1/300 737-300 with custom display case

[ReynoldsSlumber]

A friend is a die-hard Simpsons fan, so when I ran across the 737-300 Western Pacific Airlines model in Simpsons livery in 1/300 scale, by Scissors & Planes/Bruno Vanhecke/Gerry Airliners/Serg3t, I had to make it for him.

Also my friend is not someone who makes or collects models, so in order to have it be something that he could stick on a shelf and not have to fuss over, I built a little display case for it out of a plastic transparency sheet, cardboard, cardstock for the pedestal, and 1/4" wide washi tape. Anyone else do similar display cases? What other methods have you seen?

Looking ahead to doing more with papercraft airplanes, has anyone had any luck with converting them to be flyable as paper gliders? I'm thinking that making the wings flat with a slight camber for a better low-Reynolds number airfoil, plus adding wing carry-through across the middle for structure, along with balancing with nose weight might be the sum total of what it takes. And using a scale bigger than 1/300! I guess my sweet spot would be a combination of Ojimak-level flyability and Scissors & Planes-level accuracy and detail.

Meanwhile, if for health reasons one is severely limited in what kinds of glues one can use, does anyone have any recommendations on glues without fumes or on other methods for sticking two layers of paper together without it becoming a rippled mess? Health-wise, water-based PVA glues and aliphatic resin are OK, but even an Elmer's school glue stick (which uses glycol, according to the MSDS?) is out of the question. If nothing else, might have to resort to thin 3M VHB double-sided adhesive or the like. It would probably add a lot of weight when it comes to trying to make gliders though.

[Siwi]

Well done on a nice build and a professional-looking case.


In terms of glue, in my experience using thicker paper makes a big difference to avoiding warping. 160gsm does very well, and 120gsm reasonably well, and I use white PVA rather than clear which seems to be slightly thicker and thus less prone to soaking into the paper.


A flying model would very likely require some strengthening both internally and on the skin to withstand handling and landings.

[Rata]

Well done on this model and display case.

I've always used PVA but found don't waste time on cheap 'craft' ones. The professional builder's PVA from hardware outlets always gives by far the best results.

[ReynoldsSlumber]

Thanks Siwi! Good call on thicker paper. Maybe to keep it light I could try a thick upper wing layer and a thinner lower wing layer. Either that or figure out how to print double-sided on thicker paper with perfect alignment between the sides...
Indeed on the strengthening, as I recently discovered on an Ojimak flyable Concorde model. Too good of a flight that made a direct hit into the far wall of the room caused the conical area just behind the cockpit to collapse inward telescopically.
Fortunately reinforcement up front can do double-duty as nose weight. The trouble with building a new model and altering it with reinforcement is I don't know precisely where the CG should be in advance. Would be nice to not have to build a second model every time.

[ReynoldsSlumber]

Thanks Rata! I just found an old tips and tricks thread of yours and got a lot out of it.
Good that you've explored different PVA glues. So far I've tried what's called Aleene's Tacky Glue here in the USA, which is a lot thicker than typical Elmer's white school glue but maybe still too watery. I might give Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue and/or Titebond Quick & Thick Multi-Surface Glue a try.