Saul's Card Modeling Pages Presents:

Card Model Reviews for the month of July

  

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

FIRST LOOKS:

Kit:  The first of Dr. Zarchov's 1/72 scale model that has been released in 1/33 scale. The kit includes four sheets of colored card stock, two pages of formers on letter paper, three sheets of diagrams, a sheet of heavy card stock and a small sheet of marked transparencies for the canopy. There are a page and a half of instructions that are in Russian and English. The colored card stock with the model parts on it is of a slightly glossy paper. Model includes a detailed cockpit but a colored card stock canopy is provided if you decide that you do not want to detail the cockpit.

Construction:  Fuselage construction stars by constructing part number one connecting strips and formers in each end. Next build section two with the cockpit inside and connecting strip and former in the forward end. Now continue building each fuselage section with connecting strip and former in each end and gluing the sections together with the connecting strips. Cut shape and insert the formers inside the tail pieces, when properly shaped glue the tail to the rear of the fuselage. Build the internal frames for the wings, cut and roll the skin of the wing around the frame and glue the completed wing to the bottom of the fuselage. Glue the fillets to the wing and fuselage and then continue to detail the model. Detailing will consist of building the landing gear and propeller and gluing them to the model. Finish by building and attaching the the landing gear doors, intakes and exhaust to the model.

First Impressions:  Emil is one of the best designers of card models in the world. He always includes very detailed instructions and diagrams. With the diagrams and instructions provided with this model it should be buildable by even a beginner.

Kit:  Another of David Hathaway series of ships not usual seen in Card. Paper Models International has signed a deal to publish these models here in the United States. The model is in 1/250 scale and comes with four sheets of card stock, a template sheet if you want to make the rails for the ship, one sheet of regular paper with flags and other detailing, five sheets of diagrams and a sheet of instructions. Cannons along with Instructions are provided to allow you detail the interior of the turrets. The model has a black hull with wood colored decks. Four lifeboats and the national flags are provided.

Construction:  Construction is similar to most card ships I have built. First reinforce the base former and deck with a heavier cardboard. Not do the same for the vertical and horizontal formers. Glue vertical and horizontal formers to the base former and then glue the deck to the vertical and horizontal formers. Next glue the hull sides between the base former and the deck. Build the super structure and turrets, building the guns and installing them into the turrets. Build the six life boats, funnel and hatches and glue them to their proper positions. Finish the ship by using the template to make the railings around the deck.

First Impressions:   A beautiful little model that is not overly complicated. the detailing will take a little patience but the model should be doable by any card model builder.

Kit:  This 1/33 scale model is the first aircraft released by a new company entering the card modeling world. The model I received f came on a CD so you will need an inkjet printer and card stock to print it out. The printouts are in A4 format so you will need card stock that is at least 12 inches in height. The model prints out on 14 sheets of card stock, four sheets of formers on regular paper to be glued to a heavy card stock, four sheets of diagrams and four sheets of instructions. This is a very detailed model but you are given the option of building the model in either a detailed or non-detailed mode. For the non-detailed mode colored card canopies, and printed engines are provided. The detailed mode includes cockpit details the interior of the gun turrets. Templates for clear canopies are provided and you can build each cylinders for the engines. You can even get down to building the gun compartments, with the guns, and the radar set that goes into the nose.

Construction:  Before starting construction you need to determine how detailed you want the model to be. Start with the central fuselage section, build the internal frame and insert the amount of detail you want. When you have finished the frame and amount of detail you want, skin the central fuselage. Build the frames for the wings, both inner and outer sections, skin both sections and glue the inner wing sections to the fuselage. Build the two tail booms, if you want to detail the engines build the engines and insert them into the front of the boom. If not them glue the printed engine to the foward section of the boom. Glue the booms to the inner wing sections and them the outer wing section. Now construct the two vertical stabilizer and glue to the two booms. Build horizontal stabilizer and glue between the two vertical stabilizer. Finish your model by building the gun turrets, bombs, fuel tanks and the propellers.

First Impressions:  This is a super model, the quality is as good as any other card model I have seen. It is not a model for a beginer but the options it gives you on the level of detail you can add, makes it buildable with anyone with some card modeling experience.

Kit:  Two 1/400 scale ships that comes in a booklet with six sheets of card stock, one which contains the formers for the hull. The two ships included are the Italian WWII Light Cruiser the Scipione Africano and the Destroyer Antononio Pigafetta. Since this model was provided by a dealer here in the states there are three sheets of instructions and history provided all in English. This may not be the case if you buy the model in another country as the instructions in the booklet are in Polish. There are two pages of diagrams and the back cover contains national flags. The both ships hulls are in a blue and gray camoflauge scheme. The decks are mostly gray with a red and red striped pattern on the forward part.

Construction:  Both ships use the same basic method of construction so the below applies to them both. JSC does not use the egg crate construction method that most designers use for card modeling ships. The method they use is to have you build an internal hull section that consists of the top and sides of the ship with supports glued inside to give you the strength needed. Once the internal hull section is completed, you glue the deck and sides to this internal hull. Build and glue the super structure and funnels to the hull. Build gun turrets and torpedo tubes for both ships and glue to the deck. Build the depth charges and their racks and glue these to the destroyer. Then build the life boats, life rafts and davits, gluing then to the super structure. Finish up by adding the details to the ships; cranes, searchlights hatches etc.

First Impressions:  Two very colorful models by JSC. Construction method of this model is the same as for the majority of JSC models. This model as well as most of the other JSC models are buildable with very little card modeling experience.

Kit:  This 1/33 scale model comes in an A3 booklet which contains eight sheets of cardstock, two of which are formers. Directions are in Polish but there are three sheets of diagrams which should be of some help to non Polish speakers. Models is done in a two tone blue, medium on the top and a lighter blue on the bottom. Parts are provided to make a detailed cockpit, wheel wells and landing gear. Various types of bombs and missiles are provided to detail your model. Markings and national insignia are sharp and the colors really stand out. MM models have improved appreciable since the break up of the Soviet Union, the papers and ink in this model are of top quality.

Construction:  Start construction with the fuselage, the fuselage is built using the "butt" and glue method. The fuselage sections are built with a former in each end, when you finish all the sections then butt and glue them together. Build the cockpit inside of sections four and five before attaching them to the next sections. The wings have good solid frames that will support the entire wing. After you finish the frames, glue the skin of the wings over them and then attach to the fuselage. This aircraft is a little different as there is no horizontal stabilizers but rather canards forward of the wing. Cut the formers out for the canards and vertical stabilizer, not cut the skin out for both and form them. Complete these by gluing around the formers. Build and attach the landing gear into the wheel wells on the bottom of the fuselage. Decide which missiles and bombs you want on the aircraft and build these and attach to the appropriate position on the aircraft

First Impressions:  A very nice looking model but since the instructions are in Polish, this may be a problem for non-Polish speakers. Because of this I would recommend that you have some card modeling experience before attempting this model

Kit:  The kit is in 1/250 scale and contains three sheet of 300 x 430 mm card stock, two contain the parts of the model and third contains the formers. The model one sheet of instructions and diagrams with the instructions in English. The model sent to me by one of the U.S. distributors has five sheets of general instructions for building Wilhelmshavener models. No detailed instructions in any language were supplied. There are 10 sheets of detailed diagrams that lead you step by step through the construction of the model. The hull is black and the decks are green, the funnel is yellow as are the mast, there are some wood colored decks.

Construction:  Start the construction by building the internal formers. You start this by cutting out the base piece and gluing the horizontal and vertical formers. Make sure you reinforce both the base and formers. Then reinforce the deck and glue it to the top of the formers. In this process make sure that the parts above are well reinforced or the ship will warp on you. Now glue the sides of the hull between the base and deck. Build the super structure on the deck and then build and attach the masts and the funnel. Finish your model by adding as much detail, such as ship rails, as your are comfortable with.

First Impressions:  A simple ship model suitable for even a beginner. I do not think the lack of instructions will be a problem as the diagrams are detailed enough to lead you through the construction.

Kit:  A very impressive 1/96 scale sailing ship that comes in a booklet 300 X 420. This is not a model for the faint hearted as it contains 4970 parts some very small. The booklet contains 26 pages of parts. This is a very detailed ship, it has all the gun decks as well as the guns to man these decks. All the parts necessary to do the rigging including dead eyes are provided for you. Templates are provided is you want to make sails for the ship. Some of the colors seem to be slightly off, the wood decks and sides of the ship look like they are a little to yellow. The parts of the model that should be red appear to be a little pinkish. Other than that the detailing and markings look very accurate. The model was designed with out the paper parts to make the masts and yards. If you want to make these and put the rigging and/or sails on the model, templates are provided for all masts and yards. I have one complaint though, the pictures provided in the booklet are of a wooden model. I was very impressed when I saw these but was kind of disapointed when I found that they were not a picture of a model built with the kit. At first glance this kit appears to be expensive, about $30 U.S., but if you consider the number of parts and the time it will take to build the model it is well worth it.

Construction:  Construction of this model is more like wooden ship models that I have built than paper models. First reinforce all the vertical, horizontal formers and decks with approximately .5mm card stock. Glue the formers together making sure that you detail the interior decks before covering them up with other formers or decks. Build your guns and put them on the appropriate decks as you proceed. Once you have the formers and interior detail finished glue the sides on to the hull. As a note, Gomix is making detailing sets for all the Shipboard models. At this time there are detailing kits for the earlier models but not one for the Bellona yet. Detail the hull of the ship and now make a decision if you want to put the masts and yards on the ship. If you do than dowels can be found at your local hobby shop or hard ware store. use the templates provided in the booklet to cut and form the dowels to the correct size and shape. You can now proceed to rig the ship with or without sails. Diagrams are provided to show you where all the riggings goes and templates are provided for the sails.

First Impressions:  A very difficult model to build. It will not only require card modeling skills but will also require ship building skills and the ability to work with other media besides card. Not a model for the beginner but one that anyone would be proud to display once finished.

Kit:  Another great 1/33 scale model by GPM. The kit comes in booklet form with a total of six pages, four pages of card stock and two pages of very detailed diagrams. The instructions are all in Polish but the diagrams are plain enough to allow you to build the model without any problems. Options are provided so that you can make all flying surfaces movable. Parts are provided to build a detailed engine down to each cylinder. A detailed cockpit and machine guns are provided. The model has Polish markings and is a representation of an aircraft flown by Kapitan Stefan Bastyr during 1918. Coloring on this model is very striking espacialy the lozenge patterns.

Construction:  A very interesting design technique was used in this model. It appears that the designer is a builder/designer of balsa and tissue paper models. Construction of the model is the same as building one of these models. Starting with the fuselage you cut the formers out and notch them. Then you cut out and form the stringers that go down the sides of the model. Construct the cockpit and engine and glue them to the proper places. When finished cut the skin of the fuselage out and glue it to the formers and stringers. Build the center former for the wings, cut the ribs out and glue them to the former and then cut, fold and glue the wing skin over the ribs. Glue the bottom wings to fuselage. Cut and form the struts, use wire or dowel of some kind inside the struts to give them proper shape and strength. Glue the struts to the bottom wing and top of the fuselage and then glue the top wing to the struts. Finish your model by building the landing gear and propeller and attaching them to the proper position.

First Impressions:  GPM has produced another excellent model with very interesting construction techniques. Those of you who have built balsa and tissue models will be ahead of the game. Because of the above and the model being a biplane I recommend that this not be your first card model.

Kit:  This 1/48 scale model comes on three sheets of card stock and one sheet of instructions. The model I received was sent to me over the Internet in PDF format. The kit contains no cockpit or wheel wheels. The canopy that is provided is colored card stock. If you decide to detail the cockpit then you will have to scratch build both the cockpit and canopy. Aircraft is done in silver with a red and white striped tail. Coloring and markings on the model are excellent. the model does not come with any connecting strips or internal formers. Landing gear and landing gear doors are provided and glue to the bottom of the wing and front of the fuselage.

Construction:  Start by cutting and rolling the fuselage sections. I recommend that you cut connecting strips for gluing the sections together and to connecting the sections together. Once you have the sections glued together than use the connecting strips to glue the sections together. Cut the tail sections out and shape them, I recommend that you insert a piece of dowel or a toothpick inside to give them the proper shape. Cut a roll the wing sections then glue the rear of the wing together. Again I recommend a dowel or round piece of plastic into the wing to help shape it and give it some strength. Cut, shape and glue the canopy to the top of the fuselage. Cut and build the landing gear using a toothpick internally to give them the strength to hold the aircraft up. Cut the wheels out and glue to heavy card, cut them out and continue to glue to the heavy card until you have the wheels to the correct width.

First Impressions:  A fairly simple model but because of the lack of connecting strips and formers not one that I would recommend for a beginner. Building a few models with these will be great help to see how these work.

Kit:  This 1/48 kit will come on a CD with several other aircraft. The model is in PDF format on the CD and you will need a color ink jet printer along with suitable card stock to print the model on. This is a model of the first production helicopter produced by the U.S., the aircraft so service during WWII. This model prints out on three sheets of card stock, the first contains the description and diagrams. The other two sheets contains the parts to complete the model. No instructions are provided but the diagrams are very self explanatory and will be all you need to build this model. No parts are provided to make a cockpit, there is a colored canopy provided. Landing gear is fixed and all parts are provided to make the gear and both rotors..

Construction:  Before starting construction reinforce all parts marked in red with .5 to .8 mm cardboard. The fuselage is built by constructing each section with a former in each end and then "butt" glued together. Cut out the three main rotor blades and the formers that will go inside each blade. Cut the parts out to make the hub for the rotor and glue them together using the diagram on the first page as a guide. When finished glue the main rotor blades to the hub and insert into the upper fuselage. Cut the parts out for the tail rotor, you might want to use a flat toothpick or piece of wire between the two parts of the rotor to give it strength and help it hold its shape. Cut the parts out to make the landing gear and wheels out and glue them together. When finished glue the completed landing gear to the bottom of the fuselage.

First Impressions:   Not a difficult model to build. The only problem might be the cutting out and gluing the small parts that make up the rotor hub. A must model for every collection due to is historical significance.

Kit:  Wilhelmshavener is in the process or re-releasing their older models at this time. This 1/50 scale model is one of the older models that falls in this catagorey. The model comes on two sheets of A3 card stock with five sheets of instructions. I obtained this model from Germany so the instructions are in German. There is one sheet of very detailed diagrams which will be of a great help for those who do not speak German. This is not a very detailed model, no cockpit or wheel wells are provided. The canopy provided is of colored card stock so if you decided to detail the model you will have to scratch build the cockpit and build a canopy out of transparent material. Print, as are all Wilhelmshavener model, is sharp and the silver ink used gives the aircraft a nice finish.

Construction:  The fuselage of all Wilhelmshavener use the "former, connecting strip method". Each fuselage section is constructed with a former in one end. After constructing the sections, glue the sections together using the connecting strips. When starting there will always be one fuselage section that has a former and connecting strip in each end, in this case it is section six. I always build this fuselage section first and then proceed towards the nose. When I finish the forward fuselage I then go back to this section and build the rear fuselage. Build the engine compartment and slide it into the rear of the fuselage. Cut and fold the wing templates, slide them through the fuselage and glue the wing skin over them. Check the supports for the wing, these are excellent and will insure a correct fit of the wing. Cut and roll the top strake and cockpit parts and glue them together, when finished glue to the top of the fuselage. Cut the parts out to make the landing gear and gear doors out and glue together. Finally glue the completed landing gear and doors to the bottom of the wing and forward fuselage.

First Impressions:  These are the models I cut my card modeling teeth on. They are fairly simple to build with out a lot of detail. I recommend these as a first build for any card modeler.

Kit:  This 1:100 scale ship comes in a booklet with A3 size paper. Instructions are in Polish but there are two sheets of detailed diagrams to help those who do not speak that language. The booklet contains six sheets of paper to be glued to heaver card stock. These sheets contain the formers for the ships and the aircraft that goes in the deck hanger. There are six sheets of card stock that contains the parts for the ship. Parts are provided to make the ship in full hull or these parts can be left off and the model built as waterline. A very interesting ship, a submarine with two six inch cannon and an aircraft, an attempted cross between a light cruiser and a submarine Hull of the ship is red below the waterline, green and gray above the waterline. Decks are wood colored and French national flags in the correct color are provided.

Construction:  The hull is built with standard "egg crate construction. Glue the horizontal and vertical formers to heavier card stock, then do the same for the decks. Before doing this decide if you are going to build the model full hull or waterline. For full hull you will use the entire former and for waterline you will use only the bottom section. Glue the reinforced formers and deck together and when finished glue the hull sides between the bottom former and the deck. Cut and form the super structure and glue it to the top of the deck. Build the turret with the six inch guns in it and glue it to the forward part of the super structure. Build the aircraft and put it on the launcher on the rear of the super structure. You may fold the wings and put the aircraft in the hangar on the rear of the super structure and leave the hangar door open. Finish your model by adding the amount of detail that you want. You can add periscope, masts, guns and railings as you see fit.

