Paper model - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Paper models, also called card models or papercraft, are models

Model (physical)

A physical model is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object...

constructed mainly from sheets of heavy paper

Paper

Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....

, paperboard

Paperboard

Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...

, or card stock

Card stock

Card stock, also called cover stock or pasteboard, is a paper stock that is thicker and more durable than normal writing or printing paper, but thinner and more flexible than other forms of paperboard. Card stock is often used for business cards, postcards, playing cards, catalog covers,...

Details

This may be considered a broad category that contains origami

Origami

is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...

and card modeling. Origami is the process of making a paper model by folding paper without using glue. Card modeling is making scale model

Scale model

A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...

s from sheets of cardstock on which the parts were printed, usually in full color. These pieces would be cut out, folded, scored and glued together. They are generally more popular in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

than in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Sometimes the model pieces can be punched out. More frequently the printed parts must be cut out. Edges may be scored to aid folding. The parts are usually glued together with polyvinyl acetate

Polyvinyl acetate

Polyvinyl acetate, PVA, PVAc, poly, is a rubbery synthetic polymer with the formula n. It belongs to the polyvinyl esters family with the general formula -[RCOOCHCH2]-...

glue

Adhesive

An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials...

("white glue" "PVA"). In this kind of modeling the sections are usually pre-painted, so there is no need to paint the model after completion. Some enthusiasts may enhance the model by painting and detailing. Due to the nature of the paper medium, the model may be sealed with varnish to last longer.

History

Printed card models became common in magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

s in the early part of the 20th century. The popularity of card modeling boomed during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, when paper was one of the few items whose use and production was not heavily regulated.

Micromodels, designed and published in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

from 1941 were very popular with 100 different models, including architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, ships, and aircraft. But as plastic model

Plastic model

thumb|300px||4-year-old boy starts painting a plastic model he has assembled of the South Goodwin LightshipPlastic models, often called scale models, are models manufactured as kits which are assembled by hobbyists, and intended for static display....

kits became more commonly available, interest in paper decreased.

Availability

Since papercraft patterns can be easily printed

Computer printer

In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...

and assembled, the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

has become a popular means of exchanging them. Commercial corporations have recently begun using downloadable papercraft for their marketing (examples are Yamaha and Canon).

The availability of numerous models on the Internet at little or no cost, which can then be downloaded and printed on inexpensive inkjet printer

Inkjet printer

An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large professional machines that can cost up to thousands of...

s has caused its popularity again to increase worldwide. Home printing also allows models to be scaled up or down easily (for example, in order to make two models from different authors, in different scales, match each other in size), although the paper weight might need to be adjusted in the same ratio.

Inexpensive kits are available from dedicated publishers (mostly based in Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

; examples include Halinski and Maly Modelarz, a portion of the catalog of which date back to 1950. Experienced hobbyists often scratchbuild

Scratch building

Scratch building is the process of building a scale model "from scratch", ie. from raw materials, rather than building it from a commercial kit, kitbashing or buying it pre-assembled....

models, either by first hand drawing or using software such as Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Illustrator is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to its competitors, CorelDraw, Xara Designer Pro and Macromedia FreeHand....

. CAD and CG software, such as Rhino 3D, 3DS Max, Blender

Blender (software)

Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, interactive 3D applications or video games. The current release version is 2.60, and was released on October 19, 2011...

, and specialist software, like Pepakura Designer from Tama Software

Tama software

Tama Software, Ltd. Is a software developer based in Tokyo, Japan. They are best known for their Pepakura Designer software, used to create and print paper models....

and Waybe

Waybe

Waybe is a software company based in Calgary, Alberta. They are best known for their unfolding software used to help build paper models....

or Ultimate Papercraft 3D, may be employed to convert 3D computer models into two-dimensional printable templates for assembly. Because of this, there is a vast number of models available. Ship

Ship

Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...

s, automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s, aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

, spacecraft

Spacecraft

A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....

, buildings, and animals are all common. In recent years, Japanese subjects, such as Gundam

Gundam

The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....

s and anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

figures, have become common subjects in papercraft.

Video games papercrafts

Because people can create their own patterns, papercraft models of various video games characters have been created: Mario

Mario

is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...

, Link (The Legend of Zelda), Donkey Kong (character), etc. The designer usually runs the game on a emulator (or by simply taking the appropriate file) while at the same time extracting the desired 3D model. After the designer gets the model they want, they arrange the textures and the model on a 3D program, such as 3DS MAX or Metasequoia

Metasequoia (software)

Metasequoia is 3D polygon modeling software for 3D computer graphics and video game development. Though less capable than other, more professional 3D programs, the interface is less complex than that of similar programs and has proven a good intro for people new to 3D editing.Mainly written for...

, then usually export the model to a papercraft creating program, such as Pepakura Designer by Tama software