Paper model

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Paper models, also called card models or papercraft, are models constructed mainly from sheets of heavy paper or card stock as a hobby. It may be considered a broad category that contains origami, and card modelling, with origami being a paper model made from folding paper (without using glue), and card modelling as the making of scale models from sheets of card on which the parts were printed, usually in full colour, for one to cut out, fold, score and glue together. They appear to be generally more popular in Europe and Japan than in the United States.

Example of papercraft
Example of papercraft

Printed card models became common in magazines in the early part of the 20th century. The popularity of card modeling boomed during World War II, when paper was one of the few items whose use and production was not heavily regulated. Micromodels, designed and published in England from 1941 were very popular with 100 different models of architecture, ships, aircraft... But as plastic model kits became more commonly available, interest in paper decreased. The availability of numerous models on the Internet at little or no cost, which can then be downloaded and printed on inexpensive inkjet printers 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 must also be adjusted in the same ratio.

Kits can also be purchased inexpensively, and experienced hobbyists often scratchbuild, either by drawing their models by hand, or, increasingly, with software such as Adobe Illustrator. Software such as PePaKuRa Designer from Tama software and Waybe Designer also exists to convert 3D computer models into two-dimensional printable models that can then be cut out and assembled. Because of this, there is no practical limit to the variety of models available. Automobiles, aircraft, spacecraft (both real and fictional), buildings, and animals are common. In recent years Japanese subjects such as Gundams and anime figures also starts to make an appearance in papercraft.

Since papercraft patterns can be easily printed and assembled, the Internet has become a popular means of exchanging them. Commercial corporations have recently begun using downloadable papercraft for their marketing (examples are Yamaha and Canon)

Paper model of Mount Vernon
Paper model of Mount Vernon

Sometimes the models can be punched out, but more frequently must be cut out with a hobby knife (or a pair of scissors). Experienced hobbyists recommend cutting models out on a cutting mat and guiding the knife with a cork-backed ruler, scoring any edges to be folded with a blunt instrument such as the non-cutting edge of the hobby knife, and then gluing the pieces together with a thin coat of polyvinyl acetate glue ("white glue" "PVA") applied with a small paint brush. One of the features of this kind of modeling is that the models are usually pre-painted. When you have finished assembling the model, it is displayable, without the need for painting, although many people do customize their models with paint and added detailing.

To combat paper's tendency to warp, card modelers may seal the finished model. Reinforcing corners and long straight edges with pieces of wood is also common practice.

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