"What type / style of card stock for printable buildings?" Topic

HI!

I've just downloaded my first ever printable buildings. For me, this seems like a great, and cheap, way of filling a battlefield with decent looking scenery.

As this is my first time, I was looking for some advice on the best type of card stock to use. I don't really know too much about this, so if somebody could advise me as to the weight, size, thickness, etc, I would really appreciate it!! :-)

Depends how you intend printing them out.

Most typical home printers will only accept fairly thin card, anything too thick and stiff will get jammed.

I used white 160gsm card stock in my canon MP830 to print out but found it was too thin and bendy by itself so…

…. when assembling the buildings i reinforced all the walls (and sometimes the roofs) by glueing cheap thick grey card on the insides. It was fairly quick to do so added little to the construction time.

I found this gives them plenty of rigidity and a nice bit of weight.

ps – this was for 28mm White Wash City (old wild west) buildings.

I use regular paper, then use spray adhesive to affix it to cereal boxes. Corners are reinforced with strips of foam core.

Last year I switched to thin foam core for bigger things like this. The humidity in my basement warped a bunch of thin card stock buildings I made in the past. Like Turbo pig I print the building on normal paper and then spray glue it to the foam core, cut and assemble. I like printable buildings because you get durable, cheap buildings that look ok in a hurry.

Normal white pva glue is okay for sticking foamcore.

Any type of solvent based glue will tend to melt the foamcore, especially the centre.

ooh – and if sticking to foamcore, which is typically 5mm thick, you have to decide how you cut the corners of everything to get them to fit…..

- you could "mitre" the corners so one side fits into the other.

- you could cut each corner down diagonally so they fit together that way.

I use the equivalent of 110lb cardstock for everything except small parts that have to be rolled. Those I print on plain paper. Since I live in the desert, I've never had a humidity problem. I've got some Microtactix buildings that are almost five years old that are still fine. Obviously, I build more than buildings, so I've never tried the foam core. Besides, my inner cheepo stops me.

I use 110lb cardstock from Walmart for everything I cut by hand, and 67 pound bristol paper for machine-cut models.

I have glued buildings down to foamcore or poster board for weight and stability, I've glued popsicle sticks inside them to add weight and stability, and I've glued ribs (made from folded off-cuts) inside models to add stability. All three methods help stiffen the model, the bases were the best for keeping models from moving as much. I've found that open bottomed models don't move much when you place them on felt (my usual table cover) either.

On larger buildings I use foamcore. I "miter" the edges, measuring in the width of the foamcore, cutting away a layer of paper, a layer of foam, and leaving the last layer of paper. Then slide your blade alongside the last layer of paper to remove the sliced away section, leaving the bottom layer of paper.

Paper models look MUCH better if you take the time to color the paper edges with a black felt tip pen, as does the edges of your foamcore. You can save a step by buying black foamcore (available at WalMart).

I'm luck enough to have access to a printer that can handle really heavy stock. So for my products I actually print them right onto posterboard. I have no idea how that stuff is rated, but it's easily twice as heavy as the 110 lb cardstock I use for other items. As for the moisture problem, I always give the finished models a coat of Dullcote and that seems to seal them against moisture quite well.

Scott Washburn
paperTerrain

I use cheap self adhesive floor tiles for counters, and have played with the notion of doing the same for buildings, though I'm not sure how I would join the walls at the corners, as I'd have to have each wall seperate, as you can bend the tiles.

thosmoss described my method. I actually assembled a bunch before I figured that out. Another easy way of doing it is to cut the foam core the width of the foam less than what your printed sheet will be on the edges. Then you glue it on with the little bit of extra flap sticking out to cover the edge of the next piece.

I also ignored and just cut off the flaps that that come on some of the buildings for gluing the pieces together on the inside. The width of the foamcore meant that I had lots of surface for gluing on the edges already.

For glue I'm using some stuff I found at Walmart called Excel Craft Adhesive. Accindentally bought stencil spray from the same company once because it looked almost identical. The difference is that stencil spray is made to peel off after you've cut your pieces. Not a permanent fix. I use it now for scratchbuilding things out of plastic card. For joints I just use various white glues, Elmer's, PVA, carpenter's glue, whatever it's called.

I've used adhesive floor tiles for counters too and for bases when I wanted cheap and fast. Never thought of trying them to make buildings.

I'll have to try the varnish idea. I live in a dry area but my basement gets flooded once in awhile and it's hard on any paper down there then.

I usually use 250GSM for mine. Though recently I have theorised that if the object can be made sufficiently hollow without an interior I may be able to print in black on plain first, spray glue the parts to balsa and then the card parts on top.
Got spray glue from discount chain, and a glue stick from UHU; the tape glue doesn't seem to do much and the horrific stick glue is the only thing Officeworks could recommend as some buildings have to have transparencies glued in.
Sometimes you just have to stick in a little superglue though…
Some buildings may have corrugated box floors, and tiles will be stuck to black foam rubber sheet ( hard to get foamcore.)

Spray adhesive really works well. The idea of using foamcore and "wallpapering" it with the printed graphics, not only makes for sturdy buildings, but they also can serve as boxes for storing trees and odd bits of terrain between games.

Personally, I would avoid white glue because of the high water content. Anything glued with that will have to weighted or clamped to prevent warping. However, I would use wood glue (like Tite Bond) to join panels together. Unlike white glue, wood glue dries hard and virtually water proof. White glue dries flexible, even rubbery, and absorbs water like a sponge.

I've printed out 15mm buildings on regular paper and they go together fine – quick and easy. You'll be suprised how sturdy they are once they're manufactured, with the roof on and walls attached.

I've also printed stuff on as thick a card as will fit in my printer (200 gsm) and that works fine too.

For 28mm projects I've printed the buildings on regular paper, then used PVA to glue that to foam ( craftfoam.co.uk ). I've had an issue with warping if the buildings / panels are large ones, but it's never been a major problem and I just clamp stuff flat until it dries.

Whatever way you go I bet the problems will be small and the benefits huge! I love my paper buildings – they're the most cost-effective wargames terrain pieces I have, and they look great on the table (better than resin buildings painted up, but perhaps that's more a comment on my painting skills than anything else!).

I print onto A4 adhesive shipping labels which I can then stick onto heavier card before assembly: this avoids having to use adhesives.