Steve Brown's Card Models

FAQ
I got into card models when I found some airplane kits in a local hobby shop. I was looking for a project to take with me on a trip and the paper models appealed to me because both the kits and the necessary tools could be packed in a small case. I subsequently found that a lot more than just aircraft were available, and I got really interested when I found that there were a lot of kits available of ships. Since then I've gotten several ship kits and I find the medium of paper models to be a nice change from the R/C models (which tend to take a long time to finish.)

Click on the thumbnail sketches for full size pictures.

My current card modelling project is the Wilmshaven kit of the Oceanic ocean-going salvage tug.
The ship is shown here with just the framing completed.
Here the ship is shown with the decking and hull planking installed. The superstructure is beginning to take shape.
Here is a close-up view of some of the detail parts for the Oceanic.
The kit for the Oceanic/Arctic includes diagram instructions which are pretty clear, but there are a few supplemental notes in German which I have translated.

A Lockheed P38 from the Paper Models International kit is the most challenging aircraft model I've done so far.

U-995, from the not entirely accurate Wilhelmshaven kit, is the first ship that I've done in paper. It's not all paper--I got frustrated at trying to roll paper into tubes less than 1mm in diameter, so I scratchbuilt the deck guns, periscopes, and antennas from wood and brass. The bollards are also not paper.

A Spitfire and a Mustang from Flying Paper Scale that I found in a local hobby shop inspired my current interest in paper models. The models are die-cut and go together very quickly, which makes them very suitable projects for when two young nephews are looking over your shoulder. Fit of the die-cut parts is less than perfect, however.

During the holidays I built Dover's Old-Fashioned Train for my five year old nephew. The kit builds a locomotive, tender, four cars, and a caboose, plus a station house, a water tower, and a couple of baggage carts. Although it's not ultra-detailed, the kit goes together quickly and it easily passes muster under the critical eye of a five year old. I was a little disappointed with the fit of the parts, especially on the locomotive. Also, Dover has a tendency to make single parts more complicated than necessary. For instance, they tend to print the sides and ends of a cylinder as a single part, which complicates the task of adjusting the fit of the parts.

My sister's other kids were a little miffed that I'd built a whole train for their little brother, so I also started Dover's Irish village set for their HO scale layout. I completed the cottage and one of the shops before I left them. I subsequently completed the rest of the set, comprising a castle, a hotel, and more shops.

My first effort in card modelling was Shakespeare's house and the Globe theatre, souvenirs of a childhood trip to Stratford-on-Avon. I had long since forgotten about these when I started my more recent efforts, but was reminded when Shakespeare's house turned up in my parent's basement, having survived more than 20 years. I've no idea what happened the the Globe theatre (or the kit for Anne Hathaway's house, which never got built.)

cardfaq@bellsouth.net | Steve Brown |