Card Modeling FAQ

Appendix: More Sources for Card Models

Someday, I hope to have this sufficiently well organized that all the listings are divided into appropriate categories, e.g:

• Mail-order retail sellers (these belong up at the top level.)
• Non-mail-order retail sellers (e.g. shops.)
• One-off models from publishers who don't specialize in paper models.
• Ones that I just don't know much about.

No significance should be assigned to the order of listings here. The countries are listed in random order (although the table of contents is alphabetical.) Generally new ones are added toward the end, but I put the USA at the very last because it's first in the main FAQ. Within the country listings, comments are placed roughly in the order received.

• Argentina
• Belgium
• Canada
• The Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• The Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Russia
• South Africa
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• Turkey
• The United Kingdom
• The United States

France

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: Your group may be interested in the following addresses of stores I've stumbled upon, with excellent examples of architectural models (as you can imagine from the cities where they're located):

Librairie-Gallerie de l'Hotel de Sully
Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques et de Sites
62, rue Saint-Antoine
75004 Paris, France

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: Mirontaine produce four series of little houses (some boats) that are really postcards or notecards and are sold in gift shops, certainly here in England. They have 20 from the UK, 20 from France, and under the name Clair de Lune they have the same number from Greece. I think the company was orginally based in Greece. They are slot together buildings (no glue) and are quite charming.
Editions Mirontaine
Mmde. Appert
32, rue St. Maur
23000 Bordeaux
FRANCE

from Pierre Gauriat <pierreg@free.fr>: Some information for those that have the opportunity to come to France: it is quite easy to find "Ouest-France cardmodels" in newsagent and book shops in the cities of Rennes, Nantes, La Rochelle and Bordeaux. Anywhere but in the french atlantic coast, it's almost impossible to find them (even in Paris!). Be careful, those models have instructions in french only.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: The national champion here is L'Instant Durable, one of the major publishers of architectural models in the world. Their main series of mostly French buildings stand comparison with anyone else. Stressing architecturally and historically important buildings, beautiful packaged, great printing, fine design, excellent paper, they are just about as good as it gets. In addition, they produce a large and very varied series of both postcards and notelet models. The only snag is that production seems to have declined in the last few years. Fewer models are being produced and there have been no new postcards for some years. There are also several companies that while not increasing their range are at least still around. These include Parmentier and Mirontaine, whose large and interesting selection of postcards are very interesting. Also included in this group is the other main publisher of a substantial series of historically important models, Pascaline, who, like L'Instant Durable, produce well designed, well-printed models on good paper. But here too, there has been a serious falling off of new models in the past few years.

In the past ten or fifteen years that have been three other publishers that appeared to be creating important series of models but all three have ceased publication or at least ceased producing models. The first of these is Sertii, who in the middle 1980s, when I first started collecting, had four models in circulation with more in the planning stage. These were good models on very stiff paper, but the models in preparation were never, to my knowledge, ever produced. The same holds true for Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historique et Site, which produced two outstanding models, Mont. St. Michel and Saline S'Arc et Senans and which also had the distribution system capable of selling their own models. Unfortunately, these were the only two models that were produced outside of some smaller models sold along with painting sets. The other disappointment in among the French publishers is also the most mysterious. There were at least three companies, Gaillimard Jeunesse (this one might have been Belgian), Gaillimard Tomis and Tomis/Sarl that were in some ways connected to each other, though exactly how I don't know. Between them they produced a wonderful series of models from around the world, both current buildings and those no longer extant. Again, they all seem to have gone out of business and I have heard nothing about any of them for several years. Another company, Ingenia, that produced models either just before or just after WWII and had a series of interesting, large scale models, mostly of serious French buildings, is also out of business to my knowledge.

And finally, there is the greatest disappointment of all in Pellerin Imagerie D'Epinal, one of the originators of architectural paper models along with Schreiber in Germany. Going back to at least the mid-nineteenth century, they were one of the greatest series of paper models ever. They are still in business but their latest productions are very limited and while well produced, they are not a serious producer of models now.

As for the rest, there are some fine individual efforts but these are essentially one-offs of modern buildings, perhaps produced as part of an exhibition of the architect's work. There is no sustained effort of producing series of models. So on balance, the news from France is basically disappointing. There are still some publishers producing good models in large ranges but their number is small and dwindling and there doesn't seem to anyone willing to take up the slack.

