The LION grinds them up on a table saw. (Be sure to use goggles and a respirator)
They make fine paper mache.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I've been using mine to anchor thin foam roadbed to the plywood subgrade while the latex caulk cured. Never thought of all the other uses you mentioned...
Chhuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I was looking around for some newspapers to spread out to protect an area I was working on and I could not find any.
Being at a loss I grabbed an old phone book and started tearing out pages. Wow! The pages are just the right size to cover an area without folding or tearing sheets of newsprint. You can tear out two or three pages at a time for greater protection.
About the same time I needed something to use for an underfill for some low hills. I have used wadded up newspapers before but instead I grabbed some phone book pages; and again they were just the right size for wadding.
What I have found:
Use the yellow pages for protective coverings. They seem a little more moisture resistant.
Use white pages for landforms. Dampen slightly and they stay cumpled and in place until you get the plaster over them.
The white pages also seem to have more strength than newsprint or regular paper towels when wet. They may make a good source of paper for plaster soaked scenery material but I have not actually tried this.
For what its worth...-John