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Old 01-31-2021, 09:54 AM
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Lrjanzen Lrjanzen is offline
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How did you get started in paper models?

Reading the forum this AM and noticed that I have been doing this for 10 years on and off! I started thinking and remembering how I got started down this path. THought I would start a thread so others could share how they discovered this hobby.

Mine was very specific. I was at the Sackler Gallery in DC. In the gift store they had an origami kit. My wife bought it for me since she knew I liked to do things with my hands to keep busy. Really enjoyed it (still do). One day I was on line looking for designs and ran across the Canon paper model site. I saw the Japanese castles. Thought it would be fun since they are free and love Japanese things. Never looked back. I still build the Canon castles from time to time. Ended up doing mostly architecture and planes. I like my building models complex and my planes simple. My issue with the buildings is the size. I am still trying to figure out where to put my l'Instant Durable Mont St. Michel before I start building it.
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Old 01-31-2021, 10:08 AM
SteveB SteveB is offline
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When I was a kid, back in the 60s, my dad gave me a copy of 'Cardboard Engineering' by G.H.Deason. It was a great book - full of ideas and was a real inspiration. The first thing I remember building was a model of an Austin 7 during one of the school holidays. Been 'tinkering' on and off ever since. Things have come a long way since then :o) Great idea for a thread btw.
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Old 01-31-2021, 10:39 AM
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Decades ago I was going through a closet and found a D&D game box. It still had the set of dice and I thought it would be neat to have a large version of them. So I started looking on the web for some polyhedra nets to make a set. Not only did I find the nets needed, but I also found a world of paper models. The search also led me to various paper model forums and then finally to this place.
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Old 01-31-2021, 11:03 AM
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I started off with traditional paper airplanes (the ones folded from a single sheet of paper). Then one day in 1997 while looking for ideas for more complex paper planes, I came across something called "penny flyers". These were simplified propeller planes that you glued a penny to the nose to aid in flight. After that, I came across Paper Air Force and their software, then found PMI's catalog. That introduced me to Fiddlersgreen and Nobi's models, and it snowballed from there.

I got into designing because I really wanted a model of a Colonial Viper from Battlestar Galactica, and couldn't find one. So I made my own.
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Old 01-31-2021, 11:45 AM
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Like many of the older folks on this forum, my introduction to modeling started with the "Wheaties" Tru-Flite models that came in the mail after sending in box tops and a quarter. The originals were printed in the 40's and came back in the 60's with the slogan "Remember how ell they flew?". I found the Alan Rose Saturn V in the 80's in San Antonio, and then began colleting a few of Chip Fynn's postcards. Once the internet made digital versions of those models available, I started building lots of them. I did design one model along the way, a Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior. I think that it might still be on dislplay at the Albuquerque Sunport as only one of two paper models in that vast collection.

Curt
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Old 01-31-2021, 12:21 PM
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My favorite cereal was the one with the best toy inside, preferably with something to cut out of the box. Later on, as I was working on my model railway, I did some cardstock terrain that I bought in a book.


Later on in life, I did a lot of Vacation Bible School and Elementary School decorations, only one church had this organ that couldn't be moved. I would have to build something out of cardboard to cover it. One year was a New York theme and I thought 'Taxi'. When I was looking up images, I found a paper model that I printed on overhead projector film and used the overhead to put the design on corrugated cardboard. Then I found all this other stuff.
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Old 01-31-2021, 12:34 PM
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I play and design military and naval history boardgames. Then I got into (naval) miniatures at a game convention in Seattle, but the 1:4800 to 1:2400 scales were too small to appreciate the models.

Unlike American model manufacturers, the Japanee had the marketing smarts to see the potential in 1:700 waterline models. However, with the exception of Allied battleships and carriers, they didn't get into our cruisers and destroyers. (China's Trumpeter is now doing that.) (Britain's Matchbox did do our Fletchers and the German 5.9" gun classes, but ...)

So I decided to take matters into my own hands and design the U.S. Sims class, British L&M and L/AA classes, and Italian Soldati class destroyers, as well as Australian Sydney/Perth/Hobart and Dutch Tromp - all manually designed with French curves, etc. Then my 13 year old son taught me ModelCAD.

You can see photos of my early models (with some plans) on Lou Coatney: Home Page and I have more, colorized on CoatneyHistory - look down the index page.
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Old 01-31-2021, 12:45 PM
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Butelczynski Butelczynski is offline
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Sometime around early 80s I got into plastic models but smell of paints,glues and thinners was too much for 2 bedroom apartment and 4 people sharing it so I tried paper models from (of course) Maly Modelarz.

