400 Scale Generic Plastic Aircraft Stands

[YesterAirlines]

Anyone who has a decent sized collection is going to be in need of some stands to display their models. There isn't a massive range of options and often they are stupidly expensive however I can recommend the generic plastic stands. They can be sourced a variety of ways:

- They were provided free with every Aviation400 (first iteration), Witty Wings or Apollo model
- They are provided free with every current Aviation400 model
- They can be bought super cheap direct from China on Taobao
- Recently they seem to be on sale from JC Wings (see the JC Wings store here)

When purchased from China they are super cheap - only 6 RMB each.

You can get clear or black stands - I prefer the black ones myself. I must have around 200 of them now and use them mainly for widebodies - especially 747s. They are suitable for all models aside from Dragon Wings / Jet-X and NG 757s.

One thing you will notice is that the size of the peg can be quite variable. This isn't a big issue as the standhole size of 400 scale models is also quite variable. Aeroclassics DC-10s and A300s for example need a bigger peg.

I recently just got another 15 from China:








They also come in two sizes. I usually go for the smaller size but do have a few of the larger size as well:



Almost all my cabinets have a back row of models on these stands as you can see here on the China Eastern shelf:

 

[SJOIB7685]

I really need more of these. I prefer the clear ones. I recently bought 3 from a US retailer but those were $12 each

 

[YesterAirlines]

I really need more of these. I prefer the clear ones. I recently bought 3 from a US retailer but those were $12 each

Yeah the cost seems to increase dramatically as soon as they leave China!

 

[SJOIB7685]

Yeah the cost seems to increase dramatically as soon as they leave China!

It's awful! I'll consider buying a bundle of 8 maybe. Thanks for sharing that webstite, Richard. I'm definitely bookmarking it!

 

[Redrado]

From the two Av400 models I have, both stands which came in the box don’t fit the hole in the model... it may just be bad luck.

 

[Planeoldwill]

They’re great, I use several in my collection and they are surprisingly strong. when I get them though, I slowly whittle them down with a pen knife until they fit the model

 

[Mark22]

I bought a bag of these but didn't find them great. Like Richard said, the peg doesn't always fit well, sometimes too small, sometimes too large. But at least they are very cheap

 

[OscarBravo992]

I have a ton of these, my local shop stocks them for $5AUD each. I think they are great, though sometimes they require a bit of sanding to fit all the models. Would recommend

 

[CM Aviation]

These are really nice for the price, in my opinion! I think the GeminiJets ones are okay too, but better bang for your buck here, especially when you get the free with Av400 models!

 

[1400_Aircraft_Models]

These are the only stands I would ever recommend anyone to get. Sure the Gemini Jets and Phoenix ones may be shiny, but they'll also chip the paint of the model you're displaying on them near the stand hole.

 

[CM Aviation]

These are the only stands I would ever recommend anyone to get. Sure the Gemini Jets and Phoenix ones may be shiny, but they'll also chip the paint of the model you're displaying on them near the stand hole.

I’ve had this issue several times. I know the 200s use the rubber, but I’m assuming they can’t do that on 400s because of the size. Hopefully they can come up with a more innovative design in the future.

 

[Citrus Aviation]

Anyone who has a decent sized collection is going to be in need of some stands to display their models. There isn't a massive range of options and often they are stupidly expensive however I can recommend the generic plastic stands. They can be sourced a variety of ways:

- They were provided free with every Aviation400 (first iteration), Witty Wings or Apollo model
- They are provided free with every current Aviation400 model
- They can be bought super cheap direct from China on Taobao
- Recently they seem to be on sale from JC Wings (see the JC Wings store here)

When purchased from China they are super cheap - only 6 RMB each.

You can get clear or black stands - I prefer the black ones myself. I must have around 200 of them now and use them mainly for widebodies - especially 747s. They are suitable for all models aside from Dragon Wings / Jet-X and NG 757s.

