"Telescoping stands" Topic

What are some sources of 1/300 telescoping stands?

I was watching this to see if anyone had any good ideas, but nothing so far.

I would suggest going to Temu and searching for extendable pointers, extendable forks, or telescoping antenna. Any of those will get you lots of cheap things from which you can harvest the useful part.

If anyone has any ideas for 1/600 I am all ears…

These are likely too large but the price is right!

link

Thanks

John

For 1:72 planes I used telescopic magnetic pickup tools.
For 1:600 I put a bit of wire in the plane and an MDF base, and cut lengths of thin aluminium tube 1", 2", up to 6" long.
The tube goes over the wire on the base and the plane's wire slots in the top

In 2014 I bought what was available from Armaments In Miniature and Corset Engineering, but only liked the telescoping rods from Corsec. I ended up making my own bases from washers, Litko speed dials, screws and nuts.

Corsec is long gone, but AIM is still in business.

To get your own telescoping rods, search for "magnetic pickup tool" on eBay and Amazon.

Check the photos to make sure you get telescoping rods with enough sections – the choices are generally 5-section, 6-section, or 7-section. I have also found 11-section and 14-section, but decided I couldn't afford them.

The magnets embedded in the ends vary in size and strength, but the thin rods are nearly always 1/4" (6mm) NdFeB magnets. Note that manufacturers are never consistent about polarity, so roughly half the rods in a pack will have North up, the rest will have South up. This problem drove me to put steel screws in my planes so they would stick to any rod. If you put magnets on your planes, there will always be rods they don't stick to (indeed – they will literally fly off instead).

It used to be possible to get rods with gimbaling magnets on the end, but these have become impossibly rare. I still see them, but usually in the wrong size or in sets with other rods I don't want.

The screw holding the cap on the base end is typically either a 6-32 or M3 thread, so you can take it out and use a hardware store screw of the same thread size to attach the rod upright to a base.

I made bases by gluing together stacks of three 2" washers, gluing a 1.25" fender washer across the hole, then putting a screw through the fender washer into the bottom of the rod to hold it upright.

Rather than using a telescopic stand I have gone to a fixed post and can move the plane up and down to represent height. Each plane has a length of wire attached with a bend. The plane's roll is done by using the bed to position the plane at the desired angle of bank. The stand uses a modified clothes peg, with a tube attached to a screw and held in position by either a wing nut or knurled nut. Loosen the nut and position the plane to represent pitch angle. The post is glued into a length of brass tubing soldered to a screw which allows it to be removed from the base and swapped with posts of different lengths or markings to indicate altitude used by the game. The base is a 2"x2" or 3"x3" square of 1/4" thick steel giving needed weight. The size is chosen based on the weight of the model and the heights it may be positioned at.

link

Here is a picture. Go to near the bottom of the page. My handle is Madman. TMP isn't allowing me to post a link direct to the image.

I've been thinking about an aviation game for a long time. I have an idea to place a grid with hexagons on some supports above the table, and hang the models on it like a puppet…

** opinion mode started **
Those things are an ugly abomination that turn a game about beautiful airplanes into a horrid forest of metal sticks.

doubleones, either get yourself a real one and an opponent or go computer games. No miniatures in either.

Cuprum, I have seen similar to your description in sci fi games, battletech actually for mechs "flying" over the terrain. Sounds good but proves awkward in use.

Those things are an ugly abomination that turn a game about beautiful airplanes into a horrid forest of metal sticks.

The physical size of the models makes a huge difference here.

In 1/300 scale, I agree with you. I found the forest of rods so jarring I got rid of my 1/300 scale dogfight collection.

Many 1/200 scale fighters are still a bit too diminutive, but in general I find this scale (just barely) acceptable.

1/144 planes are large enough to draw the eye, and the forest of sticks fades into part of the background.It helps that 1/144 gashopon models are really nice looking models.

stephen m, here a lot depends on the execution of the idea. Strong aluminum stands (the design is supposed to be easily disassembled and mobile). Fine-mesh metal mesh on top (you can easily mark hexagons or something else on it). A thin steel spoke is used to control the model (something like the material for steel pins about 1-1.5 mm). The spoke is fixed with a hook or a magnet, which can move freely along it (or something similar). For better transmission of impressions from the model "in flight" it is better to attach the spoke to the model from behind or to the side of the wing.

Sorry for the sloppy diagram, but I think the principle is quite clear:

I occasionally muse about doing something like this for a submarine game (with the surface ships on top), but it seems like overengineering for an aerial game. I'm pretty it would make a dogfight harder to play.

Nonetheless, if this comes to be, I want pictures!

Oops, I meant 1/200.

These are freest ideas. I was hoping some one sold them.

I like Blood Red Skies, but not the tilting stand idea.

Like I said above, Armaments In Miniature sells them.

There seem to be a few options for sale on Etsy, but I've never seen any of them in person.

This eBay seller also has some stands that look pretty nice.