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Hi,
there are some nice pdf's for cardboard models out there.
http://www.worldworksgames.com/store/
http://www.davesgames.net/
http://www.ebblesminiatures.com/shop/index.php

A major problem with cardboard models is their lack of weight and their fragility. To fit into the printer, cardboard must be flexible enough. How do you cope with that problem? Is there a substance you can brush or spray on that hardens the cardboard without warping it? If you have closed buildings, can you foam them out? You can always glue cardboard walls on wood or plasticard, but that may be expensive and labour intensive. Ideas?

I too would like to know this./

They do look neat.
Was pndering the same thing when viewing another thread earlier today.
Would have thought foamboard would be a good bet as it would be cheaper than plasticard.
what concerns me ink running if it gets damp in the gluing process (if an inkjet printer is used).
Not sure how permanent a spray adhesive would be.

They look good. No Idea how it would work though

One of the old tricks from the my garage kit days, was to fill vinyl kits with expanding foam, (or plaster, but that seems it might be out for paper) might be worth experimenting with..

Lanceradvanced wrote:One of the old tricks from the my garage kit days, was to fill vinyl kits with expanding foam, (or plaster, but that seems it might be out for paper) might be worth experimenting with..

This is what I was going to suggest.

Just paint on a few layers of fiber glass resin on the insides.

I've read about some people washing it with a few coats of watered down pva, but I've never done it myself so don't know how it would work.

I've been making scratch-builds from templates lately, but I've been printing the templates on regular paper, then using MDF to actually construct the piece. It's a crapton more work though and you need power tools (or a wicked steady hand and a lot of spare time) to do it.

Using a foam "skeleton" would probably be easiest and most durable I think.

How about heavy card stock and some automotive clear coat. Sould work.

I recently built a cardstock Chimera out of some templates I found online, and what with all the layering and detail, it actually came out to be pretty solid. I was nervous about crushing accidents, though, so I doubled up the interior "walls" with matte board, like you use for framing photographs, which gave it a little more rigidity and weight. The same thing could be done with thick plastic sheeting, too. I've considered filling the model with expanding foam, as was previously suggested, but I have no experience with it so far.

perhaps converting the pdf files in to a vector format then having them laser cut out of something like plastic or very stiff card. I know not every one has access to a laser cutter but I am just throwing the ideas out there. I might try this myself, any requests for a laser cut cardboard model?

Well if you remember your grade 8 art class (if you took it) you can layer paper onto anything if you water down white glue and put it on both sides of the paper then flatten out with a brush.

I used to do stuff like this all the time when I used to make terrain, but now I have so much that I have little room to store it all, let alone play with most of it.

So this is how I would do it:
1) I would built the model with something hardy like thick card or plastic card.
2) spread glue onto card with brush.
3) place paper printout onto card.
4) brush on watered down glue onto paper print out.
5) use black paint and go over all the edges (as some white may still remain on creases).

It should be pretty hardy after that.

But would the printed ink not run when it got wet?

Don't know about laserprinting but inkjet usually will bleed when it gets water on it.

Well Remember the water is there to make the glue spread more easily. So when I say mix the two, it's more like dip your water covered brush in glue to make it spread more easily.

Or if you have a really steady hand (and don't mind a more glossy look) you could go with packing tape. The aim with this approach is to place the packing tape over the paper to make it more durable.

I tried that once with limited success, but if done properly it can look really nice.