ship display cases

flaver wrote:

I asked him about a display case for a 1:350 battleship I have. He said he could make one using tempered glass, using a no seam glue with polished edges. So it would be completely glass no wood frame holding the panes together. It would cost around $200 CND for the glass and For the base I need to make it my self which is not a huge deal if you are ok with working in wood, just take a plank of some nice wood router out the edges or nail some 1/4 round trim to te edges, fill sand and stain and thats it, whole thing should cost about $225 with about 1 - 2 hours making the base.

I had a custom case made at the local trophy shop for a commission build I did.   Walnut base, Lexan box for about 60 USD (of course the cost was passed on to the customer).

You could try going to a custom glass store. I'm in Toronto and in the construction industry, I was at a glass supplier of mine, those stores that will replace panes of glass, cut glass shelves etc...

I asked him about a display case for a 1:350 battleship I have. He said he could make one using tempered glass, using a no seam glue with polished edges. So it would be completely glass no wood frame holding the panes together. It would cost around $200 CND for the glass and For the base I need to make it my self which is not a huge deal if you are ok with working in wood, just take a plank of some nice wood router out the edges or nail some 1/4 round trim to te edges, fill sand and stain and thats it, whole thing should cost about $225 with about 1 - 2 hours making the base. 

   I believe Plexiglas is a trade name, as is Lexan; they are similar but Lexan is stronger, perhaps more scratch resistant, and more expensive. It's the product often used as "bullet proof glass". I buy mine at the local hardware store but it's also available at businesses that sell glass. They also carry (or can get) the glue. Have never tried to buy it at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Wot

Hello,

   I've built a few cases for ship models in the past and used 1/8" plexiglas sheet. It's best to draw out a plan first, dimensioning each side of the case, then simply draw the pieces directly onto the peel-away paper that covers the 'glas. I used a band saw or table saw to cut it (cuts a lot like wood but tends to melt if the blade gets it too hot) being careful to get as close and accurate as possible. When the pieces are cut out, sand the edges as flat as possible because the plexiglas glue is applied with a syringe or similar device and gets sucked into the joint by capillary action. Very strong joint when it's cured which takes only minutes. After the box is assembled, I used wood corner trim to hide all of the joints, then mounted the model on a nice wooden base and secured the case to base. The plexiglas is lighter and stronger than glass and the only drawback with the stuff is that is scratches fairly easily.

   Hope that helps!

Hi, 110ryan,

 If you're set on building your own, I recommend making a drawing first, it's what I do when I build a piece of furniture.  As far as glass goes, I'm still not proficient at cutting it cleanly, so I order panes to measure from my local glass supply company (eg, a place that makes replacement panes, as part of its business of installing and repairing home and business windows).

 However, I saw a really neat tip a couple of years ago, in an online build of the Trumpeter 1/350 USS Hornet:  Use a baseball bat display case.  You should be able to get them through your nearest sports collectible dealer; if he doesn't have any on hand, he can probably order it.  Or search the 'Net for one.  But the prefab bat display cases are perfect for ships in 1/350 or 1/700.

 Happy modeling!

You could try this:

http://modelshipworld.com/phpBB2/caseone.php 

Ya I'd say you could either use lexan/plexi to make a cabinet out of shelves as mikepowers wrote. Or you could even use the plexi/lexan to make cases (like the ones we'v seen for car models and such) any size you like. Without forming it the corners won't look like the factory made ones but will certainly keep the dust off. A number of products work to adhere the pieces.

3rd option but would be pricey. There are plastics forming/machining shops around. Get a quote on some heat formed lexan cases. Or even if you make the sides like I mentioned above you could get a quote to have them plast-a-weld the seams. Anyway few options for ya.

Unless your clever with tools and able to build stuff, I dont see a cheap way out of this.

Best bet would be to make a wooden shelf with particle board. Then hinge some cheap glass panels to it.

Mike