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Arc en Reve Entrepot Laine 3, rue Ferrere 33000 Bordeaux	A model of the Corbusier dwelling Passac. A single sheet, folded, it is 12"x32", in color, designed by Paul Groenendijk & Piet Vollaard of Uigeverij 010, in 1987. A very nice production it is important for being a model of an serious work of modern architecture.	1
Archetype 17, rue de France-Bourgeois 75004 Paris	This is a series of large sheets of important French buildings including the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe, Sacre Coeur, Chartres Cathedral, Notre Dame and Reims Cathedral (on two sheets). The sheets are in two colors, fairly simple but large, 20"x28". They were produced in 1983 and are marked Azimut, though I have preferred to file them under the bookstore in Paris where I bought them. This store specialized in architectural books, models, etc.	6
Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historique et Site Grand Palais, Porte F Cour-la-Reine 75008 Paris	The Caisse Nationale is essentially similar to English Heritage and is in charge of the some of the great buildings of France. And also like English Heritage or the National Trust they produce a line of products, usually based in design or spirit on the buildings themselves. In this spirit they have produced two extraordinary models: a complete rendition of the setting and buildings of Mont St. Michel in Normandy and the salt works at Saline S'Arc et Senans, designed by Nicolas Ledeux. The former, published in 1984, and designed by Fr. Rouillay, is in 1:? scale, comes with 20 page book of instructions, and comes on 33 sheets of 12"x16" good stiff paper. The model is in black and white but could, I assume, be watercolored. The latter, published in 1985, is designed by PE Chatauret, A Ruffaldi and C Contet. It is in 1:200 scale, has eleven (11) separate buildings comprising the complex and has about 24 12"x16" sheets along with a history and instructions. This model is in color. Both are very well done and great examples of paper models, though I fear they were not well received in the marketplace as these were the only major models produced. There was another set, however, that was also very interesting. Caisse Nationale a series of black and white models, more schematic than accurate, that were meant for children and sold along with paints, brushes, felt tipped pens and glue to complete the model. The buildings were Azay-le Rideau produced in a 5"x7" size plus Versailles and Mont St. Michel in a 11"x16" size. The later included two sheets of blue plastic to simulate the sea. Finally, the Caisse's last efforts include two small books, also for children, with color models to make of the monks in the abbey at Mont St. Michel and several rooms at Chambord. These are very easy and small and nothing compared to their earlier efforts.	7
Conseil General Department du Nord	A wonderful small model of an Elephant and Castle (Elephant de la Memoire) built, I believe, as a memorial of the French Revolution and I also, assume, published in celebration of the 200th anniversary of that event. It is a little booklet, 8"x8" square, though the model folds out making a sheet 8"x24". Most of the booklet tell the story of the history of this very peculiar monument.	1
P. Didion Delhart Nancy	Two sheets, 15"x19", very much of the Pellerin Imagerie D'Epinal type, numbered #22 and #157, strongly indicating there were many more in the series. The two pages are Monument Turc (a monumental building in the Oriental style) and Reposoir (some kind of altar). Unfortunately, I know nothing else about the company.	2
Philippe Doreau une Production Passages 13 rue Daniel Boutet 28000 Chartres	A serious, yet charming, model of the Rex Cinema produced in 1986. It is 16"x24" but folded, not finely drawn but delightfully colored with posters of King Kong, etc to go on the movie marquee. The Rex Cinema was designed in the Art Deco style.	1
Editions Nilsson Rayon Artistique 7, rue de Lille Paris	A book entitled Visite de la Ferme and comprising four scenes and buildings: a well, a cow shed, a horse shed and a hay barn. Very good graphics and lots of text. It is old, middle part of this century but no date. It's in excellent color and is about 9"x12" in size.	4
Gaillimard Jeunesse	A great series of models, beautifully presented and printed, though the history of this company is very confusing to me. I believe the original company was Tomis/Sarl who then became Gaillimard Tomis and then either had an offshoot in Gaillimard Jeunesse or amalgamated with Gaillimard Jeunesse. The later firm, I also believe was printing in Belgium. All of the models are of a similar nature in size and type. They are 9"x12", with quite a few sheets in each model with a handsomely printed sleeve holding everything. Similar in design to L'Instant Durable. Most of the models seem to have been designed by Andre Bravard, Patrick Niard and Pascale Durif. Because the size remains the same, the scales are different for each model. Antique, medieval and current buildings: Bastille, Cistercian Abbey, Roman buildings, Arab Mosque, Egina Temple, Synagoga Wolpa. Altogether a very admirable set. The models sold under Tomis/Sarl are Arab Mosque, Medieval Houses, Medieval Street #1, Roman Amphitheatre, Roman Temple, Roman Theatre, Samarkand Mosque and a Train Station, 19th century. The Gaillimard Tomis models are the Bastille, Castle Fort, Cistercian Abbey, Egyptian Temple and a Romanesque Church. The Gaillimard Jeunesse models are the Temple at Egina, Hospice de Beaune, Hotel de Ville, Hotel Particular, Merchant's House of Venice, Farnese Palace and the Synagogue Wolpa. All of these models are wonderful and it is a great pity that the company is no longer producing them. Finally, there is one last model, a single sheet of the Mosque de Bibi Hamoun in Samarkand. This came from a children's magazine, Tatou Ka Bazou and was used as an advertisement for the company. It is 8½ x 12" and a very good model, typical of the company.	22
Gaillimard Tomis Siege Social 2, rue de Bosquet 63400 Chamalieres
Tomis/Sarl Agence Paris 87, rue Patay 75013 Paris
Gerardin	Also similar to the Pellerin sheets, this is 12½"x19", of a Chalet and marked #1319. I have no other information.	1
Gilbert Edelstein	A two sheet model of the Pinder Circus along with a big top, animals, clowns, etc. The sheets are 18"x22½" in color. Really for children but a delightful model.	1
Imagerie D'Epinal Pellerin Philippe Aizier 42bis, Quai de Dugneville 88000 Epinal	We now come to one of the originators of paper models of any kind and a producer of outstanding models for about one hundred and fifty years. They are still making some models though on a much reduced scale. There was also an unfortunate flood several years ago which ruined a large of amount of older material that had been stored in the factory in Epinal. There are three sizes in the antique material: Petite, 9"x 11½"; Moyenne, 11½"x15½" and Grande, 15"x19". They are usually in color, though the paper is not so good. The antique models include many French buildings, many foreign buildings but with a particular preference for buildings in the French Empire, so that Indo-China and North Africa are particularly well represented. In addition to buildings themselves, there are lots of interior rooms with furniture. There are also many sand toys than can also be constructed. There are far too many models for me to give more than a small sampling. There are the famous buildings: Eiffel Tower, Bastille (in 4 parts), Paris city gates, etc. But what is so wonderful are the exotic buildings: Temple de Elephant Blanc, Palais du Roi de Siam, Bazar Tunisien, Citadelle Chinoise au Tonkin and so many others.	about 135
	The latest models by the company are a series of French country houses of rural Vosges plus the Basilique Saint-Maurice D'Epinal. These are very slick, on excellent shiny paper. The church is 17"x25" and the houses are 15"x21". They come both bound together as on unit or are sold individually.	148
Imageries Reunies Jarville-Nancy	Another model of the Pellerin type and size, 15"x19", this is the Marteau-Pilon, a kind of working forge that makes a sand toy.	1
Ingenia	I don't have the dates of these models but I believe them to be about thirty or forty years old. They consist of a series of sheets of thinnish paper, about 11 or 12" x 16 or 17", stapled together. They are, on the other hand of good size and represent an interesting group of buildings. Among the models are a Roman Camp with all its buildings, streets, etc; Azay-le-Rideau, the Hameau and all it's out buildings including the Boudoir, the Laiterie and the Maison de la Reine among others and the Parthenon. There are at least three other buildings that I do not have: Roman House, Chateau Coucy and Chateau Hautefort. They also produced ship models.	4
L'Instant Durable B.P.234 63007 Clermont-Ferrand	At the moment the best and mosts prolific of the French model publishers. They are producing a very large group of models including French buildings as Chartres, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, National Assembly, Chambord, and the Arc de Triomphe. One of the features of many of the models is they can be opened to show the interior of the building. This is particularly effective in the Paris Opera, where one sees how small the auditorium is compared to the public spaces. It was not said for nothing that you came to the Opera more to be seen than to see. In addition, there is complete model of the town of Carcasonne. As for foreign subjects, they include Melk Abbey, Florence Cathedral, Tutankhamen's Tomb and Place Royale, Quebec. These are excellent models mostly 8½"x12" with many sheets, of good paper, good color and good design. The designers include: Th. Hatot, JW Hanoteau, F. Berce, JT Roquebert, JM Lemaire, AM Piaulet and M. Tissier de Mallerais. The company also produces a large group of postcards, mostly 5"x7" but a few double size. These are deivided into three groups: buildings in Paris (34), buildings in France (42) and then other foreign buildings (27), a total of 103 postcards. In addition there is a series of fold-out cards of the usual Paris buildings though it does include the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. and Saint-John Perse Museum, Gaudalupe. They are not really models but close enough for me. They are about 4"x6". Finally L'Instant Durable introduced three Japanese castles into their line. While they weren't the original publishers, these are wonderful models, and under their name, so I'm including them. The castles are: Edo Castle, Azuchi Castle and Shuri Castle.	141
Journal de la Poupee Modele	This a xerox copy of the Swiss village from Universal Exhibition held in Paris in 1901. There are 8 8"x11" sheets and one 16"x22" ground plan. There are lots of buildings in the village.	1
La Marge Edition 4 rue Emmanuel Arene 20000 Ajaccio Corsica	I bought these models from Fritz Konig at Atelier GAG in Bremen. For some reason he listed them under Corsica, rather than France and I followed suit when I put them away. But of course, Corsica is part of France and so I had to rethink and put them in this article. In 1987 they have published two lovely models, both about 10"x13", one a Stone House and the other a Church. Very nice and a shame they didn't do any others from the island.
Jean Lemercier 49160 Longue	A fairly simple Windmill for children. 12½"x 18½" on stiff paper, in color, it contains figures as well as the windmill.	1
Mak-it 50 Place Champlain 14000 Caen	A very good series of models in book form with spiral bindings, containing twelve (12) Norman Romanesque buildings. Designed by R. Rouillay it is in black and white, but very good line work and lots of text. The size is 8"x12" and was published in 1985. Among the buildings represented are the Abbatiale, Cerisy-le-Foret: Donjon du Chateau, Falaise: Eglise, St. Ceneri-le-Gerei; Saint-Nicholas, Caen and St. Martin, Tollevast.	1
Marcus	The one model I have is a Weekend Villa. A large sheet, 14"x20", it's quite simple but in color.	1
Editions Mirontaine Mdme. Appert 32, rue St. Maur 33000 Bordeaux	This is large series of slot together models to be sent as a postcard or notelet, rather than to make as a model, though the finished building is very charming and I have two in my apartment. I believe this company started life as Clair de Lune and was published in Greece, though now they are under the name of Editions Mirontaine and are in Bordeaux. They are producing basically three major sets and one minor one. The first, under the Clair de Lune name were Greek buildings such as houses in Athens, Rhodes, a church in Hydra, a typical Greek tavern, etc. The second group are buildings in the United Kingdom. These include a thatched house in Cornwall, Kirstead Hall, Shakespeare's Birthplace, a train station in the Lake District and Little Moreton Hall, one of the great black and white houses in England. The last major set in France, and includes four Paris houses of 1900, an Aquitaine house in the Empire style, a Normandy house of the 14th century and Monet's Museum in Giverny. There are about twenty houses in each set. Finally there is a small series of artist's houses, mostly French but including the Edward Hopper house in the US. These houses include Sisley's House, Van Gogh's house in Arles, and Maison Bonnard and Cezanne. All these models are well printed and are about 5"x7"x5" when completed.	58 Clair de Lune 26 Mirontaine
Editions Ouest-France 13, rue du Breil Rennes	Three very nice books, stiff paper, bright colors, beautifully printed, good size (9"x11"), rather like Dover models. They would be fun but slightly simple and best for children just starting to model. Very good instructions, though only in French. The books are six (6) French lighthouses; four (4) French mills and a cut-a-way of a coal mine. The designer appears to be Dominique Ehrhard.	3
Pascal Parmentier St. Jurs 04410 Puimoisson	A large range of postcards, some are schematic rather than realistic, some of the buildings can be worn as paper earrings when completed. All are basically simple though very inventive. They come in three sizes 4"x6", 6x8" and five are 11"x16", all on excellent paper and the design is very good throughout. The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Empire State Building are reworked in various forms but there are also earrings of the Pompidou Centre and the Bastille.	51
Edition Pascaline 5 rue Pascal 63000 Clermont-Ferrand	One of the premier series of French models, though again, they are not producing much at present. The lead designer appears to be Jean-Francois Ragon but there are also Aline Auge, Laurent Gonin and Nicole Fabre. Most of the models were produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They come in two sizes 8"x11½" and 9½"x13". They are on good paper, the color is excellent as is the general design. They were among the first models I bought when I started to collect. They seemed to have very good distribution in Paris in the late 1980s. Before I get to their main line of buildings I want to mention Maison Poupees. This is bound book that makes up into a lovely doll house complete with furniture. The regular series includes the usual Paris attractions, Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame but also slightly unfamiliar ones, Place Vosges, Invalides, Sacre Coeur and the Pompidou Centre. Outside of Paris, they have the Loire chateaux: Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, Chambord, plus Mont St. Michel and the Petit Trianon. Finally, outside of France they have the Easter Island heads, the Christ in Rio de Janeiro and the Parthenon.	25
Pellerin	See Imagerie D'Epinal
Jean-Louis Piroux Toulouse	A very fine series of postcard models including one large model based on the buildings of Toulouse and environs. These include the churches of Saint Etienne. Saint Sernin and Sainte-Cecile, Albi. Also published are other buildings of Toulouse including Le Capitole, L'Hotel d'Assezat, Montsegur Chateau and the Musee de Augustins. Most of these models are 4"x8" or 8"x8". The main exception is another model of Saint Sernin, the main church in Toulouse. This is 13"x13" and is very good. Beautifully printed and in its own sleeve. Toulouse buildings. Mostly postcards. Saint-Sernin is a full size model. Very good.	10
Publie par l'Atelier Visconti 4 rue Visconti 75006 Paris	Not really models, these two simply slot together to make the building. These include the I.M.Pei Pyramid at the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. They are both about 4"x6".	2
Sertii Out of business	Along with the Pascaline models, these were the first serious models I bought when I started to collect. It appeared they were going to be a major, ongoing series but that didn't happen. Dover-type bound books, they are 9½"x13", with very good printing, multi-colored and have about twelve pages of model in each book. The designer was Gerald Damolini. The buildings include Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Paris Opera and the Place de la Concorde including the facing buildings. The books I have say that Cour Napoleon, Versailles and the Invalides are in preparation but I don't think they were ever published. Another series to regret its passing as they were excellent and promised to be a great series.	4
Tete au Carre	I guess these are models but not quite. Small, 4"x6", they are pierced and the building parts are pushed out and stuck together. These include the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Ile de Cite, Notre Dame and Versailles. Very, very simple, barely models at all, but charming.	6
Tomis	See Gaillimard-Tomis
Unknown	This is one of the bonuses you get by going to Dayton. This was gotten from Myles Mandell, who had the original. A delightful novelty. This is a reprint of Boite de Nevers (a French bordello) from approximately the turn of the century. Enough said.	1
Vilac BP10-39260 Moirans-en-Montagne	Very simple, just for children this is set of six black and white buildings that come in a lovely boxed set. I guess they can be painted and then put together. The buildings include a bank, garage and a store among others.	1