I'm not sure which one was first but among "firsts" were Yak-23,J2M Raiden and La-7.Later on was Su-76 SPG,Mc-200 Saetta,P-39 Airacobra and a whole lot of others.I did some plastic off and on and still have a bunch of them stashed away for retirement although I think digital paper models will take their place.
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Old 01-31-2021, 12:57 PM
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I was a longtime plastic modeler of aircraft and space subjects. Around 2009, I saw what master card modeler David Banners was doing with card models of space vehicles. I was hooked.

And I discovered there was a galaxy of space card models of subjects not available in styrene. Since then, I've built several dozen spacecraft, launch vehicles and research aircraft!

Les (The Voice of Authority)
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Old 01-31-2021, 02:24 PM
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mbauer mbauer is offline
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Fidlersgreen

+1 Question:

I used to have a subscription to Air & Space magazine from the Smithsonian. One day was reading from front to back like I always did. One of the articles was a half page write up about a place called Fidlersgreen with a url to visit.

I visited without finishing the mag like normal. Then I found you could download a model to build. WHAT? download and build a model of a F22?

Well after money well spent, printed and had it together in about 2-hours. I was hooked.

Bought the aircraft CD about 20-minutes into the first build, decided to put the model aside and get one ordered to get it here fast.

Could not find a F104 or the SR71 Blackbird on there at the time.

I contacted Chip about designing after reading his site about how to design a model, the extra's he had on their about other things to make them from.

His reply, really wasn't expecting a direct reply from Chip, figured it would be someone else, happened in about 20-minutes. That really got my attention about what kind of site he ran.

His reply said, " Mike the F104 Starfighter and SR71 Blackbird will be incredibly hard to design, you should try something easier for a first design."!

Just before I sat down to start designing, found some three views of both, my mind produced a vision of a jet power idea.

I contacted Chip about using one of his designs, F22, to use for my idea. Wanted to re-paint it too. Once again his reply was in about 5-minutes, "Sure go ahead and please share photos".

I enlarged his F22 model and re-painted using AutoCAD which I had just graduated from a two year Assoc. degree course, UAA, using AutoCAD14 and last semester using AutoCAD 2000.

My jet power idea: use a length of surgical tubing to create a high-powered balloon. "Jet" Power Compressed Air Bladder

At first these jet power models used a plastic bead, surgical tubing, and superglue to make. Glue one end shut with the super glue to seal it airtight, then glue the plastic jewelry bead in the opposite end.

How they were pressured up? At first used a can of keyboard "duster" air and the plastic straw would fit perfect in the bead.

Well the issue with superglue was the glue would glue un-even to the rubber, once full part of the balloon would cause stress if any of the glue traveled inside the balloon: KA-BLOOEY! Paper feathers would float down, the feathers were what was left of the model.

Eventually learned to use standard rubber bands to seal the ends with.

I enlarged the F22, repainted to a US Air Force Thunderbird colors, installed the "jet power" and launched. It flew.

Next step I designed a delta wing model of my own design that used the SR71 plan-form without the engine nacelles. It was nice and long to fit a longer tube in.

Using a newly learned skill, how to plot airfoils, the model used a symmetrical NACA airfoil. It flew great! These were sold on eBay as jet powered paper airplanes for a while until the F104 and SR71 were done[next part of design process]

The next design was my F104 model that I still make occasionally.

Then I started on a Friday night after work, no sleep Friday/Saturday nights, and by Sunday I had the first version of my SR71 Habu (Blackbird) up and flying. Monday was a challenge at work....

In the download section here at PM you can find it: Military/Cold War, very first item added, or in other words go to the very last page of the cold war downloads, scroll to the very last page, it is the model at the very bottom, the instructions are also there, but a separate download.

SR71 Habu: http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/v...&downloadid=71
SR71 Instructions: http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/v...&downloadid=72

I'm going to update the SR71 Habu download soon. I have some changes that make it stronger and eaiser to make the nacaelles. Added bonus: will add the Detachment 1 RIP graphic, found this in Paul Crickmore's book, Lockheed SR-71 The Secret Missions Exposed. Dick Cheney is the one who is quoted in the book, basically said he was having a hard time getting it out of inventory, finally got his way in 1990 to cancel the program. What an idiot!
How did you get started in paper models?-sr71-rip-det-1.jpg


The magazine? Finished it the next week after building 8-of the F22 models while waiting for my CD.

Thank you Chip!!!!!!

Mike

Last edited by mbauer; 01-31-2021 at 03:07 PM. Reason: eBay-added links to downloads
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