PE and building my own display base?

There are articles on that .I usually use the LAMP FINIALS only on LARGER models .The other thing is ACRYLIC ROD (I like the twisted clear type of square rod ).You need to drill the holes for the screws or bolts BEFORE you do anything else .

   When you have done that then you can actually tap and drill the rod for the bolts you would use . That is that .You drill a smooth bore hole in the bottom and then mark and drill through the wood base and get some smooth steel rod  , cut it to length and insert into the acrylic AFTER inserting the rod in the wood .Using clear epoxy slip the acrylic over the steel pins  with the hull attached and the staining  is done on the wood .

   This way you will have it absolutely correct . Remove the ship by unscrewing the bolts from the top of the rod .Paint and weather the hull to the main deck . Re-install the ship on the base  BEFORE the deck is installed .Now , using painters tape , wrap the hull and cover it with paper and build the rest of the ship .When done remove the covering and there you have it .Not only a beautifully finished ship , but a beautifully finished base that complements it .And has doubled as a work stand ! This works for me .    Tanker-builder

i will be using clear plastic dowels for a SEEHUND. for ships i use 6/32 or 8/32 bolts. i epoxy the nut inside the hull and use brass or stainless steel rods to slide over the bolts.

Don's method is a very good one.

 It can also be used for other materials such as hardwood dowels, aluminium, brass, rods or tubes etc. Bases can be from other materials as well, thick acrylic or an appropriate sized chunk of drift wood  let your imalgination run with it.

A lot will also depend on your personal resources and skill level.

 Regardless, give it a go. it will look great on display.

As far as bases, I just use a piece of 1 x 4 hardwood from the building supply store, cut to length.  To give it a little character, I either cut a bevel on top edge with table saw, or a groove in the edges.  Oak is easily found up north here- other woods more common in various parts of country.  I then stain and varnish base.

For the pedestals to mount the ship to the base, many folks use lamp finials from the hardware store with the top cut off to give a flat surface.  I changed several years ago to clear plexiglas rod.  Many hobby shops carry up to quarter inch. I bought a length of half inch stuff over internet for larger ship models. I drill a hole in bottom of ship the right diameter (actually I drill a small hole and ream it to size with a hand reamer to prevent opening the seam). I cut two small blocks of wood and drill to rod diameter to glue inside hull before deck is added- that reinforces plexiglas to plastic joint.

Two holes in base then accept the rods.  In order to make holes same exact distance apart as the holes in bottom of ship, I hold ship against base and (match) drill the base holes before gluing rods into hull.

There was a good discussion recently about bases.

[url]cs.finescale.com/.../151352.aspx[/ur]

Also lots of good advice about PE spread around. In my opinion it's not at all hard to use and the results are great. Look for advice on cutting, bending, painting and glue to use. There's LOTS of opinions out there.

My only 2 bits are to work from the middle out, and to make the corners bends, not joints.

Well, a third thing and there goes George. You don't have to use it all, although this is more true of airplane models than ships. Sometimes enough is enough. I don't know about that Bismark, but these days models seem to be designed to just ADD PE to. It used to involve much more removal of plastic detail than now.