from Kaye Meldrum <kjmel@pacbell.net>: Friends of ours just came back from a trip to France and brought me a few models...the usual post card models, and a larger format model of a Louis X1V chair. There are pictures of 8 more chair models on the cover. They are by:
Les Cathiers Maquettes, and published by Baobab Design, 118 rue de Tocqueville 75017, Paris...very interesting.

Spain

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: A great deal of this information is first-hand but a great deal is surmise and conjecture, so not everything may be exactly as I tell it. In my opinion Spanish models are the most interesting architectural models made anywhere. The easiest way to give an indication of this quality is to describe one of the real treasures of my collection.

I have a boxed set of eight individual buildings, each of which is wrapped in its own sleeve, the final set measuring about 13x17x2". Each of the models represents a recently restored building, one in each of the eight provinces of Andalucia, the Junta itself funding the restoration and producing this set as a commemoration of the entire project. A fitting memorial indeed.

Virtually every Spanish town (Caceres), city (Madrid, Pamplona, Salamanca), province (Teruel, Soria) and junta (Andalusia, Aragon) has produced splendid models. Large, ornate, usually well made and of particular local interest.

But that is part of the problem of obtainng them. They are almost always produced by a governmental agency, though frequently with professional publishing support, and are usually sold only in the local area, frequently, I think, in the tourist office only. There is no central publisher or distributor, like Scheuer & Struver and GAG, to get in touch with or who are promoting these models. In addition, English is not as prevalent in Spain as it is most other European countries, making communication much more difficult. So one writes but rarely gets an answer, even assuming one knew where to write to.

While many of the best models I have were purchased in serious, proper bookstores, one of the main outlets in Spain for architectural models, the best one I knew about, Papeleria Merino in Madrid, is now out of business, and one or two others do not respond to my letters. While there may be other bookshops handling this material, I do not know who they are.

The big three in regular Spanish model publishing are Ediciones Merino, Editorial Miguel A. Salvatella and Ciutat de Paper, though I fear the last is out of business. Another publisher, still active, though with a more restricted line is Arcatura, run by my friend Luis Carretero, an extremely amiable man, though much depressed by the state of the paper model business lately, who for a long while was the only other collector that I knew about and with whom I have corresponded for almost ten years now. He has about 8 to 10 excellent models and would, I believe, be delighted to find to outlets. [Editor's Note: Christopher Cooke <christopher@marcle.co.uk> adds: I contacted Luis Carretero just after Christmas and he told me that he had closed down Arcatura at the end of 1997; all the stock has been sold off. Very sad as they were good models and he is a nice chap.]

A recent incident illustrates the problem with Spanish models. Occasionally I write to my list of publishers to find out what is new and interesting. I have just written to Diputacion Soria, which had produced two excellent models several years ago, under the supervision of Ediciones Gavia, themselves publishers, but I think no longer active. Similar to Merino models they are very fine. I was able to obtain from Soria, two new models, which are a continuation of the series. All four deal with local Soria churches and monasteries. Unless one know that the Diputacion had produced these and then had taken the toruble to write to them, there would be almost no way that these fine models would come to ones attention. Very typical of the entire Spanish situation. I am currently trying to get the real address for the Soria models, which I will send when I get it.

To return to the mainline publishers, Ciutat de Paper, which produced a marvelous range of larg-scale sheets and also did a lot of printing and production for other organizations, such as the Diputacion de Barcelona, appears to be out of business. That's what Luis says and they don't answer mail. This is a great pity, as they produced some really splendid models.

Salvatella and Merino have large, excellent book models. Each has about 40 in the series, almost all of Spanish buildings. They will answer letters and send a catalogue. Perfectly reasonable to do business with.

There are also three companies doing juvenalia: Roma, EDAF and Con-Bel. Nothing serious but quite charming for the kids.

Aside from excellent models of the Patrimonio Nacional, which are obtainable at the giftshops of the sites: Escorial, Casa Labrador and Palacio Real, Madrid, the best models still available now are from Pronaos. A series of three large-scale and detailed models of Madrid buildings. They are normally books publishers with just these three models in the line.

And that's just about it. If anyone had other names and addresses, of publishers, booksellers, dealers, etc. I would be most interested in finding out about them myself. The real trick will be to locate a central dealer who is in touch with all the material that is still being produced in Spain. But where is he?

[Editor's note: since Robert Freidus provided the list below, I have made corrections and additions based on material from other sources. Errors should be regarded as my fault, and not blamed on Mr. Freidus. As always, comments and corrections welcomed. Additional contributors include: Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>, Marc Klein <mj.klein@sympatico.ca>. ]

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses	Good series of Aragon buildings	21
Junta Andalucia	One of my prizes. A boxed set of 8 buildings published by the Province, one from each district to celebrate the completion of restoration on these 8 buildings. Brilliant	8
Aragon Disputacion	3 fine Aragon buildings	3
Arganda del Rey, Ayuntamento Arganda del Rey	Casa del Rey, Arganda del Rey	1
Asociason Amigos del Museo de Escultura Museo Nacional Escultura c/Cadenas de San Gregorio 1 Valladolid	Postcard sized models, small and large of buildings in Valladolid.	16
Diputacio Barcelona	Excellent sheets of Barcelona buildings	9
C. y. P.	Palaces and castles.	4
Luis Carretero, Arcatura Apartado Postal 171 Villalba (Madrid)	Collector/publisher. Very nice man. Very nice models. Spanish buildings: Puerta Alcala, Palacio Real de la Magdalena, etc.	10
Cartografia Extremena Domicilio Comercial Avda. Virgen del la Montana 2-2nd Apartado de Correros 77 10080 Caceres	Conjuto Monumental, Caceres	1
Disputacion Castellon	Torre del Rey; Castillo de Peniscola	2
Centro Asociado, Ayuntamiento Avila	Arco del Alcazar	1
Charo Cruz	Alhambra	1
Ciutat de Paper Carrer Corsega 465, 1 er, 1 08037 Barcelona	Major publisher of sheets about Barcelona, the region and all Spain. Prints for other organizations. Postscards, large sheets. Excellent	81
Boletín Oficial de la Comunidad de Madrid Fortuny 51 28010 Madrid telephone 91-319-8434	Nuevo Baztan; Consejeria de Gobernacion (1,361 pesetas; ~$8)	2
Con-bel IG Ferre Olsina Viladomat 158 08015 Barcelona	Juvenalia.	23
EDAF Jorge Juan 30 Madrid fax 91-431-5281 phone 91-435-8260	Reprints of Perigee Models, Pascaline, plus some juvenalia of their own Address also listed as Jorge Juan 68 (same address as Eds. Merino), phone 91-435-4963)	22
Ediciones Cultures y Recreativas Berrocal 8 28400 Collado Villalba (Madrid)	Very good models of missions on the Compostela Trail. Unfortunately only did the 3, and are probably out of business	3
Egartorre Libros Mirlo, 23 (Campamento) Apartado 5073 28024 Madrid	Bookseller, publisher in Madrid
Fundacion Internacional Para La Proteccion y Difusion del Arte Madrid	San Antonio de la Florida. Church with Goya murals. Good model.	1
Ediciones Gavia (Still in phone book, and see below - Eds. Merino.) General Margallo 22 Madrid 91-571-0027, -1545, -5387	Hotel Ritz; Prado; Real Compana Asturiana de Minas. Good models.	3
Gomez-Menor Comercio, 39 Toledo	Bookseller, unfortunately they do not answer my letters Imagen	70
Graficas Almogavares C/Almogavers 106 Barcelona	from Marc Klein <mj.klein@sympatico.ca>: The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya at the top of Montjuic hill in Barcelona carries several medieval monasteries put out by the Direccio General del Patrimoni Cultural.
Pedro Ripoll Palou 2. Palma de Mallorca 8	Bellver Castle. Big, good	1
IB Juan de Villanueva Camino Viejo de Villaverde 28 Madrid	Puerta Real del Jardin Botanico; Biblioteca de Toledo	2
Landa Palace outside Burgos	Model of the Hotel. Fancy, overpriced but a good restaurant	1
Libreria Estudio Aptdo. Postal 441 39080 Santander	Churches	3
Ediciones Merino Jorge Juan 68, 2nd 28009 Madrid Phones 91-431-3717, -3641, -5797 91-575-2084, -7456 Fax 91-575-8850	Major model publisher. Very good quality. Book format. Important buildings from all over Spain Same address as EDAF; also, their models that I saw said "design - Ediciones Gavia".	37
Ministerio de Cultura Direccion General de Bellas Artes y Ar. H'vos Direccion de los Museo Estatales Madrid	Good. Prado; Archeoligical Museum; National Library; Ethnological Museum, etc.	6
Murciano Vicente	Buildings from Teruel	3
Museo de Prado Madrid	Prado	1
Nieva c/Cavanilles 37 28007 Madrid	Churches on the Compostela Trail. Probably out of business. Shame, nice models on a wonderful subject Not found at this address. There was a Papelería Nieva in the phone book, 91-536-0430, Bravo Murillo 89, Madrid	2
Municipal Pamplona	Buildings in the area	5
Papeleria Merino Hortaleza 3 28004 Madrid	Bookseller, was very good but might be out of business. Not found in the Madrid phone book.	5
Paper Puzzles Alcade de Zalamea, 1 (poble Espanyol) 08004 Barcelona	Bookseller. Major seller of Ciutat de Paper. May be out of business.
Dissenys Papeti Diputacio 347 Pral. 1A 08009 Barcelona telephone 93-265-2571	Royal buildings, sold in the various gift shops of the palaces.: Escorial; Palaccio Real Madrid, Casa Labrador, La Granja. Excellent Found in all giftshops in the houses and palaces run of the Patrimonio Nacional	4
Procyta Concesionario de Los Espacios Comerciales en La Alhambra	Granada Models of the Alhambra, bought at the Alhambra	4
Pronaos c/Alonso Cano 30 28003 Madrid Telephone 91-442-7995	Madrid Observatory; Palacio de Cristal, Antigua Casa de Correos. Interesting, good	3
Editorial Rollan	Out of business. Reprints of Schreibers	4
Roma	Juvenalia.	12
Ayuntamiento Salamanca	Buildings in Salamanca	5
Salvatella c/Santo Domingo 5 08012 Barcelona	Excellent series of Spanish buildings.	44
Diputacion Prov. Soria Depart. de Publicaciones 42071 Soria	2 buildings in Soria, now 4	4
Susaeta Campezo 13 28022 Madrid 91-300-9100 fax 91-300-9118 email: susaeta@nexo.es	Substantial books: Segovia Alcazar, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, etc. Also have models for children Address also listed as Campezo s/n, i.e. sin numero, without number	6
Taller de Retallables Girona	Caritat Serinyana. good	1
Diputacion Teruel Inst. de Estudios Turolenses Teruel	Torre de San Martin, Teruel	1
Generalitat Valenciana	Models of the orange warehouses in the Valencia region. Beautifully done	4
Zaragoza Diputacion Servicio de Rehabilitacion Plaza Espana 2 Zaragoza 50004	Buildings in Zaragoza	5
Zocodover Comercio 39 Toledo	Puerta del Sol, Toledo. Appeared to be the start of a Toledo series but never found any more.	1

