GZG service and stands (was: assembling FT minis)

Jason S. wrote:

> Of all the people and companies that I've had to deal with in all the 
different games I play in, Nic wins for service hands down. He is truly 
the best of the best. Of course us Aussies don't generally get to deal 
with Jon [T.] to compare. <

Well, as an ex-pat Aussie who does deal with Jon and co. regularly, I 
can say that I have _no_ complaints with GZG service whatsoever. The 
guys are friendly, helpful and reasonable; they'll go along with "odd" 
requests (for spare parts and the like) with no worries at all; and 
turnaround time is good and getting even better. Nic may be as good as 
everyone says he is, and more power to his elbow if that's the case 
(and more power to it anyway if he keeps producing the excellent OU 
stuff), but Jon and his offsiders will do me while I'm over here.

Later, the Great Stand Debate included people who said that they had 
problems with the standard GZG plastic stands, especially with the 
bigger ship classes. I had a few of those myself, but I found a simple 
solution: a hand drill and 1/16" and 1/8" bits (has to be inches; the 
metric equivalents are just that little bit smaller, which can ruin 
things).

For the smaller classes, I simply drill out the existing mounting hole 
with the 1/16" bit (if necessary; it's best to check how the fit is 
before bothering), and that generally means that the model sits 
comfortably on the stand peg without drooping. Droop/slop is why I 
don't like the idea of metal stands myself; I haven't seen the GeoHex 
stands (except in photos), but my experience with metal stands does not 
encourage me. I have a couple of AoG B5W minis with the T-post stands, 
and I don't like them at all! Give me plastic any day.

For larger ships, I use one or two GZG stands with the little peg on 
top of the post cut off. The post fits neatly and securely into a 1/8" 
hole, and the model is nice and stable. Even the FSE SD sits happily 
(and is quite stable) on a single stand that way; the only ship I've 
had to use two stands for was the Clarke-class survey ship, because 
the CG of the completed ship was at a point where it wasn't practical 
to drill a hole (!).

Phil
------------------------------------------------------------
"I think... I think I am!     |        I think _I_ am:
 Therefore I am... I think?"  | 	Phil Atcliffe  
   -- The Moody Blues	      | (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk)