Card Modeling FAQ

Appendix: Bibliography

This section is devoted to books on the paper arts generally, but which are too peripherally related to scale modeling in paper, or too hard to get hold of, or just too obscure, to get a listing in the top level of the FAQ.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Forms of Paper
Hiroshi Ogawa
Original Japenese edition, copyright 1967
English translation copyright 1971
Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, NY
I quote from the introduction: "This book inquires into the quintessence of forms which paper can be given. If the aim of this book can be compared to anything, it is the training given by Josef Albers, using paper, in the early days of the German Bauhaus, but he stood only at the threshold of the present inquiry and did not enter into it." 168 pages. Many beautiful b/w photographs, and 30 pages of patterns for many of the designs.

Design with Paper; in art and graphic design
Raymond A. Ballinger
copyright 1982
Van Nostrand Reinhold, Co., New York, NY
ISBN 0-442-24491-6
A good but slightly dated overview of the many uses of paper. Paper models specifically discussed on pages 106-109, and 134-135. Chapters include: Traditions in Paperwork, Die-cutting and Folding, Embossing Paper, Paper in Art Forms, Paper in the Graphic Arts, Packaging for Things and Thoughts, Geometric and Abstract Forms, Do-it yourself, Variations in Paper.

from Bob Pounds <Bobp@dynamite.com.au>: Here's one for the more well-heeled amongst us. Whoever buys it, I bags first loan.

Papyro-Plastics: Papyro-Plastics or the Art of Modelling in Paper; "With ample directions to draw with a ruler and compass the flat paper figure of the object to be represented; and afterwards to cut, fold, join and paint the same, so as to form a neat representation of the given object on a small scale." "From the German." London 1824 Boosey and Sons. Children are directed, using compasses, rulers and geometry, how to construct elaborate buildings in paper--a castle, bridge, "a house with a gable elevation in front", a church, a windmill, etc. Truly high IQ fun! 97p. 21 pages of line drawings, some foldout. 12mo. Original paper covered boards with mounted medallion-shaped illustration on front board. Signed by and bookplate of Evelyn Shirley, 1827. Cover good-a bit worn. Text VG. Tight. Small amount of very minor spotting. Offered for sale by xerxes books at US$200.00

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: Our art department and the university library have thrown in together and purchased the 1824 Boosey and Sons publication, Papyro Plastics, first mentioned on this list several weeks ago by Bob Pounds. It's a great little book! (At the time of publication Beethoven was premiering his Ninth Symphony, and Abraham Lincoln was fifteen years old.)

Here's a brief overview of this slim volume:

The author gently guides the reader on a tour of nearly 30 geometric constructions, just like the required geometric constructions I learned and loved back in 10th grade. Tools are limited to a straight edge and a compass, no ruler. He then moves into an application of these constructions as they apply to over 20 small paper models, ranging from Platonic solids, to kitchen and living room furniture, to castles, boats, and houses, and back to an ink and watch stand. The method is both outdated and innovative: the author always stresses Proportion over Measurement, and speaks in terms of thirds, halves and fifths as opposed to inches, centimeters and millimeters. (Keep in mind, however, that the resulting patterns are painfully exact.) It reminds me of both the ancient Greek Golden Mean, as well as my kindergartner's lessons on estimating and visual averaging. It's an elegant Euclidian approach to the science, craft, and art of paper engineering.

Here are two samples of the text, the first from the Preface:

...Papyroplastics, or the art of modelling in paper, has the additional advantage of teaching manual dexterity and the knowledge of proportion, of imparting a taste for the arts of design, and, above all, of affording a saluraty antidote to that listless indolence, that pernicious love of cards, or that rage of indiscriminately reading any book at random, which are unfortunately tolerated in many respectable families during the long winter evenings, and which are alike unfavourable to the comfort and to the best interests of young persons, as they greatly tend to obstruct them on their road to dury and happiness.

And the second from Chapter III, Modelling With Cut Paper Figures, Preliminary Observations:

6. Be not over hasty. Read only as much of the directions at once as may be performed in a little time, and endeavor to imitate directly whatever you clearly comprehend.

7. But should you not succeed at once, be not deterred; try again with greater attention, seek for the cause of your failure, and avoid the mistake into which you had been betrayed. Repeated attempts are sure to be crowned with success.

Great advice!

