My .10 cent Flight Stands

[ultraman zoffy]

While working in the toy room today, I got bored and started building flight pose stands for my Marvel Legends, DCUC, and Marvel Universe figs using aluminum wire and wire hangers. I eventually got carried away and decided to try scaling up the tech to my 1/60 valks... and wtf it actually worked out. The few I did today were just to get an idea of the weight and balance involved, and I'll be refining them to look a lot cleaner over the next few days. Note that you should only be using vinyl coated hangers (not painted) so that you don't scratch up any paint. Also, I found that battroid is by far the easiest mode to build stands for, and while it took me only one attempt to shape a decent stand for my YF-29 in fighter mode, my 1/60 Yamatos in fighter mode toke a ton of attempts... the weight and balance of the Yamato V2's is really tricky to deal with, and it really started pissing me off. Eventually I got the valk up on a stand, but I definitely need to revisit it with a more thought out approach. Anyhow, enjoy, and if you're looking for a cheap and easy way to get your valks flying, give it a go...

[JET7]

were on the same idea..

using gundam stands

using octupus camera tripod stands

[Mommar]

How are they attached on the bottom?

[Froy]

I was thinking on getting some of those gundam stands and try them, but I see it works.

[ultraman zoffy]

How are they attached on the bottom?

Well, for the hanger stands I made, it varies depending on which toy you're making one for and in which mode you're displaying it in. Yamato battroids are the easiest; the top of the hanger is just folded over horizontal and slipped up the side and under the hinge panels that connect the chest to the back. Fighter mode with super parts was a bitch... basically, you fold a u-shape type "tray" for the valk to rest in, with one end of the U folder upward to slip in between the head and intake of the valk to hold it better. Tricky part is getting the balance right to where the valk is secure and the weight is distributed evenly over the base shape of the stand. I haven't done a non-super valk yet, but I'm assuming it'll be tons easier without the weight.

For the yf-29, I used a similar u shape for the valk to rest on, and it rests between the arms of the valk in fighter mode securely because the springiness of the hanger "clips in" between them.

It's tricky to get the perfect stand shaped for whatever pose and mode you're trying to display, but for 10 cents a pop, I'm happy...

[DarrinG]

Those last 2 photos there - what are those? Can I get some??

[grapetang]

Nice! Reminds me of those figure stands. Any way to anchor or weigh down the base in case an earthquake hits?

[Astralith]

I said it before, they're missing out on cash discontinuing those stands and pricing them so high to begin with. Even something like the cheap stands the VF-25 came with would be cool. I made a great stand from my kids' leftover Bionicle parts but he needed them back!

Someone could make a few bucks selling Yamato compatible stands on EBay as long as the design was original.

Fantastic job guys!

[JET7]

at present i favored the camera octupus tripod inverted stands.. for you can adjust the height and angle by flexing per arm plus the rubber ends that can support the valk. you just need to find a heavy base w/c in my case came from an aquarium shake ball.

the basic wire stand came from a pot holder haha.. im such a cheapskate. though what i did is glue gunned the yamato head clip on the end then painted the glued black. though i have to care of the earthquake

@froy, additional pics of the gundam stands.

word of warning though, theres a little no turning back on the gundam stands, i permanently glued the yamato head clip to the standard end clip of the gundam. what the heck since i dont have plans of buying the expensive yamato stands..

Edited September 12, 2012 by JET7

[Knight26]

Not a bad idea, but how do the wire stands hold up over time, any sagging?

[Froy]

word of warning though, theres a little no turning back on the gundam stands, i permanently glued the yamato head clip to the standard end clip of the gundam. what the heck since i dont have plans of buying the expensive yamato stands..

Thanks. Though I would use it only for fighter.

[ultraman zoffy]

Not a bad idea, but how do the wire stands hold up over time, any sagging?

Not as far as I can see... wire hangers are really strong depending on how they're formed, and they're holding their shape perfectly, but of course it all depends on what you're displaying on it. I wouldn't try a 1/48 valk on it... haha. The fun thing about it is getting your design and shape just right to securely support whatever you're trying to display.