War Dog Modeling is a new company that produces work stand for all types of models, including aircraft, ships, cars, and armor (the subject of this review).

What’s in the Box

The stand arrives in a corrugated cardboard box containing the major parts and a small bag with the metal hex-bolts and plastic wing nuts, all protected by brown paper packaging. The wing nuts and main components are 3-D printed in a sturdy resin, the stand base is 6.25 inches long and the grippers will open to 4.625 inches wide.

The Instructions

Don’t look for any instructions, but do not panic as it only takes a quick visit to the War Dog Models website to see how the stand is supposed to look. Construction is beyond intuitive and takes no time at all.

Usage

If you have ever wished you had a third hand to hold an armor model “just so” while attaching a small piece or a decal, well, those prayers have been answered. One of my local IPMS model club members created a work stand for handling his armor models. He knick-named it the Panzer Rack. Made of plywood and using rubber cabinet liner for the shelf that holds the model, it was a great idea and very handy for construction and decaling a model. This new stand from the start-up War Dog Modeling can be thought of as Panzer rack 2.0.

War Dog Modeling’s Armor Stand is simplicity itself. It arrives unassembled but takes only moments to assemble into a ready-to-use stand. Each piece fits snugly in its place, with runner guides and plastic wingnuts to keep each piece securely in place, no matter how they are positioned.

Once together, the sturdy metal bolts and hard plastic base, slide arms, and wing nuts allow for a wide variety of positionable combinations, even upside-down. The real key to the success of this stand is the use of numerous rubber “wheels” on the support arms that provide a sure grip. These help to keep the model from moving or sliding off the stand, even when the support arms are positioned to hold the model at something other than flat and level attitude. Because the center post is a ball joint, the holder can be placed in any conceivable position or angle.

The stand easily clamps armor models from the outside in scales from 1:72 to 1:35. So what if, with my declining eyesight, I have started working on 1:16 scale models? This turned out to be no problem at all. Simply clamp the arms inside the hull, and off you go. Another concern may be about the rubber “wheeled” clamp squishing road wheels on a model, and once again, there was no trouble. The wing nuts used for sliding clamps need to be only finger tight to secure a model avoiding excess pressure.

Conclusion

I can’t recommend this new modeling stand highly enough. This is a modeling stand designed with modeler input, providing the kind of capability that modelers have asked for. It is simple, efficient, and would be an asset on any modeling workbench and is Highly recommended. The ease of use, the infinite positions allowed and the stability of the stand, regardless of the models’ scale, all make this a truly indispensable item for your work bench.

My single negative comment about the stand is that one is not enough. You will want a clean one for construction and a second one for painting.

I would like to thank War Dog Modeling for providing this item for review, and IPMS/USA for giving me the opportunity to try it out.