First Impressions:  A very interesting and historic ship that belongs in every collectors collection. I would recommend prior card modeling experience in building ships before you attempt this model.

Kit:  This 1:250 scale comes in a booklet with four sheets of A3 card stock. Instructions are in German but diagrams are provided to help you with the detail work on the model. The This model was originally produced by Kranich in East Germany and Thomas Pliener is now digitizing these models for CFM. We all owe Thomas our thanks for keeping this part of card modeling history alive. The kit is built in the same style that the Wilhelmshavener and Schrieber models so if you have built any of these you will have no problem with the kit. Kit is built as a waterline model, the hull is white with red stripping and it has wood colored decks. Masts are done in yellow and life boat hulls are red. Lots of detail is provided to spruce the ship up.

Construction:  The hull is built with standard "egg crate construction. Glue the horizontal and vertical formers to heavier card stock, then do the same for the decks. Glue the reinforced formers and deck together and when finished glue the hull sides between the bottom former and the deck. Build the super structure and attach it to the deck. Lots of detail is provided for you to finish up your ship. Cut and glue masts, ventilators, winches and davits out and glue them to their proper places on the deck. Build the life boats and glue them to the davits. Paper railings are provided but if you decide to detail even more than you can use thread to build more realistic railings.

First Impressions:A very nice looking ship that should make up into a nice model. Appears to be not to difficult to build but I would not recommend this as the first card model ship you build.  

Kit:  Fiddlers models are not done to any particular scale but they have set a standard called WSAM. WASM stands for Worlds Smallest Aircraft Museum which is a scale of 1/60. All models from Fiddlers have a percentage which indicate how far off the model is from 1/60. This model has a percentage of 104% which means the model is approximately 1/60 Scale. The model comes on one sheet of letter size card with one sheet of instructions. You can purchase the model by itself from Fiddlers web site or order it on a CD with many other aircraft from Fiddlers. If you do order the model over the internet, it comes in PDF format and you will need card stock and a color printer to print the model out. If you want to buy a pre-printed model, PMI usually carries all of Fiddlers models this way. Model is done in two tone green on top and gray on the bottom. No cockpit is provided, the canopy is of colored card stock. Wheel wells are printed on the side of the fuselage, landing gear and wheels are provided.

Construction:  Construction of the model is of the standard Fiddlers method. There are no internal formers for the fuselage but with Chip's designs these are not necessary. Cut out the fuselage sections, roll and glue then together and then glue the sections together using the tabs on each section. Cut and fold the wings, you might want to put a piece of dowel or tooth pick inside for strength and to help the wings keep their shape.. Cut, fold and glue the tail section to the fuselage. Build the wheels, landing gear and attach them to the model. If you do decide to scratch build a cockpit and clear canopy, an instrument panel and pilots seat is supplied. Cut and shape the cockpit and glue to the top of the fuselage.

First Impressions:   A beautiful little model that will make a very nice addition to anyones collection. A fairly simple model that anyone should be capable of building.

This column does not cover all the new card model aircraft and ships that have been released this month. It contains only those models that have been sent to me by dealers and designers for review or that I have been purchased for review. Due to space restrictions, some models sent in for review may be held over until next month.

Thanks to the following for providing kits for inspection and review:

• Models by Marek (DeWayne Barnett) at http://www.marek.iwarp.com/ (USA)
• Fiddler's Green (Chip Fyn) at http://www.fiddlersgreen.net (USA)
• Paper Models International (Lou Dausse) at http://www.papermodels.net (USA)
• Scheuer & Strüver (Liane Strüver) at http://www.moduni.de (Germany)
• Digital Card Models (Steve Bucher) at http://www.ww1cardmodels.bizland.com (USA)
• H&B Precision Card Models (Peter Heesch)H&B; Precision Card Models(USA)
• CFM Verlag (Thomas Pleiner) at http://www.cfm-verlag.com/ (Germany)
• ModelArt of Russia (Dimitry Makeev) at ModelArt of Russia(Russia)
• Red Star Models (Horacio Tisera) at Red Star Models(USA)3