building a display case

[Alasdair AllanParticipant @alasdairallan37423]

Hi – I am beginning to think about building a display case to keep dust at bay. The options for having cases made to measure all look pretty steep (and are also pretty limited, for a 140 cm model). Building a case with acrylic sheet and some kind of wooden/ metal extrusions seems the best bet, as for a model this size, I would be looking for a case I cold at least partialy dismantle to get the boat out to go to the pond. Would welcome any advice about where to start on this idea please. Many thanks

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

An interesting point there!

I have storage boxes for all my models to keep them dust free. It’s quite expensive to make even these. But in the living room I have my Fruit Ship Granada as pride of place.

Rather than make a conventional display case which would indeed be expensive, I constructed one which enables the boat to be easily removed but still clearly displayed.The photos illustrate this.

Basically I made a base, background and sides frame from veneered chipboard which is mounted on the floor as shown in the photos.

The front is 6mm plate glass supported on the base and held in place by slotted supports. The plate glass top then rests above this by gravity.

The boat can be removed by simply lifting off the top and the inside of the case cleaned by lifting out the front panel.

It all works very well indeed and I think makes an attractive solution.

Colin

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

One consideration to take into account, I had a case made for a model, which is rather large and I wanted it made of UV resistant glass to prevent UV damage and fading to the model.  When it arrived it soon became apparent that it is always going to need two people to lift the top off as it’s so incredibly heavy!

[Alasdair AllanParticipant @alasdairallan37423]

Hi – many thanks for that sound advice. Granada looks lovely!  I am giving some thought to this one but would say that I am probably looking for upright panes of acrylic inside a wooden frame. Probably with a plywood back as you suggest. Top pane , I suspect, might need to be reinforced glass so as not to bend. Think something that dismantles is the answer, but will keep thinking around the engineering options before I commit to anything!

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

You need to make something to suit your own circumstances. With my case the back sides and bottom are secured to the wall and supported by the sides on the floor. The top lifts off and then the front which makes for easy cleaning as dust eventually gets inside and the teak oil dries out and needs a refurbish every few years.

No reason why you can’t use acrylic but it would need to be thick enough to stay rigid – thicker than my plate glass I would think.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Whether glass or plastic the non reflective types used to display pictures and artwork work very well and give a clear view of the model.

Len

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I have heard hat if you use non- reflective glass or acrylic, it will look like your model is in a dense fog!

Here ia a FREE download giving comprehensive instructions on how to make wood edged acrylic cases.   I use 3mm clear acrylic, but you can get it thicker     Since writing the download, I took to cutting the acrylic with a cheap hand-held cutter that I got from Ebay.   In the download, I used a hobby bandsaw.    https://payhip.com/b/yElS

Examples of my cases below.

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I produced the download some time ago, following numerous requests on how to build your own cases.   So far, 813 people have read the synopsis, and 234 have downloaded it, but there is very little evidence that many modellers have actually built one following the insructions.    I continually get asked how I  build them, so the free download is a great way of “passing the buck” and saves me from endlessly repeating how to do it, and never getting any feedback.

This is a cheap acrylic cutter, but is surprisingly easy to use and  very good for cutting acrylic to precise measurements. 

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

I was surprised by Bob’s comment about non-reflective glazing.  I contacted the Greenwich Maritime Museum and received a kind and very comprehensive reply from their ‘Head of Exhibitions and Design’.  They use non-reflective glazing.  To quote directly “I can guarantee it’s not like looking through fog!”  His exclamation, not mine.

Len   

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I have seen it mentioned on a number of occasions, which is why I never used non-reflective.  Here is just one example, in the text under the first image, but maybe they produce better non-reflective glass nowadays. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234909312-how-to-build-a-display-case/

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

All a bit contradictory really. The National Maritime Museum have put most of their wonderful models into long term storage at Chatham. I think I can state with confidence that none of these had non reflective glass cases -they are too old for that.

The late lamented Science Museum Shipping gallery certainly didn’t use non reflective glass either. No problem when viewing the models but you did need a polarizer lens when photographing them.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

With a bit of care you could manage without a polarizer lens, but better with one.   I never use them, but photograph in natural light –

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Bob, It’s a bit different in a museum with the spotlights etc. Can sometime be tricky to minimise reflections.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Yes, but we were talking about someone building a case for their own models.   Maritime museums are very touchy about anyone having the audacity to photograph their models. I often feel a lot of them are dedicated to keeping their plans and photographs out of reach of the public by extortionate fees!    If you purchase a plan off them, and want it to build a model to  sell, they require fistfulls of extra cash.

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I’ve never had a problem in photographing museum models. RN Museum, Dartmouth Naval College, Science Museum, National Maritime Museum, Southampton Maritime Museum Chatham Dockyard and others. As long as it is either for personal use or by arrangement for an article then no difficulty at all.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

“For personal use” that is the thing!   I often wanted to use the odd photograph to illustrate my articles or books but the fees were extortionate.     So eventually, I took to producing my own, and I no longer have anything to do with any maritime museum.  I am completely self-contained in research, and over the years, it has only been maritime museums that wanted to sting me with extortionate fees.      I have written permission to use quite  a lot of shipping. company and vintage engineering journals.   These are samples of my own drawings –   

 

 

material and photographs without any restrictions  When people ask for permission to use my images, I generally say OK, but even so, rarely a word of thanks.   

Bob

   

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

In my case the photos were taken for articles in Model boats magazine and the museums were happy with the publicity. I actually got a letter of commendation from the commanding officer of Britannia Royal Naval College for the published article.

See:

Naval Treasures

Colin

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