kallman | 19 Dec 2015 10:15 a.m. PST |
I am a skilled artist and all around handy man; however, I am discovering either because of my gigantor fingers or lack of some tool my attempts to put together paper buildings in particular for 15 mm or 10 mm end in disaster. I have tried using glue sticks, elmers, and trying super glue was the worst. Help please! Tutorials, advice, do I give up and just buy resin, any help appreciated. |
Wackmole9 | 19 Dec 2015 10:26 a.m. PST |
Hi You need to get some picture framing right angle clamps. auction They also make some SHEET METAL BENDERS to hold a longer pieces. auction |
Winston Smith | 19 Dec 2015 10:31 a.m. PST |
I have found it useful to draw the fold lines on the reverse side with a ballpoint pen. Cut with an Xacto blade and straightedge, not a scissors. Scissors tend to put a curl in the paper. I have also reinforced walls with cereal box cardboard. Also try painting the glue on the tabs with a brush. I have used Elmers, Aileens and carpenter's glue. |
Who asked this joker | 19 Dec 2015 10:37 a.m. PST |
Metal ruler is key. Scoring folds is also key. Use the ruler as a guide to cut a score across long straight folds. Essentially, you are making a light cut to break the surface tension of the fold area. People tend to go with the heaviest paper available. In my experience this is bad advice. Heavy stock (110lb) works for larger builds and goes a long way to keeping the building shape. For smaller builds, use 67lb stock. Smaller buildings have a shorter tolerance around the folds. Thicker paper can throw the tolerances off and you end up with a misaligned building. Use a squared base to base your align your walls. If you were intended to have the bottom accessible so you can hider figures, you can still rough cut a hole in the bottom after the building is done. Use Elmer's glue all for gluing. Put a big glob (about the area of a dime) on some scrap and apply to all parts with a toothpick or paper clip. Put the glue down BEFORE you start cutting so when you are ready to put pieces together, the glue will have become more tacky and will A) take less time to dry and B) will not be as moist so will have less chance of warping the card. John |
Coyotepunc and Hatshepsuut | 19 Dec 2015 10:38 a.m. PST |
I suggest browsing the forums at Worldworks Games and Fat Dragon Games. Full Sock Puppet Disclosure: I am deeply involved with Worldworks Games |
14Bore | 19 Dec 2015 11:11 a.m. PST |
I cut a wood block the size of the base but not higher than wall line. Glue around block, also gives weight to model so wind doesn't effect if a window or door opens. |
Andrew Walters | 19 Dec 2015 11:36 a.m. PST |
WATJ nailed it. Not much to add, except… Allen's Tacky Glue is an alternative to Elmer's. It starts much thicker right out of the bottle, and gets to that tacky perfection quicker. Take a trip to Michael's or Hobby Lobby and get good pair of tweezers, maybe a bone folder, maybe a "ceramic spoon" (strange little infinitely useful curved blade). Then, practice, practice, practice! |
DyeHard | 19 Dec 2015 12:29 p.m. PST |
You can use Lego blocks to build up corners and such to help you made nice right-angles. Here are some "How To" articles I did in the ancient past: link link And here are a bunch of modern tools to help out: link link link link link link link link Also, if you have large fingers, as I do, you may wan to get use to building things all with tweezers. It is slow going at first, but tweezers allow one to fold and hold things fingers can never do. You may want to search for web sites and video showing paper modeling techniques. There are many out there, some of the best are in in English. Start with papermau.blogspot.com.ar |
bobspruster | 19 Dec 2015 2:45 p.m. PST |
Worldworksgames has tutorials. Bob |
Cherno | 20 Dec 2015 7:44 a.m. PST |
Use superglue for small tabs that are difficult to hold together. Use glue sticks (that waxy stuff) for larger areas. If you do use office glue, use it sparingly or things will warp. Don't score the fold lines; use a filed nail or similar (there are dedicated tools for that purpose) to press a line instead. The paper will not rip so no white will show and it's easier to paint edges. You also don't have to worry about reverse folds. |
ScottWashburn | 20 Dec 2015 7:49 a.m. PST |
The key is patience. Treat a paper model exactly as you would any other kind of model. I get the impression that a lot of people see 'paper' and immediately think that it is some sort of instant pop-up thing that will look great with zero effort. But what you get out depends on what you put in. If you take your time and do the little extra things that you would with a plastic or resin model you will end up with a great looking model. Take a look at the pictures of my models at paperterrain.com . The photos there are not retouched. As noted, scoring the fold lines will help get a nice sharp fold. I use little clamps to hold the pieces in place while the glue dries. And then I go back with paint or a marker to touch up the places where I did scoring or where the white paper edges show through. Mount it on a nice base and make sure to give it a spray of Dullcote when you are finished. It's worth the extra effort. |
Winston Smith | 20 Dec 2015 9:27 a.m. PST |
Like I said above, score the fold lines on the reverse side with a fine ball point pen. |
gregoryk | 04 Jan 2016 7:31 p.m. PST |
Scott is right, these models do not make themselves, but require some attention to detail. Having said that now that I have experience the models come together pretty quickly, which is nice compared to the time required to paint a resin or metal model. |
tshryock | 05 Jan 2016 12:35 p.m. PST |
15mm bits can be very fiddly. The first time I tried to make some Dave Graffam houses I did OK, but ended up trashing the chimneys because I couldn't get them together right. As others have said, practice -- and the right glue that works for you -- is key. I now have little problem with chimneys. Experiment with some of the different glues suggested and see which one works best for your style. I like one that dries quickly, but leaves me time to reposition as necessary. Now that I've built a dozen or so structures, they are much easier. Take your time, score the lines carefully, pre-bend and pre-fit pieces before applying glue and be patient. For smaller pieces, consider pre-bending, then reverse bending (folding them the wrong way back) before applying glue. This will help eliminate the cardstock wanting to snap back out of place and makes positioning of tiny bits a little easier. |