Working with cardstock and paper


C

clevermod01

New Member
Ok, been lurking long enough. I wanted to start a place were folks can get their questions answered and maybe their answers questioned regarding using cardstock as a construction material. this is not intended as a place to highlight any one companies material but cardstock modeling in general.
In the spirit of transparency though I do want you to know that Iam the founder (not the owner) of Clever models www.clevermodel.net

This weekend is Trainfest in Milwaukee. i want to point you to the Gypsy trolley by John Kosma. John uses and has used paper in his layout from its beginning, long before I met him. His layout consistently gets best of show awards. If you are going to trainfest you should stop by for a good look.

Ok the ball is rolling.

Thom
 
Paper and Card models

Glad to see other card modelers on the site. I have enjoyed card for about 2 years. Started with a cereal box grain elevator, then a peanut can water tower with hand cut manila folder shingles, then onto downloaded items from the internet. I have to stop being cheap :eek: and start paying for some of the really nice ones from disks. Almost like another hobby that fits right in with railroading.

Armchair, aka Glen Wasson from Yuma, AZ. :)
 
Question, my layout area is in the basement. It's not heated most of the time, in the summer & fall it requires a dehumidifier. So my question is how would this humidity affect cardstock models?
Cheers
Willis
 
Thom - Card stock (or paper) modeling I've dabbled in on and off for the last 30 years. I built a large Ford Tri-motor that hung over my older son's crib. A few years ago the two of us took a flight on the real thing. I've built quite a few of the Dover Books buildings and have used them with good success. Usually I would reinforce them with strip wood. I've seen your kits at my LHS and was impressed. I see you have other competitors doing the photo realistic models. I look forward to see what others are doing with card stock today.
 
I'll tackle the humidity question first. We have a layout that spends its time in an un -heated and un-airconditioned garage for several years. what we have noticed is that the buildings will breath a bit but always return to normal. thats going on 6 years. However we do spray the models with a good coat of dullcoat inside and out.
the kits are designed to not require bracing. there are card gussets and stiffeners inside again however adding additional reinforcement is a good idea. keep in mind that all of our kits use layers to give the walls dimension so they are usually quite stiff when completed. I think we will continue to see growth in card stock buildings. It's a great building material.
 
Thom - The model Tri-motor was in American Airways colors, the real thing was EAA's Eastern Airways. The model was complete to the toilet and sink. The radials with the push rods exposed were a real pain to build. After the one engine and gear fell off, I let the boys fly it around the yard until it was trash. Never took a picture of it.
 
This is mostly made of Illustration Board aka fancy-grade cardboard. Available at any art supply store.

Sharp new razors scribed the wood plank lines and the individual boards were painted. Some basswood for the rear of the front facade and the storage shed. The front turned posts were castings fron SS-Ltd. I wish I'd used 4X6 basswood stock instead for the posts.

The windows were cut from recipe cards - including the window muntins. The roof is layered paper.

I built this about 40 years ago and it still holds up in one piece - however it is a bit dry in So.Calif.
 
I'll second that, nice job!
If that's a Chineese restaurant I don't want to know why there's a cage in the back!
 
@ Charles Smiley

That model looks great, very inspiring.

@ clevermod01

I just visited your website, very nice models. I checked out some of your tutorials, I like them very much. Thank you



I am just getting into the model railroad hobby and while browsing through these forums and other forums I have been getting some great ideas for landscaping. I think this card stock idea is the way I am going to go at first, I dont have a lot of money to buy models and scratch building stick buildings would take a while, I think I will start off with card stock. See how it treats me.
 
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