scratchbuilding flying stands

[lordgoober]

I just recently got my hands on an ork fleet and the stands were either glued in or broken so they all needed to be replaced.  I don't want to pay the full GW retail for their flying stands as they've gone insane with their pricing ($4.50 for FIVE stands).  Is there a good substitute flying stand out there that works for BFG ships or an easy way to scratch build some flying stands?

[Valhallan]

there used to be a sticky on portmaw about breaking flying stands. best solutions i remember are nails, or hella-thin copper piping. of course if you have extra stand pieces and a drill.... you have no real problems.

[lordgoober]

these stands were pretty bad off.

[Dave]

Beyond eBay you have a few options:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1982&qsSeries=68
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1981&qsSeries=68
http://www.em4miniatures.com/acatalog/MINIAATURES_BASES.html
http://shop.vbamgames.com/index.php?cPath=22_36&osCsid=e74j32kel450g6uddtrkhomjg7
http://www.litkoaero.com/categories/Flight-Stands/

I went the Woodsies and nail route for my ships:



Acrylic blending medium helps to blend in the rim of the nail (I hadn't done it yet when I took this pic) as does a star field paint job.

[Eddie Orlock]

I've found that bamboo skewers, the kind I've seen used for shisk-kabobs actually slot nicely into the holes in the plastic disks and the holes in the bottom of the ships. They have the added benefit of being slightly springy and less prone to brittle failure. The down side is if you do manage to break them it's likely not an easy fix as you'll have to remove the splinters and replace whole cloth.

[afterimagedan]

Here's my way, assuming you have the bottom part...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qyJUSde0eY

Also, what are those ships from, Dave?

[BaronIveagh]

I went on ebay and got 60 flying stands for something like $5. 

There is a guy there, IIRC tht is selling milled aluminum stems, as well, that fit the plastic circle bases of the stand.

[Trasvi]

Also: http://www.rattleheadgames.com/catalog/WithHostileIntent-MagneticAdapterSystemProducts.html
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2009/03/simple-and-sturdy-magnetic-flying-bases.html

I've done something very similar to the second one, but putting a magnet in the mini and using plasticard tubing.

There is one more that I can't find, a company which sells entire kits to mount minis to flight stands: using spherical magnets in a ball+cup system, letting you put them on cool dynamic angles.
One major problem though with magnetic stands is the ability for models to rotate on their pivot whilst playing - thus the ninja magic ones, or making something similar yourself, stops the mini from changing facing during the game.