Flight Stands for Wargaming
It seems that there are a variety of different ways to portray flight on the table top. Some folks use wire, others use telescoping antennae, some use a simple
pole and clip system, click bases, etc. Others have devised more ingenious ways for showing altitude with their miniature aircraft. Flight stands allow you to
show that aircraft are not on the ground, and that they might be flying at different altitudes.
I must admit that I hold a preference to aircraft that allow the gamer to show a variety of levels as well as dive/climb, bank, spin, etc. Those types of
flight stands are naturally going to get a higher rating from me, as I feel the look of the game table should as closely resemble the reality of the battlefield
as much as it can.
AireStands by Aerie Games : $6.00-$7.00
The AireStands put out by Aerie Games on the warbirdsinminiature.com website are a nice innovation. The Airestands come in two sizes:
Fighter and Bomber. The fighter and Bomber stands are identical except for the base that holds the stand itself. The Bomber base
is bigger and designed to hold the weight of a 1/200 scale bomber without it tipping over. The fighter stand runs $6.00, the bomber stand $7.00.
The stand bases are weighted and come with altitude shafts that you add or subtract based upon the height a particular aircraft is flying at.
The flexi-tip is a simple yet brilliant innovation that allows you to bank, climb, or dive your aircraft by just applying a little pressure in the
direction that you want your aircraft to go.
I thought I would be a wise-guy and tested my stands with some 1/144 World War I aircraft. While I had to use the bomber bases to keep them balanced,
the AireStands performed very nicely indeed. I also threw a Space Battle into the mix using the AireStands and was amazed at how versatile they are: I
actually sketched out some rules for 3D Full Thrust that seem to be working nicely using these stands.
The only thing you need to do to prep your aircraft is to drill a small hole in the bottom and glue a set screw into the hole and wait for the glue to dry.
Don't try just gluing the set screw on, as it will break off during play (yes I did it myself with my earlier tests).
I used to use clips and stands with tick marks on them, but am switching all my altitude-level games to use this product. The required time necessary to drill a hole for a pin
and a set screw were the exact same. I even re-drilled and set-screwed a couple of aircraft that I already had pinned (and painted) and it took me no time at all to do it.
I would give them a 5 for this product, but for the lack of bright colored bands indicating the altitude level (my eyes are going). A VERY solid 4.5! Note: The numbers on the bases are something added.
I have just found out that these stands are hand made by Trent over at warbirdsinminiature.com, forget my complaint about the altitude bands!!!