/03/2020 at 15:37, Jamiec360 said:

If you're doing single prop plane the Sphere stand is great, basically like a Cleco fastener as you would have for temporary rivets but with a screw connector which goes into the prop hole and then the other end into a pin vice which in turn goes into a laser cut wooden stand. Then you can do as you want with the model the front where the holder is will be covered by the spinner anyway. I got the 1/48 set and it works brilliantly, has 2 fasteners one slightly smaller for 1/72, the pin vice and the correct size drill bits if the prop opening is too small for the front of the fastener. 

 

Especially good when doing clear coats or single overall colours.

 

For jets I try to use a dowel in the jet pipe sometimes padded out with some masking tape and always before I add the nozzles. 

Cheers jamie, I'll look into this Sphere stand. Soudns like what I'm after