Various ship model supply companies sell mounting pedestals. Two that have websites are Model Expo (www.modelexpo-online.com) and Bluejacket (www.bluejacketinc.com).
A lot of modelers solve this problem by modifying brass lamp finials, which are available at places like Lowe's and Home Depot. The finial will have a threaded hole in the bottom, so it's easy to fasten to the baseboard with a bolt. The top will need to be sawed off with a hacksaw and filed flat. Then you can drill a hole of appropriate size in the top. For a nice, sturdy job, tap that hole and screw a piece of threaded rod into it. For an almost as nice, almost as sturdy job, epoxy a piece of plain brass rod or piano wire into it.
The drawback to the lamp finial approach is that lamp finials look like lamp finials. Experienced ship modelers will recognize them from a mile away. That's hardly a debilitating argument against them, though.
Screwing the model to a temporary base is an excellent idea. You might, in fact, want to make some temporary pedestals - perhaps from wood dowels. Then you won't have to mount the model on its permanent base till it's finished.
Gluing a piece of wood inside the hull also was a good idea. On a model of that size I'd recommend some sort of pretty firm fastening. Threaded inserts of some sort wouldn't have been a bad idea, but it's kind of late for that now. My guess is that wood screws would work fine, though.
If you buy pedestals that are made for the purpose, they'll almost certainly have holes drilled all the way through; you can run a wood screw through the baseboard, through the pedestal and into the hull. If you go the lamp finial route, the best approach might be to slice the top off and then drill the hole that's already in the bottom the rest of the way through.
Hope this helps a little. Good luck.
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