Why only paper? Enlighten me.

[abhovi]

And paper is incredibly fast building. It takes about a tenth of the time compared to making a wooden boat.
But indeed, I do feel soort of guilty when I apply filler on an underwater hull.

[Kugelfang]

I like the simplicity of paper modeling. Not necessarily simple techniques or simple models, but simple materials and simple tools which are available to almost everyone. You don't need a great deal of space let alone an entire workshop. No real dependence on anybody else. No substantial monetary investment required. The bar for entry is set really low and I think that encourages modelers to expand their horizons and build things that they wouldn't normally build. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to make paper hold a shape that is foreign to it. Finally, I enjoy making kits that others can build if they share an interest in the rather obscure things that interest me.

--jeff

[Don Boose]

I have enjoyed reading the thoughtful mini-essays that Forum members have posted, explaining why they like working with paper.

In my view, and it seems to be a view widely held, you can build your model out of any material that you choose. This is a forum for people who like to work with paper, but some models contain non-paper materials. There is even a place for non-paper models in the "Other things we make and do," since most of us enjoy seeing models of any kind. But since it is a Paper Modelers' Forum, we expect the models to be made mostly of paper and, when some parts (other than the typical wire or wooden axles and prop spinners, thread rigging, clear plastic canopies/windows, and the like) are not paper, I expect the builder to point our which parts are made of other materials ("I carved the spinner out of basswood and painted it," "I made the fenders out of thermo-formed plastic"), primarily so that we can appreciate the overall artisanship and the make-up of the model.

In contests, it is up to the contest directors to specify what constitutes a "paper model."

Don

[JohnM]

Originally Posted by darter

Card does not do compound curves except in the hands of a few experts.

Umm? I'm 73 now, but I'm pretty sure I "Discovered" papier-mâché some time before I started school, and long before plastic models entered my scene. It's such a simple technique, but so rarely used by members here.

[airdave]

Plastic Model...I tend to think plastic.
Balsa Wood Model...I think about Balsa.
Paper Model...no brainer.

If it says its a paper model, it should be a "paper" model.

If it is just a "scale" model, then I don't care what you throw in there.

I'll tolerate a small percentage of other product to get the job done.
Ink from the printer...a bit of touch up colour...
plastic for windows...dowels and wire for axles and support...

and glue.

But I draw the line when it comes to putty/filler.

I'm not even a big fan of laser cut frames, but at least they are wood or card
and cutting formers is tough for some with physical limits.

I agree with Don...and I always admit where I have used wire or toothpicks and other materials.

[herky]

I dont consider myself a purist or a rivet counter but i get a great deal of satisfaction out of showing a model and explaining it started as sheets of paper or a book.My rule to myself is simple no wooden or plastic parts in view.So far the only time i have added non paper parts is as you mention dowels/wire or toothpicks for internal supports as in supports for axles and prop blades.its just my personal view but anyone could for example give up on building drop tanks but they were too difficult and fit plastic ones.I have even resisted the urge to put wooden wheels on your hercs.but as i said each to their own.there are two areas i am weakening in and will mayby make an exception in and that is ships railings and aircraft canopies.I have never used laser cut parts but that is purely to save shipping costs on these,
As i already said to me its the sense pf acheivement of being able to present the model as built purely from flat sheets of paper that does it for me

[airdave]

If you bought an Oven from the Shop, and got a Toaster, you'd be angry.
If you bought a Plastic Model, opened the box, and found a Paper kit, you'd be angry.

Call it what it is.
Present it as what you call it.

If its called a "paper model" then...

[Kevin WS]

Johnny - paper-mache! So right you are...and why don't people use it more?

Tissue/toilet paper makes quick work of complex compound curves and can easy be smoothed with hyper fine sand paper. Good if someone if going to paint their model - though for me one of the main attractions of paper modelling is no painting!!

--------------------------

In terms of the modelling debate my views correspond with Herky.

The only non paper additions to my models is the odd bit of wood, and this doesn't worry me - paper and wood are the same thing really! I used to make tiny detail parts by laminating card and carving the result with a Dremel! Could have done same with a bit of wood!

[THE DC]

I respect people creating magnificent work from only paper andI even understand the challenge of attempting robust results with a single medium.

That said, if a base paper kit can be enhanced with other mediums, or if a combination of mediums produces some exceptional models, I can't see how beauty and creativity should be shunned or criticized out of some "purist" notions.

Even paper models can have varied types of paper' thicknesses, texture, foiled, etc.

If you can do something exceptional, and share those added materials with a paper model, I will eagerly learn from your multi-media creativity.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Reasons I like to use paper for model making:

• It is cheap
• there are much more models in paper than there are in plastic
• most of them are better designed, more detailed and more specific than the available models in plastic - because they're a labour of love - and lots of them are free! (Thank you, all you generous designers!)
• you don't have to use chemical glues, paint thinners and you don't need ventilation when making a paper model - and it doesn't stink
• the amount of subjects available is extremely large
• when you mess up a part, you can just print out a new sheet without having to buy a new kit or wait for ages on the missing part being sent by the manufacturer
• you can rescale a model in a wink to your desired measurements
• the amazement of people when realising your model is (mainly) made out of paper
• a 3D model obtained out of a flat sheet of paper is more impressive to me than a bunch of pre-shaped plastic parts you just glue together
• it is fun.

I don't care whether people add other materials to their models. What counts is the end result. There of course are shortcomings of the material. But even a petalled nose cone of a jet plane can look awesome to people who are amazed that a model is made of paper. Besides, to me, I like my models to still look like a paper model.