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: The following book has several plans for cardboard furniture, and I've made them all.
Nomadic Furniture; how to build and where to buy lightweight furniture that folds, collapses, stacks, knocks down, inflates or can be thrown away or recycled. Being both a book of instruction and a catalog of access for easy moving.
James Hennessey and Victor Papanek
Copyright 1973
Pantheon Books, a Division of Random House
ISBN 0-394-7577-1
Plans for a simple chair and a very comfortable armchair are given on pages 24-27, and plans for a simple cardboard support are given on page 40. Also pictured throughout are the cardboard furniture designs of the Canadian/American architect Frank Gehry. In the 1970's these were marketed under the name of "Easy Edges". After a short but successful run the line was discontinued. In the mid-80's Gehry re-introduced his furniture designs under the name "Experimental Edges". Amazing stuff! (We have a small footstool based on one of his designs.) The Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC featured several of both the old and new furniture designs in a Gehry retrospective in the late 80's (catalog available), and at the same time I saw a solo exhibition of the new furniture in a New York art gallery.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: Here's another book about cardboard.
New Crafts: Cardboard
Hardy, Emma
copyright 1997
Lorenzo Books, New York, NY
ISBN 1-85967-532-8
"Complete step by step instructions for 25 superb projects"
These include a table lamp, a clock, a chandelier, a card table, a chest of drawers and a child's chair. The "Gallery" has great photos decumenting the history of cardboard, including a colorful "Chrsitmas crib" from Poland.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Architectural and Interior Models, Design and Construction (A Book for Architects, Students, Landscape Architects,Town Planners, Modelmakers, Stage-Set Designers, Interior Designers, Space Planners, Structural Engineers)
by Sanford Hohauser
Van Nostrand Reinhold, Co.
Copyright 1970
ISBN 0-442-11301-3
This is a very thorough guide to making architectural models in ALL KINDS of materials, paper and cardboard included. It's actually somewhat overwhelming in its wealth of information. If you are a fan of buildings, this one is definitely worth looking into.
from Bob Pounds <Bobp@dynamite.com.au>:
Models in Cardboard
C. Baker
Percival Marshall & Co Ltd, London
1946

Recently I acquired a new (or rather, old) book on cardboard modelling. It is a title I have not seen before, but it already has proven to be a worthwhile addition to my card modelling library. I know nothing of the author, apart from his or her hame, but the fact it was published by Percival Marshall put it in a good light even before I has seen one word of the text. Percival Marshall was an professional engineer who in the 1930s began a weekly magazine in Britain called, The Model Engineer. All sorts of models were its staple--but its forte was live steam engines.

If Percival Marshall (the company) was impressed enough with this book to publish it, then it promised to be very good indeed.

Published in 1946, it is already more than 50 years old. Yet first impressions are very favourable - the book compares well with what I regard to be the definitive work on card modelling, Geoffrey Deason's Simple Cardboard Models. Baker says quite clearly in his preface that the book is intended to be a guide to techniques rather than step-by-step projects. In this, he succeeds admirably, and even an old card modeller like me has discovered the odd new trick or two.

My only beef with Baker is that (like Deason, unfortunately) he does not remain a card purist in his projects, permitting, as required, the use of the odd block of wood, bit of wire, etc.

Apart from that, his book, by itself, sets a firm foundation on which any person, now embarking on card modelling could do so with a reasonable degree of confidence.

While it would be wonderful to be able to scan every page to share with you, I regret that about the best I can do is copy taste from a few sections and hope that along the way, each of you gain something from it.
Locomotives.
This is the subject that Baker handles best and some of the illustrations have to be seen to be believed. Fully spoked wheels for the locomotive drivers, working motion gear, and cab and tender details that make the model live. He uses a lot of plastic wood filler to achieve smooth transitions from, for example, the chimney to the boiler, where I'd prefer to see a wet-moulded paper skirt fitted to do the same job.
Aircraft.
Baker suggests the use of formers, very much the same as used in Emil's London Medical helicopter. However, to align a series of formers, he drills holes in them and runs a length of wire through the holes. This is similar to the stringers that link the bulkhead sections in fullsize construction.
Ships.
Ventilators in card are always hard to construct. Baker breaks them down into a series of truncated cones, each stuck to the next in the chain. This seems as though it might work, especially in models in the middle-sized range, where small distortions can be tolerated.
Architecture.
This section is full of so many good ideas it is hard to know where to begin. But his breakdown of a flying buttresses for a cathedral model is very ingenious. Also, he stresses the need for details in bulidings: it is not good enough to draw in a window - the modeller should put in the frames, sills, etc.