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: Your group may be interested in the following addresses of stores I've stumbled upon, with excellent examples of architectural models (as you can imagine from the cities where they're located):

Llibreria del Centre Cultural
Fundacio Caixa de Pensions
Passeig de Sant Joan, 108
08037 Barcelona, Spain

from Josep Ortiz <b0591@www2.bull.es>: Last week I went to Madrid and visited the "Museo del Aire". At the gift shop they had card models of some of the most representative planes of the (military) Spanish aviation. They consist of 2 or 4 17.5" x 13" sheets (containing pieces and instructions), and scale is (mostly) 1:25. They cost 125 pta (0.8 US$). Available models are:
- Polikarpov I-15 "Rata"/"Mosca"
- Polikarpov I-16 "Chato"
- Hispano Nieuport 52 C-1
- Fiat CR-32 "Chirri"
- Dewoitine D-371
- Nieuport IV-M
- Dornier DO-J WAL "Plus Ultra" (the first plane to cross the south Atlantic)
Sold out models (maybe available in future reprint):
- Hispano Aviacion HA-200 B Saeta (1955 Spanish jet trainer)
- CASA C-101 (1977 Spanish jet trainer)
- McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
- Messerschmitt Bf-109E

Museo del Aire                            + 341 594 07 00 (EXT. 3013)
Romero Robledo, 8                    Fax: + 341 549 25 65
28071 Madrid
Spain

Put the number used to access the international central instead of the "+"; just in case you didn't know (I didn't...)

Another source of airplane card models is L'Aeroteca, a book store specialised in aviation. Appart from importing several manufacturers (PMI, Meta Model, etc), they also edit their own series of 1:48 card models. They have 6 A4-sized "books" that include 3 models (only one has 2 models, due to their size), as well as info and 3-view drawings (with measure rule and a human figure to determine its size). On the 3 models' books, each model consist of 2 A-4 sheets. Text is in Spanish and English. Price for each book is 1800 Pta (12US$). For more info and models on each book, contact directly L'Aeroteca (go to the "maquetas" section) or e-mail at info@aeroteca.com.

from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: The Bilbao museum is really one of the most outstanding pieces of architecture of the 20th century. It is not only good as sculptural architecture, it is also good as a museum. I once met Frank O. Gehry at an architects meeting in Kiruna in northern Sweden and feel good to know that this fine and so locally loved new building has been designed by a very nice person.

I can also tell all you collectors of architectural models that the Guggenheim Bilbao has published an interesting paper model of its building. As the model is new, it is not on the list provided by Bob Freidus. (It is always fun to find a model before him). The model is designed by Jean-Louis Piroux in Toulouse, France.

I believe that the model is so far exclusively sold in the museum store at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. The address to the museum is:
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Abandoibarra Et. 2.
48001 Bilbao
Spain

May be you could also get information through the designer of the model:
Jean-Louis Piroux design
237, avenue Saint-Exupéry
31400 Toulouse
France
tel: +33 5 61 20 86 99

from Marc Klein <mj.klein@Sympatico.ca>: I was in Barcelona last February, and if your thing is architectural models, there are a few places worth checking out.

1. The bookstore on the ground floor of Gaudi's Casa Mila sells model kits of the same by Ediciones Merino (I think).
2. The gift shop of the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat carries quite a few of the Ciutat de Paper model kits.
3. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya at the top of Montjuic hill carries several medieval monasteries put out by the Direccio General del Patrimoni Cultural. The address given for the printers is Graficas Almogavares, C/Almogavers 106, Barcelona. They also have some kits by a company called Domus (not the Italian one) consisting of little "bricks" that you can build up into farmhouses, small mountain churches etc... They weighed a ton and were fairly pricey.

Happily, all three sources are attached to major tourist venues and are easily accessible.

Germany

from Peter Wehrhahn <PeterWehrhahn@t-online.de>: I've just got a german model railroading magazine called Erlebniswelt Eisenbahn.For my surprise there was a centerfold of a wooden building, suitable for model railroading. It's called a photorealistic cutout because it is done from photos. The model comes in different scales (HO,TT,N,Z), so there is no need to copy. The publisher of these paper models (not the magazine) is Mr. Stirl in Berlin. The homepage is http://home.t-online.de/home/a.stirl/bastel.htm. There is a complete list of their models with photos. They will sell in Germany with add. 3.-DM for postage/outside Germany 8.-DM

from Friedrich Lauterbach <friedrichl@nea-online.de>: NamensVetter
Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 48
D-64342 Seeheim
I have a two year old catalogue from them and I think they still exist. They have some cardmodel trains in different scales (HO, N, Z) and I think they design these models themselves but I don't know anything about the quality. They also sell a lot of plastic models and model railroads. Their catalogue is kind of strange (Best of the world style). And I don't know if they do overseas shipping.

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: Found two German with models you can buy.

http://www.wild-east.de/firmen/haeger/ has a model of Lighthouse of the island Rügen and a steam locomotive. No pictures of the models though, no ibformation on how to order from outside Germany.

http://buene.muenster.de/mauritz/ is the site of the St. Mauritz Gymnasium in Münster. They have made a model of the school in 1897. You can view three of the nine pages and some pictures. Go to Projekte and there is a link to Modell Altbau.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: I just received in the mail two models I had seen at the Bremerhaven meeting two weeks ago. They are:

• The Charles Van Den Born Flyer, (Farman Type IV)
  kit designed by Horst Brinkman
  US $ 8.00
• Junkers W33, "Bremen
  kit comissioned to commemorate the return of the "Bremen" to the city of Bremen from the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
  US $ 6.00

Both kits are available from:
Horst Brinkmann
Talstr. 27
D-27211 Bassum-Bramstedt
Germany

The Junkers W33, "Bremen," is in 1:50 scale. It consists of three A4 sheets of parts, and one sheet of diagram instructions. The scant text is in German. The kit is professionally printed silver and black on white cover stock. At the Bremerhaven meeting Mr. Brinkmann gave a short talk on the "Bremen," both the plane and the model. He told of the plane's attempt to fly the Atlantic from Europe to North America, its eventual home at the Henry Ford Museuem in Michigan, and its recent return to Germany. As for the kit, he said that it is a basic model, suitable for beginners, that it has a good fit, but that it is incorrect in a few of its details: i.e., the plane portrayed is a generic W-33, and not the "Bremen" as equipped for its transatlantic flight. The complete kit comes in a see-though plastic binder page.

