YEah, use toggle bolts (nuts?)

I laid out scale timbers like ties on a railroad track; superglued them to the base. My 1/72 UBoat rests permanently on those timbers.

I don't know why they call them "toggle bolts", the bolt does not toggle, the nuts do. Anyway . . . .

Here's what they look like:





You'll need to drill appropriate sized holes in your wooden base first, to accomodate the bolt diameter, and countersink the underside of the board to accomodate the bolt heads.

Push the bolts thorough the holes (obviously w/o the toggle nuts), and tape over the heads to keep them in place.

Place the board on your work surface so the bolts are upright. Place the hull of the sub over the holes and mark appropriate locations for the holes in the hull with a permanent marker.

Use those marks and the 1/8" bit to get a pilot hole going. You'll need to wallow out the holes with an Exacto to accomodate the "toggle nuts".

Test fit the whole thing without the nuts on the bolts to see if the bolts will bang against the underside of the decks. If they do hit, spin the toggle nuts onto the bolts, making sure the wings fold in the proper direction.

Then trim as much of the bolt as possible above the nut.

Make sure the bolt is long enough to allow you to complpetely fold the wings of the toggle nuts.

Push the toggle nuts through the wallowed out holes into the hull. The wings will spread out (spring loaded). Pull the hull away from the base so that the wings are locked against the inside of the hull. Have a buddy remove the tape from the bottom of the board and gently tighten the screws until the hull is snug.

--Jon