Does anybody have any experience with kits you make using cardstock? Paper Creek Model Works is an example and I'm sure there are others too. I've seen some of their designs via their website and eBay and am intrigued. They look fantastic but I'm skeptical about the build quality... Seems that folding paper might not hold up when compared to foam core or basswood structures.

Anybody done one or seen one in person?

Remember alot of Frank Ellisons structures were made of cardstock and similar materials. Fred Dole from WSM products offers one of Mr. Ellison's classics for sale, Oblong Box Co. IMHO, there is too much plastic stuff today. It doesn't allow for the creativity of the earlier modellers. That said, there are some really nice, expensive kits available today. I just finished the DD Palace Hotel and it really came out nice.

I've been searching around myself for card stock structres for my layout and have come across many. In the beginning it was so the kids would have something inexpensive to consrtuct, but now I'm seriously considering them.
The only down side I've found is that they want to sell you pre printed cards. While this is OK, I prefer to purchase a PDF file that I can print out several times if need be. Since I'm a newbie I make many mistakes, and so need to reprint some parts. Also, my kids want to build whatever I'm building, so it's nice to print out one for them too in their scale (I have O, they have N).
This is the site that got me started on paper structures:
http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index301.html

Bobby

I've built kits and scratchbuilt from cardstock. The trick is to build it up with a stripwood skeleton for reinforcement.

Strathmore bristol board or similar material is the cardstock that is often used. It has an extremely fine grain and looks realistic. Plus it is easy to cut and takes paint well.

Thanks Bobby - I hadn't seen that site before. I love the possibility of a "haunted mansion" on the far corner of the layout. I've asked Ray, the owner of that site, about the scale of the buildings. He said it's about 1:66 scale, and posted an entry on his blog about the numbers.

I'm no math wiz, but scaling it up to 1:48 looks like it would be about a 135% enlargement, and would need to be printed on 11x17 paper. Now I've got to find some 11x17 heavy paper and a large format printer.

Anybody else have any experience with paper model buildings?

Regarding the Haunted Mansion: When it prints out as is the door is about 1.5" tall. So it's not far off from O scale. I printed it out on a large page printer at 125% and it was too big (door was now just short of 2"). So I'm thinking 110%. On my regular inkjet I was able to pull off 105%. Since the mansions are supposed to be about 100 years old, wheren't the doorways a little smaller then anyway?

I'm waiting for his Phantom Manor. It'll look great in a western type scene.
Fiddler Green has a lot of stuff, but their more kid oriented. Still, they make good templated for bashing structures I think. A starting point maybe. Do google searches on PAPERCRAFT, CARD MODELS, PAPER STRUCTURES and you'll find a few more. I'm interested in finding a site with some free textures (wood, stone, etc...) that can be used for builing some interesting RR structures.

Anyway. Sorry about the rambling. Yeah, anybody else come across some interesting card models?

Mark:

While not full buildings, I did these flats from HO flats. I scanned and enlarged them 175% and printed them on a 17x22 printer. I printed additional material to be able to duplicate the front facings and coloring to run 1.5" sides on them for more dimension.



Try a local quickie print like a Sir Speedy. They should have the scanning and banner printing ability to print the sizes you need. I have an Epson 3000 postscript printer, so I can just do them here, but it shouldn't take much in the way of dough to get what you want.

I made them more interesting by cutting teh buildings apart and staggering their depth. I added some HO gooseneck light as well. What I would like to di when I get time, is to add some three dimensional details to the front. I can use plastistruct materials for the drain spouts, and if I really get ambitious, I can build out the fire escape ledges with tubing.

Wow...Those are great. Good idea....Bobby

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/papermodels/
A yahoo group about paper modeling.