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 Looking for cool stuff you can do with your printer? Here's something for the truly creative (and patient). Whip out one of these and you'll impress your friends -- but beware, this hobby can be addictive! It's called paper card modeling, or simply card modeling, and with this skill you can build anything you are inclined to!
What Is Card Modeling?
Card modeling is the art of creating scale models with coloured, cut and folded pieces of paper, usually a stiff cardstock (hence "card" modeling). You can find kits for many models with pre-printed pieces to be cut out and assembled. It's also possible to create one entirely from scratch.
Kits are available for many famous buildings, castles, aircraft and ships (both civil and military). There are also kits available in common model railroad scales, suitable to include in a railroad layout. Models range in size from small (cms) to huge (meters). Card modeling is also a close cousin to origami, the craft of folding paper.
Basic Process
It's very simple. Print cool models from your computer. Cut them out with scissors or a knife. Score, fold and bend paper into shape -- then glue!
So You'll Need...
The basic tools required are minimal. These things will get you started:
- PC
- PC Printer
- Quality Printing Paper
- Scissors/craft knife
- Craft glue
- Ruler
- Tweezers
- Toothpicks
Since colour and detail are already on the paper, you don't need to paint. Edges can be touched up with watercolour markers for professional looking results.
How It All Started
The art of paper modeling goes back as far as the Egyptians. The process has rapidly improved since then due in part to the availability of quality paper, improved ink chemistry and the development of modern lithography. All this happened in the 1800s. It was suddenly possible to mass-produce quality prints that could be folded into detailed models of castles, cathedrals, villages and more. The first company to officially produce card models was J.F. Schreiber, a German company, in 1831. You can still buy a card model from them today -- 170 years later!
The hobby was popular until around the 1920s and '30s. It was replaced for a while by plastic, but was revived during World War II when plastic was needed for the war effort.  Paper models of planes were printed on cereal boxes and also used to train observers to recognise both Allied and enemy aircraft. Paper was also light and readily available, so it was perfect for the soldier to carry with him, and finished models were given to children they encountered.
After the war, the preferred modeling medium shifted back to plastic. However, plastic kits were rare and expensive behind the Iron Curtain, so places like Poland and West Germany continued to build card models. During the 1980s, a modeler named Lou Dausse formed a company called Paper Models International (PMI) and is still in business today.
With the opportunity offered by the Internet, card modeling has made a strong comeback. Companies like PMI now let you download files directly from their Web site, or buy CDs with hundreds of different patterns. You can print your very own village, castle, eagle, fish, dragon, tank, train layout, aircraft or battleship on your home inkjet printer as many times as you want!
Cool Places to Find Models and More Information
Here are some sites to get you started:
Cost
Paper models are relatively inexpensive and range from the simplistic to the most incredibly detailed. You can also find FREE samples to download at most of the sites listed above.
Support Groups for the Truly Addicted!
There's a card modeling group of 200 members who are ready to answer any and all questions. For help, send e-mail to saulj@azstarnet.com.
There is also an air museum just for paper models! It's called the World's Smallest Air Museum (WSAM). Each model has a "print to percentage size" (1:60). All models are built to a common size for display purposes.
There's a whole world of paper modeling to tackle out there, so have fun!
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