The greatest surprise to me was the change in the way we build models over the years. At first glance it doesnt seem as though there's much difference between what we do now when we build a model and what Baker would have done 50 years ago - or for that matter the good folks who made card models at the turn of the century.

Yet here are some differences that were apparent to me.
1. Cutting on soft timber board, thick card or a zinc plate - now most of us would use a plastic cutting mat.
2. Cutting tools - Baker refers to a well-sharpened penknife - but says that new cutting tools are being developed.
3. Adhesives - almost all water based - now several are petroleum based.

Finally, the essential message from Bakers book that come across the years and that we as modellers still seek to achieve today is this: [...the modeller] should [work towards] producing a model which defies its detection as cardboard. Good advice - and I know I always get a great kick of of having people say, "You mean it's cardboard - not plastic?"

from Gian Paolo Capitani <Gian.Paolo.Capitani@lnf.infn.it>:
Something New! A Cardboard Cut-Out Model, by Herbert Lozier, Flying Aces (USA Aeronautical Magazine, published from 1931 until early forties), July 1936, Volume xxiii, number 4. A very simple Northrop XFT-1. I found this article on a reprint volume of all articles of modelling interest. The volume (fourth of the series) is compiled by SAM 1066, UK. SAM is an world wide old timer model airplanes lovers society.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Paper Warplanes
David Hawcock
1989
David and Charles Publishers
ISBN 0-7153-9366-9
Quote: easy to make, complete with list of materials, cut-out plans for each model, step by step instructions, twelve like like models, from Spitfires to Harriers.

A book full of plans to photocopy for the making of eleven planes and one helicopter. The patterns are blanks, so all surface decoration must be added by the model builder. Planes are medium sized; the Spitfire measures about a foot across, and the models are all very straightforward. They remind me, structurally, of enlarged Fiddler's Green models. They are: Sopwith Camel, Fokker Dr1, Messerschmitt Bf109, Spitfire, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Avro Lancaster, BAE Harrier, Bell UH-1 Huey, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, MiG 21, F-15 Eagle, F-111.

Vans to Build from Cardboard
Jeremy Comins
1978
Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company
ISBN 0-688-41872-4
If you are hopelessly trapped in the 70's, still wear leisure suits, faithfully watch Starsky and Hutch re-runs, and think that Cheech and Chong are WAY funnier than Laurel and Hardy, then this is the book for you. A tribute to all kinds of vans: food and small business vans, construction and work vans, transportation vans, police vans, recreation vans, and so forth. The designs are all very basic, and most are meant to be made from corrugated cardboard. The fun, it seems, comes from customizing each model. My favorites are pictured are pages 88 and 89, two Love Machines, decked out with bead curtains, throw pillows, what could be a small lava lamp, and tons of velvet. This book is not much of a help to modellers, but it can't be beat as a relic of popular culture!

from Larry Stillman <larrys@vicnet.net.au>: To continue my exciting series of obscure literature...

Author: Swannell, M
Year: 1910(?)
Title: Paper Modelling: A Combination of Paper Folding, Paper Cutting & Pasting, And Ruler Drawing
Publisher: George Philip & Son
City: London
Notes: "Paper modelling is one of the best forms of handwork for young children, in whom the constuctive impulse is remarkably strong. The materials are readily obtainable even in the poorest homes, where the children can carry out ihn ply what they have been helped to do in school"

Author: Milton, W A
Year: 1920
Title: Drawing, Cutting, and Modelling in Cardboard. A course suitable for Scholars in the Lower Standards - with teaching notes and illustrations
Publisher: Thomas Murby & Co.
City: London
Notes: "it is a matter of little importances to the child whether the product of seventeen and eleven considered as an abstract calculation is 178 or 187, but how vastly different the problem becomes when he has to fit a piece of cardboard seventeen by eleven into a space of exactly this size"

Author: Buxton, George Fred; Curran, Fred L
Year: 1911
Title: Paper and Cardboard Construction
Publisher: The Menomonie Press, Menomie, Wisc.
Notes: "An analysis of the scope of paper and cardboard constructions for primary grades of public schools - an outline of a course with directions for making the problems - information regarding courses, equipment, supplies, and methods of handling the work, - a bibliography of the subject."
Book problems
Box problems
Card problems
Envelope problems
Includes samples of different sorts of paper

Editor's note: As far as I can determine, there are no copies of these three works in public libraries in North America or the British Isles. Information to the contrary would be welcomed.