The Farman Type IV is also in the scale of 1:50. I saw the completed model in Germany at Mr. Brinkmann's display table. Very detailed, very impressive, although some purists may balk at the use of rattan, pine strips, thread and wire for the Farman's spidery frame. The kit comes packaged in a brown envelope with a b/w three view of the plane. The complete package consists of thirteen pages: one title page with a color photograph of the completed model, one page of historical description, three pages (front and back) of very detailed instructions, two pages of drawings - one three view in color, the other a detailed view of the equipment platform, a one page parts list, and five sheets (A4) of paper parts and profiles for the wooden struts, and a cardboard sitffener that also holds the rattan, pine and wire pieces. With the detailed rigging, this is not a model for beginners, and Mr. Brinkmann's own model looked to be nearly museum quality. The Farman is available with instructions, etc., in either English or German.

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: At the Buchkatalog try a search for "bastelbogen" and you get a small list that you can order with a credit card. Within a week I got:

1. Maxi Bauernhof (Farm), a very basic model, pre-cut and scored, black and white, aimed at very young children. makes a huge farmbuilding. At DM 19.95 a bit expensive.
2. Das Kloster by Rolf Wertz. More like a small Medieval town and church. It's issued by Calwer, a firm that has something to do with copying materials (kopiervorlagen) so it is printed on normal paper and on both sides, so you have to make copies of it on cardstock to build it. It's black and white, not very difficult, but a lot of parts. At DM 26 a good buy, although I have some doubt's concerning the fitting of the parts.
3. Goethes Gartenhaus (gardenhouse). This is a really interesting model. You can build it in different ways: there is a sheet of transparent plastic for the windows, but it's not necessary to use it, you can build it on a flat surface or on the accidented grounds, and it has a full interior (it's printed on two sides) and a removable roof and first floor. Very nice model. At only DM 25 a wonderful model!

There was no extra shipping or handling charged.

Also within a week I got four models by RABS mbH from Guestrow. Four models: Parum (it says 7 but are 8 small town buildings), Atelierhous am Heidberg, Alte Ausspanne Walkendorf (including the local firestation) and the Gertrudenkapelle. All models are scale 1:200 and nicely detailed. They didn't accept credit cards, they just send the bill along with the models. Send them the DM 33 (that's about US$15 and there are no shipping or handling costs) in a heavy envelope.

All above models are in German, no English what so ever. And I don't know if they ship overseas, You just have to find out yourselves.

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: Today I got two models from Lemgo in Germany. They're the Rathaus (City Hall) and the Jugendzentrum (Youthcenter). Two old buildings in the city of Lemgo. They are so ugly, it's beautiful. You can see that the design is set up in pencil on a drawingboard. So the fitting should be OK. But then they used a large felt marker to finish the model. It's more like a free-hand drawing based on a pencil outline.

Doors, windows and ornaments are sketched into it, I can't believe it. It looks like cartoon model. I think I'm going to frame one of the models and hang it on the wall, because it looks more like a work of art then a paper model. But, at DM 1 a piece (that's US$ 1 for the two), who's complaining? They may not be the best models I've got, they certainly are the most curious ones! But shipping costs within Europe are DM 10, so make a 'car-pool-order' to make it worthwhile.

Berlin

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: From Berlin, Germany I received a model of the Info-Box, the information center about Europe's largest building site. It is one sheet (30x50 cm), costs DM 4,95 and has only German instructions and no diagrams, but all parts are numbered, so it shouldn't be too difficult. It's designed by Traugott Bratic (which sounds Eastern-European to me) and is published by Aue Verlag in 74215 Mockmuhl.

The info-box also sells a model of a streetclock/tower called Ampelturm, 2 A4 sized sheets and pre-cut. Four parts, so no instructions, only a diagram. Costs DM 3,90 and is copyrighted 1997 Siemens (for the clock I guess) and Next Edit GmbH (for the design?)

The adress of Info-Box is:
Leipziger Platz 21
D-10117 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49/30/22 66 24-0
Fax: +49/30/22 66 24-20

from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: There are model building projects under work in the Linden Story at Unter den Linden No 40. (Linden Story is the bookshop of a society for saving of the memories of old Berlin.) Old and young people meet two days a week and build together a model of the Unter den Linden in older days. They use cardboard. There are also more or less profesional models exhibited and a prototype publicly shown on work for a coming (hopefully) cut-out model of the Royal Castle. (Berliners and many others want the castle to be built up again, and this model would be one of the ways to make propaganda for it.) It is really a good idea to build models as part of the "Bürgerliche M-Vffentlichkeit". The Linden Story also offers for sale some of the well known and already published cut-out models of Berlin buildings.

Munich

from Thomas Peters <thomas.peters@unibw-muenchen.de>: My proposals for Munich: For standard cardmodels from 'Wilhelmshaven' and 'Schreiber' you should visit the large toy stores in the city: check out 'Obletter' at the Stachus, the place at the Karlstor, but I am not sure whether they still have card models. Then go to 'Fischer' in the Sonnenstr. Go on the right side of the Sonnenstr. from Stachus to the Sendlinger Tor. The shop is just about 150m away from Stachus. I wasn't there for a long time (about 1 year) but last time they presented the Japanese battleship Yamato (1/250 scale) from CFM in a showcase.

As a tourist you have to visit the Deutsches Museum! And the museum shop offers Wilhelmshaven, Schreiber, and some GELI card models. If you are interested in aircraft you also have to visit the Flugwerft Oberschleissheim in the north of Munich, an outpost of the Deutsches Museum. The local museum shop also sells GELI models.

If you arrive in Munich you may call Mrs. Waldmann (->FAQ), Tel-number: 2016525. She normally sells only by mail-order, but if she has time she maybe allow you to visit her. She sells almost EVERYTHING - especially Polish card models - from all over the Paper model world!

If you are interested in these simple Titanic-model published by Taschen check one of the large book stores like 'Hugendubel' in the city... You will find it everywhere for 10 DM (about $6.)

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: And while you're at the German Museum giftshop, look for the big stack of Schreiber "Tornado" markdown models next to one of the doors. In February [1998] the pile was nearly five feet tall, at Easter it was only a foot shorter, and in mid-June it was still really big. You can't beat the price of this one, only DM 1.90, about $1.25 US. Also, look for the model of the German Museum itself. It's a simple thing, but you can only find it there.

Lübeck

from Peter Wehrhahn <PeterWehrhahn@t-online.de>: I can tell you that there should be a nice paper models shop near the world famous Holstentor. It is owned by Mr. Sommer.

from S.O.Michael <pandolito@cityweb.de>: The one in Luebeck, Peter Wehrhahn mentioned. The owner even designs models on his own and obviously for his own, for I haven't seen anything of his. Last time I was there he had designed an Advent calendar (for the last 24 days before christmas) with several ancient buildings from Luebeck. When you stand before the Holstentor, cross the bridge to the old city center and go straight to the right. It is both a bookshop and a card modeler shop. The shop has even a display shop round the corner.

Latvia

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>:

Just returned from a week in Riga, Latvia, which among the many pleasant surprises there, I found my first Latvian paper model. This is three medieval buildings in Old Riga, known locally at the Three Brothers. Not too complex, but well designed and printed. About 9x13"

The publishers address (I think, there is a lot of writing but I think this is right) is:
Projektesanas Birojs Konvents
Latvijas Architekturas Muzejs
Maza Pils iela 17/19
LV1050 Riga
LATVIA
which is a building of the model and is open as a museum. I didn't find the model there though. In fact they had no shop at all, though I am writing to this address to see if there are more in the series, which I think was planned, but perhaps didn't come to fruition.

I bought the model at the address below:
Liv
Kaleju iela 7
Riga, LV-1050
LATVIA
which is a very up-market souvenir shop. They had some of the finest linen ware I've seen in some time, plus excellent jewelry and pots, though I'm losing the thread now. They weren't sure if they any more but they have a sister shop at:
Liv
Laipa iela 2/4
Riga, LV-1050
LATVIA
and it's possible they might have more.

I also found a model of Columbus's ship. Really for children but well done. I bought one for trading purposes and after all, how many Latvian models can there be. The address of this publisher is:
Zvaigzne ABC
Valdemara iela 105
Riga LV 1013
LATVIA

The Netherlands

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: The most famous publisher of cardmodels in my country is Leon Schuyt of Alkmaar, who has published hundreds of models (houses, boats, airplanes) in the last 30 or 40 years. They are available in most hobbyshops in the country.

The other famous publisher is 010 Publishers in Rotterdam, but they stopped making their very nice architectural models of 'De Stijl' buildings. Maybe there are still some to find at 'De Slegte'-bookshops in most major Dutch cities.

In the mid eighties there were about 10 paper model shops in Holland, but they all have gone out of business. But some bookshops still carry the Domus-collection and the Rietveld-Schrderhouse, the second most famous building of the city of Utrecht.

When in Amsterdam there are two stores you could try:
Paper Moon
Singel 419
This is a shop with all kinds of paper(related) things. Haven't been there for quite a while, but they used to have some paper models.
The other is:
Architectura & Natura
Leliegracht 44
This is an architectural bookshop, they sometimes have paper (architectural) models, although the owner always says that paper models don't sell.

VERITAS Paper Models has made about 100 models since 1949. The designer was Jan Berfelo and models included cars, architecture but most famous were the ships and planes.

His son Koen Berfelo is now attending to the collection and currently working on some reissues. Saw the pre-press version of the S.S. Rijndam (or was it the S.S. Maasdam) and it looked very nice to me. I think however that the original models were larger, so it won't be easy to build. Koen Berfelo now runs 'de Prins publishers', you can contact him at: Groen van Prinstererstraat 26
6828 VX Arnhem
The Netherlands
Write him for an overview of his models.

