Display case solutions

Rwalter46

Rwalter46

Joined
Feb 8, 2022
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I built the Occre Ulysses tug. Love it but it’s quickly gathering dust. About 33” long X 8” wide X 16” high. Prices for readymade cases are staggering. DIY solutions on the web seem daunting. Can’t find aquariums that would fit. What creative methods have you come up with to make a custom display that is relatively doable and reasonably priced. Thank you.image.jpg
 
That's a tough problem. I was lucky to find a museum display cabinet on Craigslist.org locally which originally contained a dinosaur skull. I used the plexiglass box from that for my case. It wasn't scratched, and the edges don't have wood that blocks your view, which is really nice. That cost me $150 USD. It wasn't tall enough for my model, hence the riser around the bottom. An old Chinese-made desk which a friend was about to discard provided the legs and other parts to help create a nice ship model display table for the case. You'll need a router table, a table, and a sliding compound miter saw for the heavy work. Another lucky find, since Queen Anne style legs are hard to find over 20" long and quite expensive when new. Making a case inexpensively is difficult if you can't scrounge the parts from wherever you can find them. That's where searching and luck come in. Your model is small, so you will have and easier time finding a solution, statistically speaking. Ship cases manufactured for models are extremely expensive, usually around $1000 USD for a large sailing ship model, and they often do not come with glass or acrylic or Plexiglas! I was looking at using glare free acrylic for my next case, but the amount I'll need will cost $950. The wood case will have to be made by myself in the shop to keep costs low.

My first case, using salvage.
1313 Used Plexiglass Enclosure.jpg

1314 Assembling Table Base.jpg

1374 Added Rope Edging to Case.jpg
 
Wow. Great looking. I’ll start hunting around for parts in hopes of coming up with something. In the meantime, lots of Q tips to try and keep it looking good. Thanks.
 
Thanks Don. I thought your Ulysses was beautifully done. I think the 40 gallon might be too wide for my installation. I’m checking out Acrylicjob.com about a custom made one at, hopefully, a reasonable price.
 
I liked that video, saved it to my ship modeling playlist.

You do need a table saw and a cheap supplier of acrylic sheets. For the base, you might also want a router. Essentially you need a shop.

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
I like the cases from AcrylicJob.com but is there any way to miter and glue the edges and dispense with the distracting tabs at the corners?
Click to expand...

You really don't notice the tabs, to be honest. You could probably saw the tabs off and glue the case together.

I really like that the case is easy to partially disassemble. I lift the top off and slide the front away to get at the model inside. Lifting the acrylic box assembled is quite heavy and is a bit nerve-wracking. Not as good as a door but close enough.

The one I got was 23"L 10'W 20"H, 3/16 inch acrylic.

Ship 98.jpg
 
BenD said:
I liked that video, saved it to my ship modeling playlist.

You do need a table saw and a cheap supplier of acrylic sheets. For the base, you might also want a router. Essentially you need a shop.



You really don't notice the tabs, to be honest. You could probably saw the tabs off and glue the case together.

I really like that the case is easy to partially disassemble. I lift the top off and slide the front away to get at the model inside. Lifting the acrylic box assembled is quite heavy and is a bit nerve-wracking. Not as good as a door but close enough.

The one I got was 23"L 10'W 20"H, 3/16 inch acrylic.

View attachment 326805
Click to expand...
The advantage of these cases is that you can take them apart quickly for doing photography or model maintenance. Lifting my heavy Plexiglas case up and over the model without slipping and damaging masts or worse yet letting it crash into it is a risk.
 
BenD said:
I liked that video, saved it to my ship modeling playlist.

You do need a table saw and a cheap supplier of acrylic sheets. For the base, you might also want a router. Essentially you need a shop.
Click to expand...

You don't need shop or special tools.

Go to the glass/acrylic shop. Most of the glass shops cut/sell acrylic. Got them cut your case pieces. Then go to your wood shop (Home Depot/ Lowe's here) cut there the base (Oak/cherry/ etc).
Glue the acrylic, place it over the wood base and use wood moldings all around it to keep the case in place and provide a nice finishing. You can cut the moldings at home (45 degree angles corners) with your hand saw. Or do it at the wood shoop too.

Bottom line: "you don't need a shop"

Cheers
Daniel
 
Glass is much much cheaper than acrylic. Either way its not a cheap thing. the one Ben posted is decent. I don't think they're airtight.
Glass with a wood frame would be the cheapest airtight you can do even if you have to have someone make it for you. That's a beautiful tug you built
 
Last edited:
Dematosdg said:
You don't need shop or special tools.

Go to the glass/acrylic shop. Most of the glass shops cut/sell acrylic. Got them cut your case pieces. Then go to your wood shop (Home Depot/ Lowe's here) cut there the base (Oak/cherry/ etc).
Glue the acrylic, place it over the wood base and use wood moldings all around it to keep the case in place and provide a nice finishing. You can cut the moldings at home (45 degree angles corners) with your hand saw. Or do it at the wood shoop too.

Bottom line: "you don't need a shop"

Cheers
Daniel
Click to expand...
 
I recently discovered that Lowes will cut your acrylic to size at no charge when you buy it from them. I had bad experiences trying to score and break it and am glad to know they will cut the panels for me.
Guy
 
GuyH said:
I recently discovered that Lowes will cut your acrylic to size at no charge when you buy it from them. I had bad experiences trying to score and break it and am glad to know they will cut the panels for me.
Guy
Click to expand...

Yes, they will. But you have to pay the full panel and their thickness options are limited.
 
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