from Slobodan Stanisavljevic <slobodan_stanisavljevic_at_lon1mail@panagora.com>: Unpacking one of the boxes (from recent house move) I picked an old book: Paper Pilot by Edward H. Mathews, ISBN 0-14-015654-2, Penguin Books, GBP 6.99, Can 9.99. In my opinion this book is great.
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Theory of flight
3. Construction tips
4. The planes
6. Design your own planes
7. Paper Helicopter design
8. References
Book contains 9 models: SIAI Marchetti, Grumman E-2C Hawkaye, Rockwell B-1, Cessna Caravan, Bizjet 2C, Seaplane, Fama IA 63 Pampa, Space Shuttle and Bell 222 Helicopter. I have tried Marchetti (It really flies!!!) and Bell 222 (not impressed). My advice is: be patient and follow instruction and it can be real fun! What they said: Hours of fabulous flying fun! Nine fantastic models including the Rockwell B-1 Bomber, Cessna Caravan and Bell 222 Helicopter used in the TV series AIRWOLF New revolutionary catapult and bungee launching technique and guidance in trimming to ensure smooth, spectacular flights over distances of up to 100 metres!
from Roy R. Miller <rmiller@thefaultline.net>:
Toys Go To War
by Jack Matthews
Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc.
713 South Third Street West
Missoula, Montana 59801
It is a soft cover coffee table style book and, while low on text, it is none the less a real nostalgia trip for those of us who grew up playing with these toys.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Paper Aeroplanes
How to make aeroplane models from paper
by Richard Slade
Faber and Faber, London
copyright 1970
ISBN 0 571 09193 8
Plans for twenty airplanes, ranging from the Sopwith Camel to the Sud Aviation Caravelle. Plans are squared for ease of transfer. However, don't bother. The results are boxy at best and, in the case of the Short Sandringham, laughable. If you've not seen this book, the photos are easy enough to imagine: put several card models out in the rain, let dry, repeat several times, and voila! The results will be fairly similar. Too bad, actually, as I had high hopes for this book. Oh well...
from Bob Pounds <Bobp@dynamite.com.au>: I concur with Kell. I bought this volume shortly after it was released and it just doesn't have what it takes. I guess the only redeeming feature is the academic interest -- to see how another has gone about making these models and to avoid the mistakes the author has made. A pity really because this is closer to what I think of as 'true' paper modelling, rather than (and please don't take this the wrong way) putting together a preprinted kit, as the reader still had to draft out the individual segments of the aircraft.
from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: If your interest in paper modelling goes back 200 years, I could suggest a book that I would really like to have myself. It is said to be the first handbook on paper modelling. It has some nice drawings (etchings or woodcuts?) in it. I suggest it if you read German. But how to get a copy to read? That's the big question. Its author and title is: Heinrich Rockstroh, Anweisung zum Modellieren aus Papier, printed in Weimar 1802.

If someone has too many copies, please send one to me.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
In a recent issue of Jon Murray's CardFormation newsletter there was an article on using PhotoShop and other photographic scanning software programs as an aid to model building. The article was written by H. David Jackson who, it turns out, has written a book called Building Model Airplanes from Scratch. (Copyright 1979, Tab Books, ISBN 0-8306-9883-3 hardcover, and 0-8306-1027-8, paperback.) Chapters cover topics such as Tools, Materials, Research and Planning, and others like Stick and Span, Laminate a Plane, AND Paper Plane! In about twenty pages he takes the reader through the basics of designing and constructing a card model plane from scratch, in this case, a Douglas O-38. In three clear diagrams he outlines the basic forms from which all card models are built, and he offers a number of step by step photos of the model in progress. (Figures 10-11 and 10-12, for example, show the parts for the engine assembly and the completed engine assembly, respectively.) At the beginning of the chapter he suggests that the reader/builder have at least one or two card model kits under his belt before trying his hand at scratchbuilding - good advice - and then he offers 12 no-nonsense designing and building tips. A nice addition for the model maker's library.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Jon Murray introduced me to a book I had not known:
On the Spot Guides: Card Engineering
Ian Honeybone
Outline Press, 1990
ISBN 1 851547 03 2
Contents include: envelopes and folders, pop-ups, folding cartons, presentations and display, struts. This slim volume covers all of the basics of industrial card packaging and engineering, but some of the techniques are of interest to the model builder. A quick search on amazon turned up an "out of print" entry.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: Here are two good books I picked up at the meeting in Bremerhaven. The first is:
Abwicklung & Co.; Die Geometrie Fuer den Kartonmodellbauer
(Stretch-Out and Co.; Geometry for the Paper Modeller)
by Dietrich Schmitt (Text in German only, but plenty of drawings!)
This is not so much an original work as a compilation. Mister Schmitt has created a primer in sheet-metal layout as it applies to card model design. (He credits the original texts in the bibliography.) However, what sets this book apart from the hoards of shop manuals is the section on laying out "odd forms," specifically, airplane fuselages! A very practical book. DM 20, available directly from the author.
Schiffe Aus Papier
(Ships from Paper: 14 essays on the century old hobby of paper modeling.
Edited by Dr. Siegrid Stoelting.)
Published by the Worpsweder Verlag, 1989.
Again, the text is only in German, but if you're a fan of paper ships, I imagine that it would be worth the low cost just for the pictures! This is the book the accompanied the exhibition of the same name at the German National Museum of Shipping in 1989. Very informative! Essays on the history of paper modeling as a whole, a step by step survey on the development and publication of a paper model, notes on the paper models published directly by the Museum, (now numbering well over twenty!), an article on modeling in the public schools, and others. Available directly from the Museum for DM 10, a real bargain!
from Timothy A. Good <timgood@snip.net>: I was studying to be a pencil draftsman just as CAD software (specifically AutoCAD) was being released to PC's. I dug out my old textbook (Technical Drawing, 7th ed., Giesecke, Mitchell, Spencer, Hill, and Dygdon, MacMillan Publishing, 1985), and referred to Chapter 19, Intersections and Developments. This is the info you need to do complex shapes as flat drawings.

