Transformers Unicron Short Display Base Stand

thingiverse

The Transformers Armada Unicron toy was designed to sit horizontally on a table, but struggles to stand upright on its own vertically. I created this custom stand to enable it to display in a vertical profile. This is the second stand I designed, with the first stand requiring a steel rod to support the figure at a higher profile. All components of this stand can be printed without any additional materials needed. The stand will securely hold Unicron just above the surface of the display base. The arms are engineered to intersect the holder at its balance point, ensuring it won't lean forward or backward while being displayed. The attached images showcase a print with a .2mm layer height. To achieve a smoother layer transition around the ring in the base, consider printing at a .15 or .1 layer height instead. I printed this stand with 15% infill, but increasing the infill will also increase the rigidity of the arms and the holder that Unicron rests on. The holder must be printed using support material. Printing the holder in the provided orientation will leave the less smooth side with the supports hidden on top, where the figure rests. You can also rotate the holder 90 degrees onto its side, where the support will only appear along one edge. This makes the support look clean on both top and bottom, but takes twice as long to print. For long-term display, I recommend gluing the arms into the base and holder before using it. The slots for the arms are designed to tightly fit the base and holder, but they could loosen over time without being glued together. I printed the stand pictured in PLA Plus. PLA/PLA Plus is the recommended material for the rigidity it gives to the holder, where most of the figure's weight is balanced. PETG might work, but would also have slightly more flexibility.