Hello to all you scale modellers

Ron Meijering · 16-08-2008

Hello everybody,

After being a member of Scale Models for about two months now of which I spend 6 weeks abroad, time to introduce myself. After having build plastic models for a long time (ships, planes, tanks) and also a long time ago, I now have specialized in making model warships from cardboard.

If you ask me why, well I find it more fun and whereas with plastic models you have to assemble the parts, those cardboard models you really have to build from zero. (sorry don't want to offend all you plastic modellers).
Sofar I have build about twelve models, most of them ships from the Royal Netherlands Navy.

If any of you guys/girls are also into cardboard modelling please drop me a line and maybe we can change information.

I wish everyone lots of fun with whatever modelling project they are busy with. Greetings to all of you... Ron

**Bunkerbarge** · 17-08-2008

Hi Ron and a warm welcome to the forum. You are not alone in your card modelling on here as we have a few members who have tried this. I have never made a card model but coincidentally only very decently a friend gave me a model of an old cruise liner the Dortmund in card. It looks very daunting and I cannot see how on earth I can make a realistic hull shape from a piece of flat card.

Any guidance with techniques would be very much appreciated with these models, particulalry as to how to bend a flat piece of card into a shape resembling a ships hull!

**GEEDUBBYA** · 17-08-2008

Howdy Ron,

Welcome to the forum, we are glad to have you here
As Bunkerbarge said, we have several members here who dabble in card models.....myself being one of them, although my leanings are towards aircraft.
I am not sure if you have found our threads on cardmodels or not here in the forum, but if you havent, you might want to have a look around them, there are a few designers in here who have made some lovely models of various topics.
Anyway, I just wanted to welcome you and let you know that we look forward to seeing more of you.

Have a good day,

Greg aka GEEDUBBYA (GW)

Ron Meijering · 20-08-2008

Hello Richard,

First of all thanks for you reaction. Well I know it seems impossible to make a realistic hull shape from a piece of flat card, but everything is possible. With coardboard shipmodelling you have waterline models, which are the easiest ones to build, but also full hull models, which are somewhat more difficult.

If I can help you in any way just let me know, I'll try. When it comes to building ships from cardboard first to begin with is to cut out all the the parts of the framework and glue them together. If you have made the framework, then glue this on a piece of glass ( like on ald mirror) with just a few drops of glue so the frame won't bend. If you are making a full hull model then glue the frame on the plate wit the lower side up. Now you can begin to cut the hullplates and glue them to the frame.

The hull plates for the understructure you can shape with a round object, or even with your fingers. The hull plates above the waterline you don't need tho shape. When you glue them to the frame they will shape by themselves.

Hope this will help you a bit.

I hope you will have fun in building the model and I think when you have the hull ready and you begin with the superstructure, you really will start to enjoy building the model. Than you'll see the ship be created bit by bit until it's a ready model and can compete with plastic or any other model.

If you have anmore questions feel free to contact me and sorry for my English which is a little bit rusty.

Greetings,

Ron

Ron Meijering · 20-08-2008

Hello Riichard,

First of all thanks for you reaction. Well I know it seems impossible to make a realistic hull shape from a piece of flat card, but everything is possible. With coardboard shipmodelling you have waterline models, which are the easiest ones to build, but also full hull models, which are somewhat more difficult.

If I can help you in any way just let me know, I'll try. When it comes to building ships from cardboard first to begin with is to cut out all the the parts of the framework and glue them together. If you have made the framework, then glue this on a piece of glass ( like on ald mirror) with just a few drops of glue so the frame won't bend. If you are making a full hull model then glue the frame on the plate wit the lower side up. Now you can begin to cut the hullplates and glue them to the frame.

The hull plates for the understructure you can shape with a round object, or even with your fingers. The hull plates above the waterline you don't need tho shape. When you glue them to the frame they will shape by themselves.

Hope this will help you a bit.

I hope you will have fun in building the model and I think when you have the hull ready and you begin with the superstructure, you really will start to enjoy building the model. Than you'll see the ship be created bit by bit until it's a ready model and can compete with plastic or any other model.

If you have anmore questions feel free to contact me and sorry for my English which is a little bit rusty.

Greetings,

Ron

jspitza · 20-08-2008

Welcome Ron!!!!! Yes, please do share the secrets of paper, glue and skill!

Ron Meijering · 20-08-2008

Hello Greg, thanks for your reaction,

I'm glad I found another cardboard modeller, although you're more interested in building airplanes. Well there are a lot of cardboard models from airplanes. I don't know if they are easy to find in the USA or do you buy them elsewhere?

When I was a kid a built a lot of airplanes from plastic (mostly from thw WW II period) I remember my ceiling was full of them. Now my ceiling is free but there are models of warships all over the place.

Do you know this Dutch site :- Zeist Bouwplaten - Import, verkoop, ontwerp en productie van papieren schaalmodellen, maquettes en bouwplaten (cardmodels), Modelbouw, Rietveld cutoutmodels ? If not maybe you want to take a look at it sometimes. Most of it is in Dutch but part of the text is in English. They have a lot of cardboard models for sale and most of them not too expensive.

I was planning to order some airplane models with them Our nayv used in the past, like the Lockheed Neptune and the Fairey Firefly. I already tried to build some free airplane models just to get some experience. So maybe I give it a try to build the models mentioned above.

I'll let you know if I buy them and maybe you can give me some tips then on building them so they'll look good when they're finished, because my free models weren't really a great succes.

Greetings for now and succes with whatever model you're working on right now.

Ron