Paper/Card Models

[jag193]

Anybody had a similar experience with paper/card models?

Just sent this note to Clever Brothers!



Dear Friends,

Just thought I would let you know that I have finished my experience with the Jefferson Ice House. Let me preface my comments by saying that I consider myself to be a relatively competent modeler, having scratch built structures in HO and O for the past 25 years, many under commission to other modelers, albeit with the traditional wood and plastic media. I was so incredibly impressed with the Paper Creek models (I've build several of each in HO and O) that I thought that I should try another card model manufacturer. So ... all things considered, perhaps I am still a bit of a novice when it comes to card models. At any rate, I ordered your Jefferson Ice House (in O), figuring, if nothing else, it would fit in nicely in the background of my town of Pajarito (On30, D&RGW). [Most of the other buildings are scratch built "adobe" structures but I recall seeing similar ice houses in New Mexico, as a kid]

The kit arrived in timely fashion with the requisite number of sheets of walls, roofs, foundations, etc., and a single 3/4 view of the real building. To my dismay, there were no instructions, no construction sequence. As you may recall, I contacted you about the availability of instructions and you very quickly responded to my message indicating that there were no instructions, other than what was printed on each card sheet ("cut out", fold forward, fold back) ... some sheets had dotted lines indicating fold lines, others did not (but obviously needed to be folded) and some sheets [the foundation for example] had mystifying indications on tabs (to be folded? don't know, there was no indication, but I assumed so) that said "front" and "back" - to what? The walls all say east, south, north, west on them! At any rate, I figured I would muddle along without instructions since you had suggested a reasonable sequence, build the foundation (front and back - who knows what that means), then the roof, then each wall and assemble the units together ... seemed like a reasonable approach. Fortunately, the Jefferson Ice House is the model of the month on your web site, so I could download views of all four sides ... that was a great help. I did manage to get the walls together and they are quite impressive! I think that I even managed to figure out the foundation and it's fit to the walls (although I still have no idea of what "front" and "back" are supposed to signify). Structurally, the building is very sound when applied to the foundation and it certainly loses a good portion of what might appear to be flimsy integrity. I even added, as you suggested, foam core to strengthen the internal structure. But, alas, the roof presents the real problem ... there are no "instructions" on the roof orientation, no indications of fold lines, no indications of how the roof caps fit (although I have a fairly good idea of that). So ... over the past 6 nights, I have cut, folded (in many different directions along many imagined fold lines), and attempted to fit the roof onto the building (which, I might add, looks exactly like the pictures) ... but with no success ... not even close! So ... after 6 incredibly frustrating evenings ... I concluded that I had three choices: (1) scratch the entire building project and move on to something more satisfying, (2) just scratch build a new roof, or (3) fini***he model off with a large rubber mallet. I will let you guess what I chose!

I have moved on to other projects and anxiously await Paper Creek's next structures with their incredibly easy and concise instructions. While I am sure that there are many more modelers who have had no problem with your structures, I guess that I will remain a novice. I have just completed a scratch built model of a standard D&RGW coaling tipple and, although it took about a month and a half, wood, cardstock, brass, and plastic will have to be my media for the time being.

If nothing else, I suggest that you invest the time to create some fairly straightforward assembly instructions to include with your kits (I can't, for the life of me, figure out how the structures could be built in HO or N without instructions!). I would certainly be willing to pay the extra expense to actually know how the thing does go together ... the printing is superb and with a little extra detail, I have know doubt these could be foreground models, but I sure couldn't figure out how the Jefferson Ice House was constructed.

[Anonymous]

Obviously you have realized the hardest part of any repetitive task, writing the manual explaining the steps to accompli***he task. Good technical writing is a rare skill which your supplier obviously does not have. A number of years ago I sold a home alarm controller which had a nationally recognised manual for the excellence of its construction, organization and completeness. It takes two to write a good manual, the technician who fully understands the product to explain and demonstrate the processes and a writer with the skills to completely and understandably express those tasks in an organized executable fashion.
I learned quickly to read computer manuals for two things first, one how to get it started, and two, how to stop or shut it down properly. Hopefully Clever Brothers will master some of the arts of communication, as I read your note, except for no support and instructions they seem to have a good quality product.
Will