Card thicknesses

[airdave]

I'm guessing that you have chosen to build a very advanced model without the necessary experience (as relates to building printed paper kits).
Understanding the printing, card and paper types, and how to deal with formers
is fairly basic stuff with any paper model.

Printed models are printed on the necessary or intended paper and cardstock materials.
Formers are always much thicker and cannot be supplied that way (in the book)
so you are always expected to laminate to heavier card.
The final thicknesses of parts like ribs and keel will be mentioned in the instructions contained in the book.

[10zygote01]

Airdave. I appreciate I have chosen a very advanced model but I believe that my 60+ years of modelling experience will ultimately be of some use. Not only that, I will be making the Slipway HMS Mercury first and scanning and printing parts to allow me to 'duumy run', before assembling the final items. Thank you for the reply.

[David Hathaway]

Just to re-iterate and slightly clarify: HMV kits are supplied printed on the card they are supposed to be built in. This goes for base, formers and decks - and all other parts. It may seem thin but once glued together it is perfectly rigid enough. The only exception is where clearly stated in the line codes some parts may need gluing to card of the same thickness (spare card from the kit is fine for this).

My models (published as Paper Shipwright) are the same. A number of other publishers' models, typically from what was ex-communist east European countries, are designed to be glued to thick card for decks, spine, formers, etc. and this is clearly stated in the documentation.

My personal recommendation is not to use a water-based glue for gluing the main structure of "thin card" kits like HMV ones together as when it dries it tends to "pull" the card and you get slight kinks e.g. in the decks where the formers are. Use a solvent based glue and you should be fine.

David

[SCEtoAUX]

Try to get a digital caliper and measure the thickness of the pages in the printed model book. You can use the information in threads like this one
US/Metric Paper Conversions to see which weight of paper might be used. Always check, though, because some stock might indicate a weight in lbs or gsm that for some reason does not match with the thickness of other stock in the same weight category.

There are many other resources on the web that deal with paper weight and thickness.

[10zygote01]

To answer both Dave and SCEtoAUX. I intend to use 3M spray mount adhesive for large areas that are to be stuck and possibly Pliobond for smaller items. I Iuse a digital caliper for my wooden boat work.