Just a word of warning. Regarding your comment on hanging it I did this with an airship I built a few years ago, in fact it was the only it could be displayed, and it fell to the ground a couple of times thru unforseen circumstances. Because of its size and weight it caused alot of damage each time. It is currently in the attic waiting to be repaired again although I will most probably just rebuild it in such a way it can be displayed differently.
The way I see it is there are two practical ways of displaying these things, one is on a stand and the other is to have a tube running from bow to stern inside it and attach it with a rod running thru this to a solid object.
Regarding the latter airships had mooring towers to which they were anchored to while remaining off the ground. This would look rather special if you have the time to add it.
Alan
Well it's got a 1" aluminium tube running the length as a spine, and the air vents on top will be removeable, so I *will* be able to hang it securely, should I choose. It's designed to rest on the rods, on supports though - the wires connect through these supports, with header pins, to hook up the electronics.
So plan A is a wooden base with the electronic controls and two supports rising out of it to hold the model. But it'll be 7 - 8' long, so I have no idea where I'd put it!
Plan B would be to hang it... somewhere... secured around the spine, but that means no electronics, since the major circuitry and power are all designed to be inside a base.
I'd thought about a mooring mast - it would be INCREDIBLY cool to have it 'floating', just supported by the mast, but the torque involved would be gargantuan, and it would be too close to the base to appreciate the underside, which is where most of the 'detail' is. You wouldn't be able to see the engine pods, or gondolas, or inside any of the windows. Raising it up ~6" gives a better view all around.
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Minor update. I've broken down and bought some microscope slides and glass cutting tools, to fabricate the windows out of real glass. I wasn't happy with the clear styrene sheet, and was kind of excited at the thought of using actual glass, so, more learning and experimentation await.