Lots of wierd shapes are shown in this section, I really recommend you go to a library and try and find a book like this. Older books are even better, as no one was even thinking of computer drafting yet. An old timer where I work has a really nifty one with lots of developments.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Hotchpotchology by Geil Butler.
(No copyright, no publisher.)
Xeroxed, plastic ring binder.
This is a wonderfully strange book about making doll and miniature houses and furniture from cardboard, paper and a few other odds and ends. Written by a grandmother after she scratch-built a Barbie doll house for her granddaughter. Lots of patterns, a few black and white photographs and some freehand sketches. (Mrs. Butler is at her best with a ruler in her hand. The freehand stuff is a bit "loopy.") Here's the preface:
When my granddaughter wanted a dollhouse for her Barbie doll, I thought it would be relatively simply [sic] to purchase one. Not so. Being a typical doting grandmother who didn't want to disappoint her granddaughter, I built a dollhouse and furnished it. I had no patterns--just ideas and determination to succeed. (My husband calls me his "little innovator," because I'm always trying to make something out of nothing.) And this most enjoyable project promoted Hotchpotchology.

Hotchpotchology is just the highfalutin name I call my hobby. Literally, it's: "A science or branch of knowledge pertaining to a mingled mass, confused mixture, or hodgepodge." Our trash cans are over-flowing with a hodgepodge of empty, various shaped, attractively decorated cardboard containers which, by adapting different handicrafts, can be easily turned into doll furniture that will delight and little girl.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Models and Prototypes: Clay, Plaster, Styrofoam and Paper.
Copyright 1992.
Graphic-Sha Press.
ISBN 4 7661 0617 2.
In Japanese and English.
This is a book written for industrial designers, but it's also appropriate for paper modelers. The section on Paper is actually a detailed chapter on foamcore, but the techniques can be used for heavy card stock as well. (And I have often used foamcore instead of cardboard for infrastructures and also for jigs to assist in building.) The Paper Model Making chapter is divided as follows: Basic Course; Production Course; Making Combination Furniture Items; Making a 1:1 Digital Telephone; Making a 1:5 Automatic Vending Machine; Making a 1:1 Facsimile Machine. The book also includes a brief overview of development (layout) drawing. Very well illustrated with step-by-step photos and drawings.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
My friendly Inter-Library Loan librarian has been working hard and she's found several books of particular interest to kids: the Kate Petty "Build Your Own" series. There are four books in the set, Castle, Space Station, Airport and Farmyard. The books are aimed at elementary school kids, and they take you step by step through the processes of scratch-building the above locales using construction paper, cereal boxes, toilet paper tubes, etc. My ten year old was wildly enthusiastic about the Space Station, and in less than an hour he crafted a nifty little Space Shuttle using a t.p. roll, a paper straw, a nosecone he fashioned himself and a few other items, all paper. Very cool! Naturally, these things would not appeal to the scale model purist, but they are GREAT dad and lad projects, and I always prefer an awkward scratch-built attempt to a polished commercial kit, especially in working with kids. (Opinions expressed here are completely MY OWN!) The four books are published by Franklin Watts, copyrights vary, but all in the 1980's. Author Kate Petty, Consultant Caroline Pitcher, Illustrated by Louise Nevett.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Here are two good card modeling books I got at used book stores while on vacation. Both are by Frank Ross, Jr., the author of Tin Lizzie. (A write-up on that volume is found elsewhere in the FAQ.)
Antique Car Models; Their Stories and How to Make Them, copyright 1978, Lothrop.
Curved Dash Olds, 1902
Waverley Stanhope Electric, 1909
Stanley Steamer, 1911
Chevrolet, 1915
Historic Racing Car Models; Their Stories and How to Make, copyright 1978, Lothrop.
Panhard-Levassor, 1895
Mercedes, 1904
Duesenberg, 1921
Maserati, 1957
Lotus-Ford, 1963
McLaren M16, 1971
Both are similar to Tin Lizzie. Ross takes the reader step-by-step through the design and building of lots and lots of cars. Plenty of diagram illustrations to help you through the process.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Here are several good books on scratch-building simple card models. The first four are all by Caroline Pitcher and Kate Petty, and together they form the "Build Your Own" series. They are:
Farmyard
Space Station
Castle
Airport
All published by Franklin Watts Co.
Using clear and colorful step-by-step drawings the authors guide young readers through the building of large paper and cardboard playsets. Shoe boxes, milk cartons and construction paper are the basic building materials, but pipe cleaners, tooth picks, popsicle sticks and other craft items are used when needed. Great for kids! (My ten year old was inspired to make a nifty Space Cruiser Shuttle from construction paper and a toilet tissue roll. He now uses it with his Legos.)