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: Last week I was in Amsterdam and The Hague and was able to purchase three card models from museums I visited.

The Van Gogh Museum model is a strip folded into three panels each 5-1/4" wide by c. 7" tall. The model is in color, nicely rendered. Unfortunately the publisher is not mentioned. I presume the card would be available from the museum shop where I purchased it. It was 4.95 Dutch Guilders (about US$2.50).

The Rijkmuseum model is 9-7/8" x 6-7/8" folded in half. It is also in color and is nicely rendered. This card model was published by WITCARD Publications, C. Anthoniszstraat 32 hs, 1071 V V Amsterdam. There is also a notation "MM D 1" which might be a model number indicating the model is part of a series.

The Mauritshuis, Den Haag, is a single card measuring 4-3/4" x 6-3/4". Also in color but not so nicely rendered. Designed by Elizabeth Visser. (on the model side). Also noted as Piet Design 1991 - Faas Eliaslaan 43 Baarn (on the post card mailing side). The mailing card also includes, among other information, the following: "nr. 2 MAURITSHUIS; Koninkilk Kabinet van Schilderijen; Korte Vijerberg 8; 2513 AB Den Haag; tel. 070-3469244" Is this the address of the Mauritshuis or the publisher of the card. Is the "nr. 2" an indication this is part of a series?

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: Went to Groningen, in the northern part of The Netherlands, the other day and and visited a shop called Asbran (Turfsingel 9). They have a nice section of peper models. Leon Schuit, Schreiber, Landarte, Usborne (in Dutch!) and even some of my own models are still available there. Most of their stuff is old, they took it over from a shop called De Lijmpot, a shop that sold only paper model kits, but that closed after a couple of years about ten years ago. They also have a shop in Arnhem (Steenstraat 57) although I don't know if they carry paper model kits.

from Bas Kreuger (Militaire Luchtvaart Museum) <info@mlm.af.disp.mindef.nl>:
* Publisher "De Prins"
Groen van Prinsterenstraat 26
6828 VX Arnhem
0031264437575 fax and phone

* Aeroteam - Propalteam
Pod Zaknpanici 188
755 01 Vsetin
Chech Republic
tel 06577305
fax 06577335

* Stuttgarter Verlagskantor
Postfach 106016
70049 Stuttgart
tel 0711-66720

* Studievereniging TH Delft
Kluyverweg 1
2629 HG Delft

from Marc Klein<mj.klein@sympatico.ca>: In Amsterdam, there is a souvenir store called "Jut en Jul" on Kalverstraat just south of the Royal Palace, if memory serves correctly. The usual tourist stuff downstairs, but hidden away on the second floor is a small display rack with a number of models. Was there in March and picked up the Alkmaar and Deventer Weighing Houses, as well as the Our Lady Tower from Amersfoort, Amsterdam Mint Tower, Cornmarket Gate at Kempen and Fairy Towers. Instructions only in Dutch on all the above.

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: More paper models in general in the Netherlands, than anywhere else I have been. One particular hot spot was the gift shop at the Arnhem Open Lucht Museum - a museum of rural and town architecture. I hadn't realized that the "Zaandse neighborhood" paper model by LS (that has the cute yellow drawbridge) is actually a model of a collection of buildings at the museum. It is typical to find a model or two in a gift shop at a large church or museum. The Batavia - a reconstructed Dutch East Indiamen merchantship - at the Bataviawharf in Lelystad, had a papermodel done by Dupre - the built model is not nearly as crude as I had thought - (and is an ideal subject for miniaturization for me). The main tourist info office (the VVV) in Amsterdam sells a series of 9 little canal houses, by Minimodels, {address postbus 138, 1230 AC Loosdrecht Holland}. The main tourist office in Sneek sells a very nice 1:50 model of the state yacht of the province of Friesland, the Friso. This is published by the provincial government of Friesland, designed by dan Wanders in Groningen. Finally, I visited a model train store in Leeuwarts (up north in Friesland) where the proprietor has a LARGE collection of paper models for sale: Möwe models, many different Dutch models, and a particularly broad collection of paper trams for sale. One thing I had not seen before was a series of modern Dutch naval vessels (I think by LS, but I am not sure) including the De Ruyter and the 7 Provinces, not to mention the Friesland. Some of the models he has on hand seem to be out of print - I picked up a Möwe Space shuttle, that I have not seen elsewhere, and some French "Histoire dans les Mains" models that are superb, even though they are pre-cut. If anyone wishes to contact - the address is
De Treinenpassage
St Jacobsstraat 38-40
8911HV Leeuwarden
the Netherlands
FAX: 058-2139100

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: The Netherlands is probably one of the most interesting countries for paper models in the past fifteen or twenty years, and yet the situation is currently not too good and certainly worse than it was ten years ago.

Two publishers, Thoth and Uitgeverij 010, were in the forefront of the explosion of serious modelling in the early 1980s. Both of their series dealt with architectural masterpieces of this century, buildings that were historically important built by the greatest architects of our time. Along with Makit in Belgium and Perigee in the US, they offered an exciting way of combining paper modelling with serious architecture. Unfortunately again, Uitgeverij 010 has stopped production (I believe that they never finished the last planned model), while Thoth is not as active as they were and the latest models are football stadiums in Holland and Belgium, rather the great architectural treasures as in the past.

The other national champion is Leon Schuijt, a company in business since the last century. Their output runs the gamut from children's models, to a very nice range of Dutch vernacular buildings including a large group of windmills and weighhouses. In the last ten years or so they have produced some beautiful models of churches, both within the Netherlands and outside. However, even here we find that production has slowed recently.

There are, or rather were, a large group of postcard publishers. These included ARP (later bought out by Witcard), Minimodels, Piet Design, Peter Visser at Iceberg and a lovely series of lighthouses and ancillary buildings by Sjoerd Hekking. But Minimodels seems to be gone, as is ARP and they were the people with the largest series of models.

As in France, most of the other publications are either one-offs or cities producing some special building or group of building, frequently because of some anniversary of the building. The great expansion of architectural models evidenced in the early 1980s is clearly over and the entire field is in contraction. [Editor's note: since Robert Freidus provided the list below, I have made corrections and additions based on material from other sources. Errors should be regarded as my fault, and not blamed on Mr. Freidus. As always, comments and corrections welcomed. Additional contributors include: myself, Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl> ]

