Paper and Card Models

Card modelling is one delightfully cheap form of scale modelling. Using paper or card stock rather than plastic or metal. While paper does have its limitations where curvature is concerned, a practiced card modeller can make models out of paper that you would swear were plastic.

Did I mention it was cheap?

There are a bunch of sites offering free paper models. You can just download the file, print on your own paper and start building. One that I have used a lot is Card Model FAQ. This has a wealth of how-to information as well as a page of links to free model pages. The site is fairly old and a lot of the links no longer work. Still, a Google search for "Card Model Free" or "Free Paper Model" will bring up some good results.

There are also a huge number of very high quality paper model kits for sale.

I've had a dabble in creating a couple of my own. It is quite time consuming, but most satisfying when it all comes together.

Anyway, here is the first one. It is a McDonnell-Douglas A-4 Skyhawk of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The model was designed by Phillip Fickling, of Phillip Fickling Dimensional Design, as a promotional piece for the RNZAF. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of both Phillip and the RNZAF. You can see more of Phillip's work at his website: Phillip Fickling Paper Engineer

Click on the image to download a PDF of the card model and instructions to your desktop.

RNZAF Skyhawk Card Model