The other book is:
Cardboard Carpentry
Janet and Alex D'Amato
copyright 1966
Sayre Publishing
A good "rainy day" book for kids. Instructions for playsets, marionettes, boats, games, instruments, etc.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Here's a WONDERFUL little book!
The Great Paper Toy Show
Makiko Azakami
copyright 1990
Chronicle Books, San Francisco
ISBN 0-8118-0507-7
Makiko Azakami began making her magical paper toys in 1985. While a staff artist at Sony Creative Products, she snipped and pasted together a miniature paper Godzilla waving the Japanese flag. This beguiling creature inspired her to create more paper toys, and in a short time what started out as a hobby became a career.

She made her exhibition debut as a paper artist in 1985 at the Space Yui, an illustration gallery in Tokyo. Since then, she has had a one-woman show every fall at the gallery. Her work has been used to illustrate numerous bookjackets, magazine covers, fashion posters, and billboards across Japan and has been featured in many exhibitions, including twelve solo shows. Her first American show was held at The Illustration Gallery in New York. 'Paper Toy' is the name that she chose to call her miniature three-dimensional paper objects. Ms. Azakami lives in Tokyo.

The book is an exhibition catalog of 45 works, beautifully photographed and presented one to a page. She has a thing for purses, shoes, brassieres, diners, rockets and small cars. Great, great stuff!

See examples of her work at: http://www.3dimillus.com/thumbs2/7037A40wb.html.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Sheet-Metal Pattern Drafting and Shop Problems
James Daugherty
Chas. Bennett Co., Inc., Publishers
copyright 1922, renewed and revised 1959 and 1961
This is a very dry but thorough text. Also very practical, as its contents were meant to be applied to a variety of "real-world" ductwork problems.
from steve kirkman <stevekirkman@bitechnologies.com>:
There is a revised edition of the book Sheet-Metal Pattern Drafting and Shop Problems by James Daugherty published in 1978 by Bennett & McKnight Publishing Company. The ISBN number is 0026656809. Currently Amazon has this in stock for $30.95.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Abwicklung und Co.
Dietrich Schmitt
Mark-Twain Str. 19
27753 Delmenhorst, Germany
copyright 1999
Text in German. This is a complilation of many applicable sheet-metal layout problems as applied specifically to paper modeling. Of special interest to the paper modeler are the notes on parametric design. i.e. allowing for the thickness of the cardstock, (all of the author's examples use .3mm stock), and the section on airplane fuselages. If one doesn't read German the text might still be of interest as long as one was ALREADY well versed in layout/stretchout theory and practice.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
I've found a good card modeling book for those interested in scratch building architectural models:
Miniature Building Construction
An Architectural Guide for Modellers
John H. Ahern
Model and Allied Publications Limited
1950 (fifth edition 1973)
84 line drawings, some b/w photographs.
This is excellent manual on how to design and build your own card models. (Most of the photos in the book show line side buildings for railway layouts.) In the chapter on Tools and Materials the author says: ... the construction is done in either cardboard or thin plywood. But personally, I favor card... And this is evident throughout the text. True, the odd piece of wood shows up from time to time, but Mr. Ahern reiterates his preference many times in the 150 pages.