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Academia boekhandel Delft	See Thoth
ARP Keizergracht 33 Amsterdam	An excellent set of postcards. Mostly 4¼"x6½", though some are double size, they are well printed, bright colors, fine design and great printing. They make up to be a delightful little model. Among the models are: Rijksmuseum. Van Gogh Museum, Domtoren, Kubuswoning and the Muziektheater, Amsterdam, among quite a few others. They also have, for some odd reason, the Chrysler and the Empire State Buildings in New York. They never answered any of my letters and it's possible they had a wider range. They have now been taken over by Witcard, also in Amsterdam.	15
Art Unlimited POBox 1760 1000 BT Amsertdam	The only model from these people is one of the Flatiron Building, NYC, which I bought in the Architect's Center in New York. A really charming model of an important but now not quite so famous building (it was the tallest building in the world until the Woolworth Building was built). The sheet is 7"x10", with the model standing 6¼" high when finished. It is prepunched but designed in 1988.	1
Avenue Magazine Stadhouderskade 85 1073 AT Amsterdam	A one-off of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. It was given away with the Dutch magazine, Avenue with the May, 1988 issue. It is 12"x19", with a ground plan and very good.	1
Creative Team OKS Kortenhoef	Two large sheets of houses with boats possibly from a Dutch rural museum. Well done.	2
De Prins Rotterdam	A model of the New York Hotel in Rotterdam, recently converted into a hotel in 1993, after years as the headquarters of the Holland American Line in Rotterdam. Przewaliski/Antwerp is the designer. It measures 7½"x11½", the scale is 1:300, there are six pages of model and it's in very fine color. A lovely model.	1
Gasunie Nederlandse Gasunie Postbus 19 9700 MA Groningen	A very good model of a modern building, Gasgebouw van Nederland, of probably the headquarters of Gasunie. Done in 1:350, it has eight (8) sheets, 14"x20, beautifully printed and colored. The designers are Koen van der Velden and Den Andel and it was published in 1993.
Gemeente Appingedam Wilhelinaweg 14 9901 CM Appingedam	A model of the Nieuwe Stadskantor (Town Hall), Appingedam produced by the city itself. The scale is 1:250 and it is 17"x23".	1
Gemeentebibliotheek	A model of the Gemeentebibliotheek (Municipal Library) but I cannot discover what city. Probably Amsterdam but I'm not sure. A very large, complex model of a modern building. There are 5 11"x16" color sheets in a beautifully printed sleeve. The scale is 1:300 and it was produced in 1983.	1
Generale Bank	A model of the Generale Bank on the its one hundredth anniversary in 1998. Designed by Nova Zembla and Herman van der Burgh, it is 8¼"x12" and in color.	1
Marc Gerretsen Bouwplaten Amsteldijk Noord t/o 168 W.S. 1183 TK Amstelveen Tel:(020) 456 09 73	Designer of the Feyenoord Soccer Stadium (published by Uitgeverij Solo), publisher of military and commercial aircraft, ships, buildings.
Gewestelijk Historisch Mus. Solwerderstraat 10 Appingedam	The Hangerde Keuken, is a brick building in Appingedam. The model comes as both a regular model and as a postcard (4"x6"). The larger model comes on two 12"x14" sheets and is very fine. See also: Museum Stad Appingedam	2
S'Gragvenhage	Three Dutch houses in The Hague, Huguetan Huis, Nederlanden and Volharding, and published by the city. Four or five sheets each, and very well printed and designed. This was part of a larger series but this was all that was available by the time I found them.	3
Haag Historisch Museum The Hague	The church of Sint Sebastians Docken, in The Hague and published by the town historical society. eight (8) sheets, with ground plan, 8½"x12".	1
Het Blaakse Bos Postbus 1975 3000 BZ Rotterdam	A model of a very modern and experimental building, the Boomwoning in Rotterdam, built in 1984 by Piet Blom. The model is from 1986, is in 1:50 scale, and measures 9"x12½". Very good color and printing and an interesting model particularly for modern architecture fans.	1
Hilversum	The church of Sint Vituskerk, Hilversum. Four (4) sheets, 14"x20" in an envelope, nice color, but simple model published in 1982 in 1:260 scale.	1
Dick van der Horst Modelbouwplaten Niewendijk 6 1012 MK Amsterdam Tel.(020) 625 64 82	A series of five nice, but simple Canalside buildings in Amsterdam, plus four similar postcards. The models are four (4) sheets each, 8¼"x11½", printed with very good color, but on thin paper.	9
Hotel Pulitzer 319-31 Prinsengracht 11 Amsterdam	Three small boxes in the shape of the three canalside buildings that make up the Hotel Pulitzer.	3
Idea Books Nieuwe Herebgracht 11 1011 RK Amsterdam	Bookseller. Bought excellent Japanese pagoda here.	1
Kok Lyra Kampen	The Poortvliet Musem in Kampen, in an excellent box, containing nine (9) sheets, 8"x12", along with a booklet on the museum. In color, but the printing is on fair. It was designed by Sjoerd Hekking in 1993.	1
Marvic Gouda	A model of the Stadhuis, Gouda. 18"x25", with a ground plan, excellent color, produced in 1982.	1
McDonalds	See: Visser
Minimodels Koen Jansen Lijsterbeslaan 11 1231 XV Loosdrecht (Amsterdam)	A really delightful set of postcards of Dutch lighthouses, churches, houses and you name it. A distinctive feature is that many of the buildings require several cards to make the building. I would imagine this was a problem with selling them as it made it harder to use them as just traditional postcards. More freehand than drafted, they are still lovely little models. Simply too many to list and none of the buildings are famous. Mostly vernacular buildings of the Netherlands. Very nice.	64
Museum Stad Appingedam Blankenstein 2 9901 AX Appingedam	This is the new name of Gewestelijk Historisch Museum.
Nederlands Openluchtmus	Two models Holzerne Windmill and the Lokshuppen von Arnhem (a tram barn), these are sold by the Nederlands Openluchtmus, a museum but printed and also sold by Alphagraphix in the UK, where they are F403 and F404 in the catalogue. They are both in color and are 8¼"x12".	2
F. Nourbakhsh	A model of Corbusier's Esprit Nouveau Pavillon, built in 1925. The designer was Tac van Rooijen in 1987. The model comes with fourteen (14) sheets, 9"x12" in 1:75 scale, plus six pages of text. A very serious model, all too rare now, published in co-operation with the Corbusier Foundation.	1
Novotel The Hague	A model, or more accurately a pop-up diorama of the Novotel Hotel in Namur. The sheet opens to 12"x18" and comes with a ground plan of the hotel and its surroundings.	1
Phoenix Papieron Utrecht	A reprint of a German model of a Punch and Judy show with stand. It is marked Kaspartheater #215 on one side, Punchinello on another, Guignol on a third and Punch and Judy on the fourth. Similar in design to the Pellerin sheet of the same subject. 9"x12".	1
Piet Design Eiklaan 48 2282 AV Rijswijk	Another fine series of postcards, similar to ARP. Among the buildings in the series are: the Mauritshuis, The Hague; Legermuseum; Oude Kirk; Stadhuis; William the Silent's Tomb; Lambert van Meerten Museum and the Oostpoort, all in Delft, plus a number of other Delft buildings. The postcards are 4½"x7" and are beautifully designed and printed. I have been trying to find out if they have other series of models for other cities but have not been able to get an answer back. What is it about Dutch postcard publishers?	10
Pulitzer Hotel	See: Hotel Pulitzer
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden Rapenburg 28 Leiden	The Egyptian Temple of Taffah, of which the museum has parts of the original and other artifacts connected with the temple. The sheet, published in 1995, was designed by Yoland Zwaan. It is 18"x26", in color and very good.	1
Ringers Import Vianen	Seven (7) little boxes bought in a bakery in Delft. They represent 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th century houses in Delft. They came with hard candies, like the cookies in Bruges, but the candy was terrible. You can't win them all.	7
Leon Schuijt Lisztstraat 7 1817 HH Alkmaar Tel:(072) 511 76 28	The major publisher and distributor in Holland, in business since last century. All of their models are excellent, though some of the models are for children. The latest models have been the most ambitious and the best. These include St. Basil's, Moscow: St. Peter's, Rome; and St. Bavo Kirke, Haarlem. Earlier, though still excellent, models include such Dutch buildings as Munttoren; Waaggebouw-Alkmaar Waaggebouw-Devanter; Grote St. Laurenskerk; Zaanse Buurt and Waterpoort te Sneek; plus many other very interesting but slightly obscure buildings. Most of the models are 12"x17", with many sheets and all are well printed, with fine color and good design. The designer on most of the models is Jan Zomer. There are also smaller models, particularly the ones for children that are 9"x12" in size.	43
Sjoerd Hekking Westerstraat 80 3818 NM Amersfoort Tel:(033) 462 60 95	A very nice series of lighthouses and ancillary buildings, with an occasional villa, such as the Villa "De Wachter", all in the Netherlands designed by the publisher, Sjoerd Hekking. The models come in various sizes: 5"x7", double cards, 6"x8" plus two of them are 4"x16" and in 1:200 scale. Among the lighthouses are Ameland, Breskens, Harlingen, Schiermonnikoog, Vlieland and Noordwijk aan Zee. Very finely designed and printed they are an excellent series.	32
Uitgeverij Solo (english) Laurillardlaan 29 3723 DL Bilthoven Tel:(030) 228 81 47 Fax:(030) 228 49 43 mundt@worldonline.nl	Nice model of De Roode Leeuw, Gouda, a windmill. Very nicely done in two sheets, 12"x16", in color, 1:87 scale. Also six soccer stadia.
Texelse Postbus 123 Den Burg	Two excellent Dutch churches, Hasseltse Kapel in Tilburg and the church in Hoorn. They are both 9"x12½ ", prepunched and beautifully printed in color.	2
Thijsse Bouw BV Rembrandtstraat 70 2526 RA S'Gravenhage Grote Kerk, Hague	For the moment I cannot locate this sheet, though I'm sure it will turn up eventually but unfortunately, until it does, I cannot describe anything about it.	1
Thoth Prins Hendrikslaan 13 1404 As Bussum	One of the best of the modern publishers. They were essentially to modern buildings what Makit in Belgium was to old ones. Their list of models includes Lloyd's Insurance of London (13"x13", 1:250 scale, 26 sheets in several materials, booklet, boxed, published in 1986); East Wing of the National Gallery, Washington; Rietvveld Schroeder house; Teatro Mondo by Aldo Rossi; Van Doesburg Atelier; the Zonnehof (8½"x8½", 1:100 scale, 14 sheets one of them plastic for windows, with booklet, boxed, published in 1986); Haus der Gerschicte, Bonn (10½"x15½", 12 sheets, booklet, boxed, 1994); Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House (8½"x17", 1:60 scale, 22 sheets in color, booklet, boxed, produced in 1989) plus Rodchenko's Chess Table. In addition, they have done a beautiful model of Kuip Stadion (9"x12", 1:50 scale, spiral bound book). Finally there is a lovely Poppenhuis (doll house), taken from the real one in the Fran Hals Museum, Haarlem. It's 9"x12" and contains 24 sheets which includes the furniture. Most of these models were designed by Victor Veldhyzezn van Zanten. They all come with accompanying text and are beautifully produced, printed and designed.	11
Uitgeverij 010 Watertorenweg 180 3063 HA Rotterdam Tel:(010) 433 35 09 Fax:(010) 452 98 25	Another publisher that vies with the very best anywhere. Like Thoth, they have concentrated on 20th century architectural masterpieces, mostly from the Netherlands, Russia and Austria. Again we had a publisher with plans that never quite materialized through lack of commercial success. Café de Unie and Directiekeet Oud-Mathenesse both by J.J.P. Oud, Villa Gestel by J.H. van den Broek, Villa Henny by R. van 't Hoff, plus Lenin's Tribune designed by El Lessitzky, Goederenkantoor N.S. by S. van Ravetsteyn and finally the Josephine Baker House project by Adolph Loos. There was supposed to be at least an eighth model, the Floating Pool by Rem Koolhaas, but I don't believe this was ever produced. Designed by Vollaard and Groenendijk all these models were beautifully printed and designed, on excellent paper, coming with plastic and other trim to make windows, etc. Most of the models came with the full history of the buildings and their architects, the Josephine Baker House book containing over forty pages of text. A great series of models. from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: 010 Publishers started about 20 years ago with some books and some architectural models. Now they've gotten bigger and only sell very expensive books on architecture. The address of their (English) homepage is on my addresses page. The models ended up for cheap a couple of years ago in De Slegte, a bookstore for second hand books and publishers leftovers. So they are not easy to get at any more. Which is a pity, since it were very nice models.	7: Café Unie Goederen Kantoor Josephine Baker House Lenin Tribune Super's Office Villa Gestel Villa Henny
Uitgeverij Luitingh Sitthoff	An excellent model of Amsterdam Ajax football stadium, very similar in design to the Kuip Stadion produced by Thoth. This one was designed by Vollaard and Groenedijk of Uitgeverij 010. A full punchout book, measuring 10"x14", with fourteen (14) pages of model and lots of pages of text, both instructions and history. 1:800 scale, it was produced in 1996.	1
Wim van der Meer Bouwplaten M. De Ruytersingel 19 4535 AW Terneuzen Tel:(0115) 64 87 90	An advent calendar in the form of a Dutch house. Another model I can't locate at the moment. from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: Distributor of all kinds of paper models. On his homepage only the ships are available.	1
Verburgt, J. W. Leiden	A reprint of the Leiden Town Hall, taken from an original model printed in 1929. A large sheet, 18"x24", in color and Dutch text.	1
Vereeniging tot Verpreiding NZ Kolk 19-21 Amsterdam	A series of biblical buildings: Synagogue van Kapernaum; Temple of Solomon; Tabernacle and the Tent van de Aartsvaders and others. From 9"x12" to 12"x17", they are multi-sheeted and in color. Not particularly fine models, but interesting in their subject matter.	6
Peter J. Visser Iceberg Bouwplaten Iceberg Notebomenlaan 75 3582 Ch Utrecht Tel:(030) 251 33 53 iceberg@peterjvisser.demon.nl	These models break down into three main groups. First are the postcards, 4"x6", fairly simple, slightly schematic and sold along with lots of non-building models as well. Then there are three models of modern Dutch buildings. The models are relatively simple but that's because the buildings are relatively simple in a stripped down, modern way. These come on folded sheets, 16"x24" when fully open. Finally, there are three models of Ronald Mcdonald Houses in Maastricht, Utrecht and Amsterdam. These are 11"x16" folded sheets, in color, though again, fairly simple. It is possible that McDonald's is the actual publisher of these last three but I'm including them here for convenience.	11
Witte Huis	An unusual model of the Witte Huis in Rotterdam. The box is superb, as is the printing but there is no information of any kind, regarding the history of the building, its design or instructions. Just the ten (10) 9½"x15" beautifully printed and colored sheets. Published in 1998 on the 100th anniversary of the hotel. Superb, boxed model of the hotel.	1
Witcard Publications C. Anthoniszstraat 32hs 1071 VV Amsterdam	The new owners of what was formerly ARP. They have put their own name on reprinted cards and have left the ARP until they are sold out. There are no new models from this publisher yet, but we have hopes.	7

