Does anyone model buildings with paper?

[Birds]

One of the threads the other day about Halloween had a link to a website. That website has a picture of the Haunted House at Walt Disney World modeled in paper. The detail was amazing.

Does anyone model their layout using paper models?

I recall that paper toys, including trains and buildings, were sold during the depression era. I currently don't have any buildings so I am starting with a blank slate in terms of the look and feel of my layout. Paper models might be an interesting way to help capture the look and feel of a classic layout.

I did some poking about the internet with Google and and found that paper modeling has come a long way with the use of color injet and laser printers, photo papers, scanners, digital cameras, etc. The average person can create some very high quality models, with some amazing texture and shading, at home with items already on hand.

Here are some examples:
http://home.hetnet.nl/~puttycat/paperbuildings/download.htm

This site shows examples of buildings with textures:
http://clevermodels.com/structurepics/main.html (You have to purchase these templates, but they come in "O" scale.)

Here are some examples of quality of textures that are possible:
http://clevermodels.com/textures.html

I designed and built a prototype of a water tower using regular laser printer paper. The paper is thin so parts of the model don't have the rigidity that would be provided by photo paper, or putting the pieces on thin card board. But as a proof of concept it works. There was a bit of trial and error to get things worked out, but I think this has some promise.

Enjoy,
Birds

[Dave Farquhar]

I don't think it's common yet, but I think it could become more so. My niece LOVES to make paper buildings, so it would be a good way to involve kids in the hobby. I have a couple of simple paper buildings on my layout that I designed and made myself. It's a lot of fun, but can be time consuming. Still, it's satisfying to have things on your layout that sprung from your own mind.

And building other people's paper models is fun too.

[Anonymous]

Even if you don't use paper buildings for permanent models they are great for temporary layouts or as placeholders for plastic, metal or other types of buildings. Best to print them on cardstock to give them strength.

[darianj]

I've never seen or heard of this, but i think I'm going to try out 1 or 2.

[jefelectric]

For Inkjet use I bought some paper call 'Inkjet imaging & Photo Paper" made by Union Camp and sold under the tradename of Great White. It is much more reasonable in price than Photo paper sold by Kodak and HP. It is 37 Lb stock. I have not used it for buildings but for signs and building interiors. It is also a matte finish rather than glossy.

Since I bought a laser pinter I have also used a paper by HP called 'soft gloss presentation laser paper' it is32 lb stock, comes in a box of 200 sheets and I think I paid less then 20.00 for it. It also works great and I see no reason it would not work in an inkjet.

[thor]

I do almost all of my structures with paper, its very satisfying and they look good especially if you use watercolors, which give a weathered appearance. I design them on the computer using an ancient paint program (DeLuxe Paint 2 Enhanced) and I print them on thin card stock. It depends on your printers paper path but you can run quite thick water color papers thru some printers. Usually when the print is done I spray the backside with matt white enamel to stiffen it up some more and stop it wrinkling from water colors. Given enough patience there's not much you can't make with paper and the price is right. To my eyes paper models look better than plastic.

[cnw1995]

You don't even need to go this high-tech - I sketched things out on light cardstock, cut out the parts, shaded them with colored pencils and artist's pastels, and glued and taped things together - built all sorts of things when I was in N scale. I have a huge collection of shirt cardboard and the like - haven't started anything in O yet - I'm thinking of a three stall trolley barn... Back in 2002, MR featured a layout containing largely cardstock and paper buildings. I'll have to look up the month.

[BNSFNUT]

Back in the my early days in HO (late 50's early 60's) I made some buildings out of paper and shirt cardboard to save money. I also seem to remember so comercial kits made with paper and card stock but can't remember who made them.

[DSchmitt]

I built an NTRAK Module of a western town next to a dry lake. All the buildings were paper by Fiddlers Green. http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/ The Western Town buildings are carictures, not detailed models, but very effective in a group.

One modeler built a paper mock-up of a Southern Pacific standard 2-story station he was planning to scratc build from wood and other materials . He donated it to a NTRAK club. It looked so good that it was used on an NTRAK module for many years.

I have bought a lot of HO and O paper building kits and scanned them. I plan to print them in N scale for use in a future project.

I have also some Paper Creek N scale building, I haven's started yet.
http://www.papercreek.com/main.html

The Clever Brothers Models, that Bird linked to, look very nice. I have been considering buying some of their O scale for my proposed O scale switching layout.

Another source of paper buildings (as well as ships, planes, etc) is Paper Models International http://www.papermodels.net/ Most are not up to the quality of Paper Creek or Clever, but some may be useful and there are some very nice ones from England.

[Anonymous]

I haven't finished anything for the layout, yet. But on rainy/snowy days my son and I will often make paper trains for fun.

I've started a project making a replica 121 station for my SG layout by injetting the design on paper and glueing the paper to foamcore. I've seen some fantastic architectural models done that way. You need a sharp x-acto knife and a steel rule to cut the foamcore cleanly with the paper on it. One can create some great textures using actual photos and image manipulation software. The foamcore panels are attached using packing tape on the inside of the building.

Old 2037

[cbq9911a]

I've built a lot of HO scale buildings using Microsoft Word to create images. It's good for buildings with elaborate surface detail, especially since I can't get plastic brick sheet any more.

[BobbyDing]

Since I've just started a new layout and funds are tight, I'll be using paper models for a bit. Then I'll slowly update the structures as needed. Actually a lot of these paper model sheets make excellent templates for creating the structures with better materials. At least I'll have a go at it!