The book is filled with lots of useful tips, things that I learned the hard way in making many, many models. For example: When cutting out windows, and in similar cases, it is advisable to prick the corners with a pin, or scriber point, so as to provide a kind of stop for the blade when it reaches the end of the cut, and to assist the waste piece to come out cleanly and without leaving untidy little tags behind. I should mention here that whenever possible the straightedge used as a cutting guide should be placed on the side of the card which is to be retained, and not on the waste piece. Great advice for the beginner, and a good reminder for the experienced modeller.

The chapter on Constructional Methods contains a handy little layout primer. Specifically it covers the setting out of hipped and mansard roofs, but the math involved can be used in finding the true lengths and in the laying out of many structures.

Here are the book's chapters:

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Here is a very thorough book on scratch-building architectural models in card:
Pictorial House Modelling
A Practical Manual explaining how to make Models of Buildings.
Illustrated by Original Photographs and Drawings, many made specially for this work by the Author.
E.W. Hobbs
London, Crosby Lockwood and Son
1926
It was re-issued eleven years later as:
House Modelling for Builders and Real Estate Agents
E.W. Hobbs
with a foreward by Leslie Raymond
London, The Technical Press
1937
The following author's note, from the 2nd edition, explains the change of title: ...The word 'pictorial' appears, however, to have given rise to some misconception, and overshadowed the essentially practical and utilitarian value of the book to Architects, Builders, Estate Agents and others concerned with the design, building, equipment and sale of all kinds of House Property. To all such, this book under its new title explains clearly and with precision how the unitiated in model work can make attractive but inexpensive house models of all kinds either for window display or to emphasise the more intimate appeal of a purpose-built home.

The emphasis of this book is thoroughness! In 128 photographs and clear line drawings the author demonstrates EVERY SINGLE STEP necessary for the laying out, cutting and construction of a paper model of a home. (Two homes, in fact. Included are two plates - one a fold out - of the patterns for the models illustrated in the book, the first a simple rectangular home, the second a more complex "ideal home" with a hipped Mansard roof, a bow window, etc.) The author leaves nothing to guesswork. Photographs fill in what the text does not clearly explain. Illustrated are: sharpening the knife, cutting the card, applying adhesive, use of the tee square and set square, bending cleanly along a score, the use of a home-made "paper-brush" to apply adhesive to a butt joint, how to use tweezers, using a stiffening web at the corner of a built-up model, squaring a wall, placing cross walls, using a temporary card clamp (jig) to aid in gluing, the use of steadying pins, etc. This book also appears to have been an inspiration for Thomas Bayley's Model Making in Cardboard, Dryad Press, 1958, since several of the jigs and tools he advocates buildings - the moulding block, the corrugating machine and the device for putting pressure on a sloping roof during gluing - appear in Edward Hobb's manual. Hobbs also explains in detail the math involved in finding the true lengths of roofs necessary for accurate pattern making.

The book is a wonderful historical document as well as a great resource in explaining the process of paper modeling to a beginner. It has also made me feel woefully underdressed: the woman photographed in Hobb's book making the model can be seen wearing a string of pearls in nearly every single picture! Even when her features are cropped out of the shot, her out-of-focus pearls still manage to appear in the background. Classy pursuit, that paper modelling stuff.

from Bob Pounds <Bobp@dynamite.com.au>: I suspect this is the same EW Hobbs who wrote two classic model ship building books. They are certainly from the same era and Kell's description of the photos matches the kind of images in Clipper Ship Models and How to Make Old Time Ship Models. Of interest to this list is the fact that each of these books contains a card model project as part of the 'skill building exercises' before attempting the 'masterwork.

Unlike many 'how to' books from the 20s and 30s, Hobbs' books were very practical in their approach. While I have not see his architectural models book, if it is of the same quality as the ship models ones it is sure to be a useful addition to the card modeller's library.

