Don't try this with a laser printer. We had some one wreck the 'fuser' on
our office colour printer by putting the wrong sort of transparency film
it it and the plastic melted in the fuser stage.
The clear sheets meant for the printer can take much more heat.
Inkjet printers don't use heat to fuse the ink. The warning only applies
to Laser printers.
Or you could just buy A4 labels and print onto them. Bit like the old
Farish buildings. Even in N these look a lot better when you add
relief detail though.
Regards
Just wondering how well these paper models (as a whole) will hold up
over time.
I can think of several uses (such as store interiors for my model
buildings), but if the paper will curl, crack or fade then that could
be a problem (although gluing plastic bracing might help the curling).
Sorry, I guess I am stuck in the decades old mindset of paper wearing
out quickly, and plastic lasting, although that seems to no longer be
true.
I was thinking the same thing but concluded that several layers of lightly
sprayed lacquer would help along with stout bracing (though not plastic
necessarily)
I have seen paper models over 100 years old which look fine.
However conditions have a lot to do with longevity. If you live in a
high humidity area and your layout is not in a humidity controlled
area, you should brace walls as even wood will buckle in the moist
conditions. Modern card stock is much tougher than the old papers use
in the past and those used in the "punch out" books but if you buy
"archival" level paper stock the paper will last centuries. the next
problem is ink. All inks will fade in direct sunlight. since few of us
have layouts hit by such light that is not a problem for us (though
fluorescent lights do cause any pigmentation to fade be it ink or
paint or molded in colour) So the inks should last as long as any
other paint. Basica;lly if you avoid high humidity and bright light
paper will last as well as any other material you can model with.
cat
Any suggestions as to the type of glue to use when using paper and expecting
a few years life from paper models.
My experience is the 'contact' type adhesives 'leech' thru to the surface,
and shrink and distort paper after a few months, and water based ones either
fail to stick at all to 'archival' type papers ( which seem to have a
plasticky finish) or distort imediately..
.
Personally I use "carpenter's" or "cabinetmaker's" glues. They
are a yellow toned (but dry clear) glue that is like a thicker "white"
glue (like Elmer's). I use it sparingly as it can get messy but it
holds tenaciously and will last for many years.
A lot like the "white" glues but I find they have too much
water in them and can cause problems when attaching fine parts.
Another good glue, especially when you want things to bond
fast, is "Alien's Tacky Glue" which is found in "crafts" shops.
cat
Now there's an idea for flat sided rolling stock.
Print directly onto overhead projector film and stiffen the back of
each car side with either plastic or even brass rod. This would give
flush windows instantly.
Might give it a try.
Hi martin, I guess I don't know for planes as weight is a critical factor.
Corflute and foam board come to mind immediately. Don't know what else
though.
Oh, goody, another off-topic ramble...
I thought that the underlying problem was that millions and millions of
Brazilian peasantry were producing 16x millions and millions of offspring,
and desiring to feed said offspring were burning up millions and millions of
acres of rain forest every year. Whereas, all the time, the real problem was
the bit of balsa wood in my attic...
I remember all the crying about the mahogany used in expensive furniture in
Britain. In fact, my own shop windows were daubed by the eco-warriors. Great
days. We imported less mahogany for our joinery and laid off dozens of
carpenters and joiners. Result? Well, the Indonesians still needed to
recover the same annual yield from their mahogany, so ended up selling it at
10% of the UK price to Japanese builders, who used it for concrete-laying
shuttering on building sites. Of course, to recover the same yield, they had
to strip the forests at ten times the previous annual rate. So that was
good.
Cheers,
Steve W
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