One thing you will notice is that the size of the peg can be quite variable. This isn't a big issue as the standhole size of 400 scale models is also quite variable. Aeroclassics DC-10s and A300s for example need a bigger peg.

I recently just got another 15 from China:

View attachment 1068
View attachment 1069

View attachment 1070

View attachment 1071

They also come in two sizes. I usually go for the smaller size but do have a few of the larger size as well:

View attachment 1072

Almost all my cabinets have a back row of models on these stands as you can see here on the China Eastern shelf:

View attachment 1073

I have some of these from a couple of Aviation 400 and a few other models. I found that the stands tend to cheaply made, but the models do fit tightly in the stand hole so at least the model won't fall off of the stand. Really my only concern is the stands being light may not be ideal for heavier models. I should give them another look as I mostly just ignored them as cheep junk. I'll give them another shot and report back with what I think.

 

[Citrus Aviation]

Yeah the cost seems to increase dramatically as soon as they leave China!

That seems to be how everything manufactured in China goes, cheap until it leaves China!

 

[OscarBravo992]

I have some of these from a couple of Aviation 400 and a few other models. I found that the stands tend to cheaply made, but the models do fit tightly in the stand hole so at least the model won't fall off of the stand. Really my only concern is the stands being light may not be ideal for heavier models. I should give them another look as I mostly just ignored them as cheep junk. I'll give them another shot and report back with what I think.

I was worried about the weight of the models as well, however, I have found that they can hold a GJ A380 perfectly fine. Usually, if I find the fit of the base to the other part a bit loose, I just use a bit of general-use glue to keep my mind at ease. I hate the clear stands, it looks awful and tacky in my opinion, but the black ones great and even premium.

 

[Citrus Aviation]

I was worried about the weight of the models as well, however, I have found that they can hold a GJ A380 perfectly fine. Usually, if I find the fit of the base to the other part a bit loose, I just use a bit of general-use glue to keep my mind at ease. I hate the clear stands, it looks awful and tacky in my opinion, but the black ones great and even premium.

That is very good! Those GJ/JC A380 are some of if not the heaviest 400 scale models out there. Hearing that the stand is solid with those heavy models is very encouraging. I'll give them a second try when I'm unpacking models this coming week at my new location.

 

[Alphaless]

I find that the material makes it easy to adjust the peg if necessary. You can always sand plastic down. Moreover, I find them really good because they are really stable. Generally speaking, the Gemini stands swivel and make me anxious whenever I put a model on them.

 

[samleung]

I still have 50+ sets left

 

[Jazajia]

Funny I come across this thread, I just got done fighting a losing battle with a handful of these. I use them extensively, the Chinese generic ones can be found sometimes at Waffle for like 2 bucks. But boy can they be a headache. In my experience, they rarely fit the model by the peg being either too thick, too long, or both. I have had two pegs break and get stuck in the stand hole too... I find the best way to tailor them to each particular stand hole is by sanding them.

Just FYI, I was getting some foundation work done recently and one of my ANA 747s by Hogan, which come with a super nice stand by the way, slid out of the stand, luckily it landed safely and didn't damage any models underneath it. After I saw that I removed all my models that were in stands until the job was done.

 

[JJ Skippy]

I find that the material makes it easy to adjust the peg if necessary. You can always sand plastic down. Moreover, I find them really good because they are really stable. Generally speaking, the Gemini stands swivel and make me anxious whenever I put a model on them.

I kept my North Central DC-9-50 on one of the Gemini stands I have and it was pretty easy to move it around. Thankfully it no longer sits on the stand and now resides with me in another location.

 

[YesterAirlines]

I kept my North Central DC-9-50 on one of the Gemini stands I have and it was pretty easy to move it around. Thankfully it no longer sits on the stand and now resides with me in another location.

My experience with the Gemini stands is that the model swivels but worse because the stand is connected with a screw the metal part doesn't stay in the correct position. Plus the base is cheap and rather large.

When you've got lots of models its important the stand base isn't huge and these cheap black stands have a small base but are very stable. They can easily take any 400 scale model.