Hobbs' ship models books are published by Brown, Son and Ferguson, Ltd of Glasgow, a very highly regarded marine publisher.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
I've received two more books by Edward W. Hobbs, books not solely devoted to card modelling, but texts that do deal with paper modelling in a thorough, though introductory, was. They are:
The two volumes are of significant interest to ship modellers, but the second book mentioned, Old-Time Ship Models, is of special interest to card modellers. Mister Hobbs devotes the better part of three chapters to card modelling, although he does consider card the introductory material to the more advanced chapters on wood hull construction. Nonetheless, he treats card modelling with much seriousness and consideration. In fact, card elements continue to crop up in ALL of his models throughout the book. As in Pictorial House Modelling the book offers many step-by-step photos of the process of modelling in card, and the 1934 edition (I've not seen the '29 version) comes with five large separate patterns, the first two devoted to card ship construction: a waterline carrack and a scenic model of the Ark Royal. The instructions for the Ark Royal deal in depth with plank-by-plank hull construction.

Clipper Ships covers the building of one card model, a waterline vessel that "anyone can make in a few evenings." Included is a fold-out plate of the pattern pieces. (Note: the plates in Old-Time Ship Models are 1:1 scale, while those in Clipper Ships need to be scaled up.)

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Gummed Strip and Paper Modelling
Frederick T. Day
C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd., London. 1955
This volume was not to my liking. The author, like G.H. Deason, advocates laminating layers of paper over wooden forms in order to create compound curves. Deason saves this technique as a last resort for racing cars and some ships, but Day uses it for everything! Sure, there are a few patterns along the cut score and fold method (which I prefer) but they are far outnumbered by the other. In my opinion the "gummed strip" approach is simply papiermache with less of the mess. I enjoy the discipline of mathematical layout and the laminate method bypasses all that.

The book covers a wide range of topics: Moulding from Gummed Strip Coils, Simple Things to Make, More Advanced Work with Gummed Strip, Model Making with Gummd Strip, Gummed Strip in the Home, Miscellaneous Uses of Gummed Strip, Gummed Strip Applied to Handicrafts. The models illustrated in the Modelling chapter are: garden or hand truck, houses from folded cardboard, decorative fan, working model of a bridge, model stage for puppets, model factory, model forts, accessories for model railways, knight in armour, puppets for model theatre, model steam roller, model petrol and liquid tank vehicle, model boats, aircraft model making. The format is consistent throughout, one page of text followed by an illustration. (Each model and or project is described on one page.)

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: Structural Package Designs, by Haresh Pathak, published by Pepin Press of Amsterdam 1999. ISBN 90-5496-051-5. This is a gem - 368 (small) pages on designing packages. Almost no words, with one box design per page. They grow increasingly complex, from simple cereal boxes to elaborate boxes with hangers and inserts, to boxes that look like something. I have never thought a lot about boxes that stuff is sold or shipped in - but these clean and elegant drawings of the flat templates make you itch to try cutting one out and folding it up, just to see the familar shapes in the pantry appear from the page. Pathak lives in Bombay, where this was first published in 1996.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: Robert Burgess
Making Theater Models in Paper and Card
1999
A good book, full of patterns and lots of helpful info. Here's the amazon.com link.
from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Building Cardboard Dollhouses
Jeff Milstein
Harper Colophon Books
1978
"Step-by-step instructions and plans for five classic American house styles built between 1700 and 1900: Colonial, Georgian, Greek Revival, Victorian and Italiante."

I've built them all in cardstock in smaller formats, and then used them as Christmas ornaments. Very attractive, straightforward, historically accurate models, all designed by an architect.

The book is long out of print, but is readily available through Inter-Library Loan.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: Here's a book that might be of interest to the automata fans:
The Usborne Book of Paper Engineering
Fiona Watt
1997
ISBN 07460 2327 8
US$6.95
Eleven projects thoroughly explained with photos, text and patterns. Library Journal wrote that "this is NOT a book for the craft impaired!" There are some basic pop-up mechanisims explained, but I found the real treats to be the automata: The Snapping Crocodile - pull and push on its tail and its mouth opens and closes; The Surprise Box - open the lid and a butterfly pop-ups and moves its wings; The Marching Elephant - the trunk, tail and rider move when you push a lever under the beast's belly; and the Squawking Parrot - turn a handle and the bird's wings flap up and down. Fans of Rob Ives, Peter Markey and Paul Spooner will enjoy this book, and with a little thought all mechanisims can be easily adapted for other models. (For example, the mouth of any model animal could be made to open using the croc device, and an addition of a simple lever could also allow the parrot to open and close its beak while its wings flap up and down.)
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