Check out the design of Thornes - www.thorne.co.uk.  Basically it is a wooden
4 frame nuc with a 5th frame raised above a piece of QE between sheets of
glass.  The beauty of it is that it is stable and portable and with 5 frames,
most of which are placed as in a hive, is more viable than a conventional
observation hive.  When wanting to show off the bit everyone wants to see;
the queen and immediate surroundings, simply take the frame she is on and put
it in the observation part, transferring the frame of stores or whatever down
below.

David Eyre is the stockist for Thornes on your side of the big water.

Chris Slade