Below are some photos of a recently completed display, the Trumpeter USS PITTSBURGH built as USS COLUMBUS. This is the first 1/700 scale waterline kit I've built, and first Trumpeter kit. It was a very pleasant kit to build, and was built straight out of the box. It was airbrushed with Testor's enamels, highlighted with chalk pastels, and sealed with flattened Future. It is a gift to my father, who served on her. I have to apologize in advance for the poor photography, I think I'll have my wife do that on future projects.
The display base is an old picture frame I had laying around the garage. I used the front 1/3 for a dedication plaque and the back 2/3 for a water base. Making the case was a first for me. I was going to use glass, but I consulted with my mom and she suggested something less fragile. The case is made from 0.094 sheet acrylic, bonded with TENAX, and covers only the water display portion. A couple of small machine screws through the side of the frame engage holes in the bottom of the case to secure it. There was a slight problem with the reflection of the plaque into the water base area, which I solved more or less by using gunmetal gray tones for the plaque cards and frame. Only the flag and the seal cast a noticable reflection, but it isn't so bad. Basically I had to avoid light colors as much as possible for the plaque.
Here are some shots with the case off.
I decided to model the water base with acrylic gel. I painted the base three different shades of blue. I left the gel clear, and sculped a mild sea state. I have a photo of a heavy cruiser underway at about 10 knots, and used that to try and duplicate the wave patterns. This was my first use of acrylic gel, and I really like the result. I have some ideas on how to improve it for the next model, and might try something a bit more dramatic. I should have built up the divergent waves a bit more on the port side.
Here is a closer view of the bow.
Here is a closer shot of the stern.
Here is a bow shot.
Here is a stern shot.
Again, thanks to all who post on here, I get a lot of help and good ideas from this forum. Special thanks to Monty and Fred for their help!