can you stand 'stands' ? - .........Update.......

Yeah, most modern kits don't have 'em. I've also noticed most kits are designed only to be built gear down, and require substantial surgery to build gear up.
A nice exception is Tamiya's 1/32 Zero. SInce the gear is retractable, I reckon they thought they better include a way to display it gear up as well!

The old Airfix and KP (aka Kopro) stands were great to 'scratchfictionbuild' some cool looking spaceships!!!!

Something I've used recently, with a BAe hawk, is a clear plastic rod up the jetpipe (ooh, suits you sir!) & at an angle into a block of wood. You then get the wheels up model in a realistic flight attitude, and you can use the block of wood to mount a plaque. Of course the wood, or whatever you use, must counter the weight of the model. But it looks great on a desktop. I think I picked up the tip in, oh what was that mag?, oh yes, FSM

Albert, you're a sick man.............
Migs, I've seen and made numerous kits both wheels up and wheels down that I've put on a stand. With the wheels down it gives you the opportunity to depict the plane on a final approach, with flaps down. Or it can be represented in climbout or with no wheels in cruise mode. It's a good way to display most any aircraft, wheels up or down. Most of the contract builds I've done specify a stand, so Migs, you're not alone.
The old Revell 727 kit had a really funky stand with a ball and socket arrangement that would allow the plane to be shown at any attitude, clinbing or banking. It was fantastic for 1/144 scale airliners, and I made a RTV mold of the thing and make as many as I need. They still look good, and my clients love them.
Cheers, Lee Tree

I've been thinning out a huge collection which includes more than a few old FROG kits. Some of these came with the FROG "Skybase" which was nothing more than a pale blue stand with a socket ball which could also be mounted to a wall. Before I sell any of these kits, I rob them of their stands. I figure they may be useful in some future project.
I also have a project that will use a wooden base with clear plastic rods on which I will depict a air refueling scene using a Hasegawa KC-10 and a DML B-52G in 1/200 scale.

Frog also surely made the strangest stand of all time with their Picture frame to mount the boxtop and two kits in a 3D display - may solve the 'where to put' and what to do with the box problems !

I still remember the old Matchbox stands.

That ball and socket joint made for great posing of the kit. Unfortunately later releases of the kits had the stands removed from the package.

those were great if you wanted to make a posterboard runway under the plane and get just the right angle of attack for posing the aircraft in the midst of sucking its gears up.

Some of the early Revell jets came with a ball-and-socket stand that could only sit on a table top. Still have a couple of those somewhere.

I was looking in the box of an old LS 1/72 Pitts Special kit. The kit has a stand type that is pretty interesting. It is a cylinder shaped piece of foam with two sticky ends! the instructions suggest sticking the plane to the dash of your car. I wouldn't spend alot of time detailing that kit. LOL