I’ve been trying to figure out a simple mounting system for my latest Sci-Fi model. It’s built from PVC tubing and my latest experiment is using copper pipe. I basically just drilled holes in the bottom of the three main tubes and stuck in the copper pipes. This results in a three legged mount, two for the back engines and one for the front of the ship.
The problem is, the copper pipe is actually thicker than the drill bit I have to make the holes. That was not a problem for the PVC pipes but it will be for the wooden base. I can’t just grind away at the holes to make them fit, it would result in an ugly base board. Now I’m thinking I might be able to use a screw that is 3/4 ” in diameter. Put it through the wood base and then just slide the copper pipes over it. Not secure enough for travel, but perhaps good enough for a display.
The second issue is securing the copper tubing inside the main engine PVC pipes. I might have to put an endcap in there for the tube to rest in, so it’s not wiggling around inside the tube. Easy enough to do for the 4″ pipes but not so much for the 2″ pipe used for the neck.
I’ll pick up some more supplies at the hardware store on my way home tonight and give it a try. This model is now officially sponsored by Home Depot: not really, but darn, I’ve dropped some cash there. I haven’t even really started building the frame of the model yet. Still mucking about with this mounting problem.
I have the sheet plastic needed to build up the super structures of the model, so as soon as I finish this mounting fiasco, I can start building out the basic shape. That’s when it will start to resemble the actual GCU Sokol starship. For those of you not following this blog very closely, that’s a starship from my novel Starstrikers. Look around, you might find a picture of it here somewhere.
One alternative is to get some copper end caps and screw them into the top of the mounting board. Then you have two choices:
1) Press the mounting tubes into the end caps on the mounting board and you’re done.
2) Kind of cleaner looking: Cut a slightly larger copper tube/pipe that will fit over the end caps mounted on the board. Cut it to fit exactly between board and model when the existing tubes are pressed into the board’s end caps. This then becomes a sleeve that fits over the existing mounting tubing plus the exposed end caps on the board. Then you just put that pipe over the end cap then put the model into place with the current standoff tubes fitting into the end caps on the board. The outer/sleeve tube will look like a single standoff going from board to model. You could even kind tap the sleeve into the mounting board to score an indentation the sleeve would fit into to make it look perfectly flush with the mounting board even if you cut the sleeve tube “not square”.
For inside the PVC tubes, you should be able to screw/bolt the copper (or even PVC pipe end caps) to the tops of all three tubes easily enough. Then it works like above: slide the mounting tubes into the end caps inside the model.