Thanks guys, great links.

Bobby

[Jumijo]

So far, no paper models, but I do use paper a lot to detail other models. My daughter and I built a station out of a 1x3" and used images created in Adobe Illustrator for the windows and doors. It looks great. Also used paper with a brick pattern on it for the sides of the platform.

Jim

[dsmith]

Here are 10 hsitoric buildings that can be constructed from cardstock and they are free to download.  They are HO scale but if you know how to enlarge the files on your computer, you can double the size and print them in O scale.  I haven't tried them yet, but the downloads look very interesting and they say there are more models to come in the future.

http://www.illinoishistory.gov/ps/construct_mainstreet.htm

 

[jefelectric]

David, Looks like you found a two year old thread.  BTW there is now a computer program available called Model Builder Software that does a great job designing paper buildings.  One of the part timers at a LHS has done some nice work with it.  I picked up a copy and loaded it on my computer, but haven't found time to really give it a try.

[Northwoods Flyer]

Back in the 1950's the magazine Toy Trains regularly published buildings that you could cut out and assemble to use on your layout. They were usually on the back cover, but if I remember correctly there were some published inside.  I have almost a complete run of the magazine and I am looking for the rest.  I would never cut up the originals but a digital library of all of the issues has been put out and you can print the cutouts.

Greg

[dbaker48]

John,

Typically a laser paper will not provide a very good image from an inkjet paper.  The paper needs coatings to accomodate the ink as oppossed to dry toner.  You will not harm an inkjet printer with laser paper, but you CAN DAMAGE A LASER PRINTER WITH INKJET PAPER !

The finish coatings on inkjet paper (particularly gloss finishes) are not designed to withstand the heat generated by the fuser assembly in the laser.  It could result in chemical coatings adhering to the fuser, resulting in a very expensive repair.

Greg - Do you have any idea who may have those images available on DVD ?  I've been trying to find them.  We are starting a Kids Club at our club and thought they would be good craft projects.

Thanks for any help. 

 

 

[Northwoods Flyer]

Don,

I bought mine on eBay, but they are marketed through Hybrid Systems Ltd.  Here is the link hslinc.com.

Toy Trains was originally published by Carstens Publications.  Reading through the old articles and looking at the old pictures has been great fun, and I don't have to worry about damaging my paper copies.

Greg

[Jumijo]

Greg - Do you have any idea who may have those images available on DVD ?  I've been trying to find them.  We are starting a Kids Club at our club and thought they would be good craft projects.

Thanks for any help. 

 

Don,

I seem to remember Thor's site having a link to a site with many paper building sets. And they might have been free!  They were the sort of colorful stuff that kids would enjoy making.

Yeah, they are still there. Just checked. Go almost all the way down his home page and you will see a list of links to free cardstock building kits. See link below:

Free Paper Kits 

Jim 

[trainbrain]

The 3 buildings here( Brown's Drugs, Larson's & the Apartment Building) are all made from cardstock kits. I think I got them at a train show about twelve years ago and I think the name of the dealer was Pioneer Valley Models. Not sure if he's still around.

[chuck]

You can use foam core to make the basic structurs and then sheath these in printed paper (I like ink jet photo material) or in Pastruct/Evergreen plastic sheets.  You can also use a scanner to scan in material that can be adjusted color wise or size.

[lionelsoni]

If scale is important to you, simply doubling HO pictures will make the buildings too big for American O, since HO, which stands for "half O", is actually half of the British 7-millimeter O scale.  Blowing the pictures up to 181 percent will get the American scale about right.  However, those running traditional equipment might consider a slightly smaller size, around 160 percent, which approximates the 1/55 scale often estimated for O27.

S-scalers should blow up HO to 136 percent.

[Buckeye Riveter]

My architect friends build, or used to build models all the time using foam board. 

[dadurling]

Here's a sample of the Halls building from the Illinois Main Street website that I did using foamcore. I printed the pdf out at 175% (slightly smaller than true O-scale).

 

 

[BobbyDing]

Appologies if these links have already been posted. Here are the Haunted Mansion Paper Models.

http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/

Follow the link for PAPER MODEL PURGATORY (been waiting for his Phantom Manor due soon)

Also:

http://www.disneyexperience.com/news.php

They sell Disney Paper Models on CD, as well as rotate some free ones every month or two.

Bobby

 

[Jumijo]

Those Main Street Illinois buildings are great! And some of them can be used as false fronts against backdrops as well as their intended 3 dimensional use.

Jim 

[cnw1995]

They sure are interesting. There's even one that's still extant in the downtown of Crystal Lake.

[dsmith]

Here is a scratch built building that I have just finished.  I used foam core with brick paper (printed from my inkjet) glued to it.  The raised brick corners of the building are made from separate foam core pieces, then covered with brick paper and attached to the building.  The corrugated door is made from a starbucks hot coffee holder and painted silver.  The windows are thin white paper with black inkmarker bars and glued to the inside.  The window sills, headers and roofline accents are made from strips of wood.  The base is made of plywood and painted concrete color.  I still want to add a sign and floodlight over the door.  The building has an usual non symetric shape so that it will just fit in the small space between my inner and outer 027 loops.  It actually sits on top of (and hides) one of the remote switches.  I designed it somewhat larger than O scale so that it would fit in with the operating crossing guard and postwar crossing gate that are nearby.  You can click on the images for a larger view.

[gwg50]

dsmith

I like the building, nice job.

[tomkat-13]

Here are some paper buildings.

http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/190349.aspx