Displaying the Models

I've been putting some thought recently into how I might go about displaying my models once they are all done. Its a little early to be thinking about this given there are still several weeks left until the deadline but I feel its an important part of the project. After putting so much time and effort into my models I want to be able to show them off in the best way possible.

I'm also thinking about the Uni Degree Show at the end of this academic year. I'd like my project to be part of that degree show so people can see what I've accomplished over the last few months and what I'm capable of doing following my completion of the course. Unfortunately I think they may be some risks in being able to properly show off my work in the degree show, mainly down to how easy it might be for them to go 'walk abouts' as the show is open to the general public. I want to be able to have my models on show, along with some nice photographs of the progress and final product, but this means I need a secure way of showing off the models without them getting pinched!

So I've been looking into some lockable display cases. Most are massive, even the counter-top varieties tend to be on the large side and I don't want my relatively small models sitting in a huge case as it will make them seem even smaller.

Here is one that I think would suit nicely.

It seems to be a perfect size and isn't expensive, offering everything I need to safely display my models. It can be found HERE.

Putting my models into a display case does however mean people will have a limited view of the models, I therefore think it will be advantageous to have something like a rotating stand for each model to stand on. There are a variety of rotating bases available on the internet in various sizes, so I have plenty to choose from.

Here is an example of what I'm talking about.

Its very basic and pretty self explanatory but I think it will a good edition to my display allowing the models to been from every angle.

In addition to my other ideas of displaying my work I was considering making a simple plaque to go within my display box. While uploading my latest model to print with Shapeways I noticed how cheap it was to get things printed in ceramics. Its amazingly cheap! So I was thinking about making a very basic model with the text "Chaos Orks by Luke Evans" or maybe just "Chaos Orks" or something like that and have it printed in ceramic. I could actually colour this in 3Ds Max and have it printed in colour or paint it myself later. I haven't decided if I'm going to do this yet but I think it might be a nice addition to the display which will help give the whole display a more complete, professional look and help grab people's attention without distracting from the main models.

I very quickly made this example plaque up in 3ds Max to visualize the type of thing I'm thinking about. Its really quite basic and should be very cheap to do in ceramic. The colours shown here aren't the ones I would use and depending on the printing requirements of ceramic the lettering might need to be much larger but for now its just an idea.