jhfagan
Active Hunter
Although I do like a well crafted stand, sometimes it's just not worth the $ that some manufacturers charge.
A basic, do the job well, stand can be made on your own, for less than $10.
I needed to make three stands, so that's more than $10 here, but here's what I ended up doing.
Of course, make sure you have a well ventilated area for the finishing stage, and preferably a mask of some kind.
At my local arts/crafts store ( Michael's, in this case ), I found an aisle with 1/8" thick shapes ( circles, squares, etc ) made of plywood and selected six 6" discs for the bases, and six 3" discs for the tops.
I decided on each disc being thinner on their own rather than finding something thicker, so when I get to the "sandwich phase" below, together, they will give me a solid 1/4" base from them.
Then I found their dowel rods bin, and selected two 36 x 1" round plywood rods for the stands.
For finishing, I selected one square foot sheet of black felt with adhesive backing, cutting out three ,3" round discs to match the top wood discs.
The felt looks good, and also helps keep the helmet in place and from sliding around.
For painting, you can choose whatever color you want, but I went with something I already had, in a can of Rustoleum Hammered Gloss Black textured paint, and to later finish that with standard Rustoleum Gloss Clear.
Gives a cool, unique look, I feel.
First, cut the dowel rods to the desired lengths ( in this case. 12" for my Fett, and 15" for my two Stormtroopers).
Pre-drill about a 1/16" hole in the center of only 3 of the 6 and 3 inch discs, and also pre-drill a one inch deep hole in the center of both ends of the sized dowel rod.
Using regular 1x1/8" wood screws, tightly, but carefully screw the base and top discs into either end of the dowel, making sure not to over tighten and accidentally split or strip the wood.
Then using regular Elmer's , (or dedicated wood glue if you like ), glue another non drilled 6 inch disc to the underside of the 6 inch disc you just screwed into the dowel, and do the same for the top disc, with another non-drilled 3 inch disc.
Squeeze them together for a few minutes to promote adhesion, then tape them tightly and securely together, to keep the discs from separating
( this is the Sandwich phase)
This hides the screws, and also give you a finished flat surface on both ends. ( pic 1 )
Leave the stands like this for at least the next 12 hours before moving further, to prevent things coming apart.
Before painting begins, remove the tape from the glue stage, then tape out the round bare wood on the top discs. ( and bottom if you like, although if your paint area is properly maintained, and you use some fresh drop material/news paper, the bottoms should remain clean on their own.)
Begin painting, remembering to evenly pass back and forth over all areas of the stand, pressing and releasing the nozzle as you pass each time, and keeping about 6-8 away from the stand.
This conserves paint, and gives a better, more consistent application.
I only had to do two layers on mine, but took some extra care in making sure the edges of the discs were adequately covered.
After they dry, one coat of Gloss Clear is all I needed.
Again, wait to dry completely, so no smudges or fingerprint accidents happen.
Remove the tape on the top discs,(pic 2) remove the backing film from, and then center your felt discs over the top of the discs, and apply them evenly (pic 3).
You are now ready to display. (pics 4, 5, 6)
(In helmet shots, my Hasbro Black Series Fett ESB to ROTJ conversion, the Hasbro R1 to ROTJ Trooper conversion, and my EFX ANH Precision Cast replica ).
After all said and done, all the materials I had to buy, broke down to $8.00 per stand.
It just only also required a bit of craftiness and some know-how.
That's part of the fun though, right?
Good luck!
A basic, do the job well, stand can be made on your own, for less than $10.
I needed to make three stands, so that's more than $10 here, but here's what I ended up doing.
Of course, make sure you have a well ventilated area for the finishing stage, and preferably a mask of some kind.
At my local arts/crafts store ( Michael's, in this case ), I found an aisle with 1/8" thick shapes ( circles, squares, etc ) made of plywood and selected six 6" discs for the bases, and six 3" discs for the tops.
I decided on each disc being thinner on their own rather than finding something thicker, so when I get to the "sandwich phase" below, together, they will give me a solid 1/4" base from them.
Then I found their dowel rods bin, and selected two 36 x 1" round plywood rods for the stands.
For finishing, I selected one square foot sheet of black felt with adhesive backing, cutting out three ,3" round discs to match the top wood discs.
The felt looks good, and also helps keep the helmet in place and from sliding around.
For painting, you can choose whatever color you want, but I went with something I already had, in a can of Rustoleum Hammered Gloss Black textured paint, and to later finish that with standard Rustoleum Gloss Clear.
Gives a cool, unique look, I feel.
First, cut the dowel rods to the desired lengths ( in this case. 12" for my Fett, and 15" for my two Stormtroopers).
Pre-drill about a 1/16" hole in the center of only 3 of the 6 and 3 inch discs, and also pre-drill a one inch deep hole in the center of both ends of the sized dowel rod.
Using regular 1x1/8" wood screws, tightly, but carefully screw the base and top discs into either end of the dowel, making sure not to over tighten and accidentally split or strip the wood.
Then using regular Elmer's , (or dedicated wood glue if you like ), glue another non drilled 6 inch disc to the underside of the 6 inch disc you just screwed into the dowel, and do the same for the top disc, with another non-drilled 3 inch disc.
Squeeze them together for a few minutes to promote adhesion, then tape them tightly and securely together, to keep the discs from separating
( this is the Sandwich phase)
This hides the screws, and also give you a finished flat surface on both ends. ( pic 1 )
Leave the stands like this for at least the next 12 hours before moving further, to prevent things coming apart.
Before painting begins, remove the tape from the glue stage, then tape out the round bare wood on the top discs. ( and bottom if you like, although if your paint area is properly maintained, and you use some fresh drop material/news paper, the bottoms should remain clean on their own.)
Begin painting, remembering to evenly pass back and forth over all areas of the stand, pressing and releasing the nozzle as you pass each time, and keeping about 6-8 away from the stand.
This conserves paint, and gives a better, more consistent application.
I only had to do two layers on mine, but took some extra care in making sure the edges of the discs were adequately covered.
After they dry, one coat of Gloss Clear is all I needed.
Again, wait to dry completely, so no smudges or fingerprint accidents happen.
Remove the tape on the top discs,(pic 2) remove the backing film from, and then center your felt discs over the top of the discs, and apply them evenly (pic 3).
You are now ready to display. (pics 4, 5, 6)
(In helmet shots, my Hasbro Black Series Fett ESB to ROTJ conversion, the Hasbro R1 to ROTJ Trooper conversion, and my EFX ANH Precision Cast replica ).
After all said and done, all the materials I had to buy, broke down to $8.00 per stand.
It just only also required a bit of craftiness and some know-how.
That's part of the fun though, right?
Good luck!
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