Scratchbuilding a Model in Card, Step by Step

[Pfalz Profit]

This is a great eduacation for me ... especialy with the fine quality of your craftsmanship. I'm sitting on a 1/200 card model of SMS Von der Tann that is just a glorious thing to see even before I start. Your techniques and insights will be of great assistance to me, my friend.

[EricGoedkoop]

Glad to hear it, Pfalz Profit - and thank you for the compliment.

I'm working on the cockpits now. This is the fiddliest part, of course - and I've been a little busy with some other things. More pictures in another day or so.

[EricGoedkoop]

Originally Posted by Pfalz Profit

I'm sitting on a 1/200 card model of SMS Von der Tann that is just a glorious thing to see even before I start.

Why don't you give the freebie Digital Card Models SPAD a go before tackling that monster?

[Lufbery]

Eric,

That's great work! Thanks for showing your techniques and explaining things so clearly.

A few years ago, I made the Fiddler's Green card model of the MS Bullet, but in 1/144 scale. I rigged it with stretched sprue, but that looks over scale.

I had fun, but it doesn't look as good as what you're doing.

I bought a couple of their other planes: the Dr.1 and the F2.b and scaled them down to 1/144 scale too. I plan on trying to make them more carefully than my last effort.

Regards,

[EricGoedkoop]

So . . . . the cockpit.

I enjoy doing cockpits, but I don't go nuts with them. For as much as you can really see after the model's done - especially when it's sitting on a shelf - I'm happy with a place for the pilot to sit, a stick to hold onto and some gizmos that look like they're important for flying the plane. Every time I finish a model and take pictures of it I try for that magical shot through the struts and wires that shows off even the little bit I put in the 'pit, but it never happens.

Here's the basics:



Clockwise from the top left:

• Floor, of the same stock I used for the plywood access panels
• Seat parts: back and bottom of brown card, belts of paper colored grey with a marker, supports of double-thick grey stock
• Assembled seat
• Control stick and rudder bar, made mostly from rolled silver giftwrap tissue
• Basic cockpit assembly put together

For the stick, rudder bar and other metal-tubing items, I roll the tissue paper around 1/32" music wire. I use this silver giftwrap tissue for lots of stuff, and it's easier to work with than you'd think.



There is no instrument panel in the MoS L, but there are a few gauges hung about. For the faces I print the clock faces that come with one of the silly fonts in the computer at a very small size, and roll a thin strip of paper to the diameter of the face:



After trimming the face and gluing it to the back I made, I cut a second strip of paper just barely wider than the first and wrap that around the assembly once or twice. Here's one getting the outside wrap and one finished:



The squares on my cutting mat, just for reference, are 1/2".

[EricGoedkoop]

I slid the floor/seat/stick assembly into the fuselage from the front and glued it in place. Shoulder harnesses were added to the crossbars and draped into the seats - maybe it's just me but getting belts to look like they're hanging naturally is always a bit of a challenge. I crumple 'em up good before I put them in. The small panel with the mixture controls on the port wall is made from little bits and scraps of various-colored card.



Another view:



I'm not even going to pretend that anything I did here is complete or accurate, but it looks like there's something in there and it's good enough for me. :whistling

[EricGoedkoop]

There's not much left to do on the fuse now. The next step is the firewall, which I cut from double-thick black stock. The bottom corners are nicked off to allow for the rigging wires that I've already installed at the bottom front corners of the fuse. There's a hole poked for mounting the engine and prop later, and a cylinder of paper glued to the back of the firewall to hold the pin that I'm going to make the "crankshaft" from:



The firewall installed:

[Ross_Moorhouse]

It's all an evil trick... Don't anyone look at this... It will convert you. Never to fondle plastic again...

In fact this is truly amazing stuff Eric.

[EricGoedkoop]

By the way - in the photo above of the two completed cockits, you can see the strip of light card filling in the gap where I cut the bottom of the MoS too short. I had to make the firewall just a hair taller on that one to make up for the missing layer of card, but it worked out fine and by the time the cowl goes on no one will ever know.

[JohnReid]

Love it! You got me thinking of a card diorama.Cheers! John.