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: http://www.easy-disc.nl/
Go to Kinder, go to Bouw je eigen bouwplaten. This is a cd with 300 paper models you can customize yourself. With the program you can also make your own designs. Go to bestellen to order it (don't know if they ship outside The Netherlands).

Rotterdam

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: 100 years ago the Witte Huis (White House) in Rotterdam was built. At that time it was the tallest building in Europe (45 meters). Rotterdam is still the city with the most highrise buildings in The Netherlands (and the highest at 150 meters). To celebrate 100 years of highrises the City of Rotterdam started a line of paper models of Rotterdam highrise buildings. They plan to issue one model every three months, if enough funds can be raised. The first one is the office building of the General Bank, 104 meters high, designed by the American architect Helmut Jahn in 1996. Scale is about 1:464, so it isn't very detailed, it's six pages A4-size and has 25 parts. But it costs only Hfl. 13.95 ($7.50).

It is published by (and sold at):
City Informationcenter
Coolsingel 197
3012 AG Rotterdam
The Netherlands
ISBN 90 71082 512
It's also sold at major bookstores in Rotterdam like Donner and Van Gennep.

Hungary

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: I have just returned from a trip which took me to Hungary and the Czech Republic.

It is virtually certain that the Hungarin publisher Magyar Medea Kereskedeimi Iro (and sometimes as Makett-Kivago and even Makett) did not make the transition to a free market economy. I did meet some people who said they thought that there were still a few models available in certain shops but I did not find any. Then again almost all shops close by noon of Saturday and don't reopen until Monday so I had very little time to look.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: I was in Budapest about eight years ago and while in a bookshop my wife noticed paper models being remaindered. I bought two of the few models they had. On reflection I should have bought them all and stuffed the suitcase with them but, alas, I didn't. When I got back found a contact in Hungary and they helped me get several more in the series but I haven't been able to contact that person again and so what I have is from this one company which I am very sure is out of business. I have no information about any other Hungarian models and would be very grateful if anyone else does.

I'm not absolutely sure if the name of the publisher was Makettfuzetek Minden Korosztalynak or just Makett, or something else altogether. The address is correct but no one answers there. The models I have were quite substantial, reasonably well designed, in color, on paper mid-way between the good paper of the Czech Republic and the rubbishy paper of Maly Modelarz of Poland (actually, I don't think anybody's paper could be worse than Maly Modelarz). The two major models, the Parliament and the Opera House are really quite exceptional. Many pages, large size and good models. The balance of them are smaller but quite good.

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Makettfuzetek Minden Korosztalynak 4 Magyar Media Kereskedelmi Iroda Kiadasaban Budapest VII; Garay u.5 1074	In addition to the Parliament and the Magyar Allami Opera House, the models include Forgach Castle; Pecs Cathedral; Botpalad Farm; Dohany Street Synagogue; a Farmhouse; Grassalkovic Katelly Godollo (castle); Mandi Templon and Mandok Uniate Church.	10

As ever, I'd be grateful for any further information, corrections or suggestions as to make these reports more helpful

The Czech Republic

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: I have just returned from a trip which took me to Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Albatros has ceased their publishing. There are a few book shops in Prague that carry the Albatros name but the main shop where I have purchased models in recent years and where offices were located is now occupied by another business. I did find and purchase the last three models of the National Theater (Narodni Divadlo).

The magazine ABC is alive and well. I purchased a copy for 19 Czech krowns (about US$0.62). The address is ABC:
Vydava Ringier CR, a.s.
Domazlicka 11, Praha3, 130.00.
Tel/fax: 02/6121/6126 (the 02 is the city code, I think the country code is 42. From the US try 011-42-02-6121-6126)
The e-mail address is redakce@anet.cz.

The magazine is 8-1/4" x 11-1/4" with 40 pages. It contains a model by the famous Richard Vyskovsky. The model is of a WWII tank (Nemecky porotiletadlovy tank WWII (Vet;;;rny vir) rok vyroby 1942. There are two full pages of very beautifully colored pieces of the model. I guess there are more than 90 pieces. Actually in looking this over it may well be that this is Part b of the tank with Part a having been previously published. My Czech is nonexistent and I don't have time to figure this out now.

There is another model of one page which is pretty certainly Installment III of a model of the USS Arizona. This model is by Ladislav Badalec.

The issue also contains interesting looking articles including what appears to be a review of a plastic model of a jet fighter (Mlastovky by Mattenalli). There are plans for simple wood boats and seven cut and assemble paper geometric Christmas tree ornaments.

from M.Tesar & V.Jancata <arpp@altavista.net>: Albatros was bought by BONTON company (sound media and music reproduction systems). They have dramatically reduced company activities in the paper models field. They will continue to publish books for kids only. As matter as fact they ceased storage of Albatros paper models (some of the very last pieces were bought by ARPP and saved for modelers abroad). At this moment only three titles can be found on the market - National Theatre Prague, Historic Balloons, Historic cars Stutz Bearcat and Mercedes Benz type S. When you are really lucky, you can to find some left over spread in many book shops or antiqueariates - Spitfires of our pilots Mk. IX (Invasion and Czech LF version), Machines for building industry (Industry crane on Tatra truck, JCB universal machine), Railroads buildings, Historical locomotives (published by Press Foto), Dolls, animals and some other kid stuff. According the latest information Albatros will not publish or reprint any paper model under new management. BTW - Richard Vyskovsky offered to Albatros remakes of the historic cars kit for free - they refused for economic reasons?!

In the case of ABC I will be very careful, especially when we are looking forward to the future. Mr. Antonicky (model designer and cooperator in the publishing) announced some changes in the publishing market. ABC will have new designs and it will start again with No. 1, they would like to keep paper model inside but they will reduce the space for it - on other side they will publish special extra issues (only with completely cut-out model, castle of Cervena Lhota for example). For more to say we should wait until next year. Correct address is only "Ringier CR , a.s., Domazlicka 11, 130 00 Praha 3", telephone number is 00420-2-67098111. ARPP is looking for the easiest way to get ABC abroad for all the modelers who are looking for this magazine. We found two domestic companies - they can provide it, the only problem is that they don't respond to the English correspondence at this moment. When there is progress and some demand for that we will give more detailed information on our web site.

from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: The new western owners (Ringier) of the Czech ABC-magazine are planning to stop the publishing of paper models in the magazine. They say that the magazine should be for kids 9-13 years of age and that paper modelling is too difficult for them. The editors on the other hand know that the paper models are very popular among young people in the Czech Republic and want to go on with them.

This reflects the difference between the older pedagogical strategy of Eastern Europe and the modern economical strategy of Western Europe. In the East they tried to make people inventive and build things themselves from almost nothing (as did in the US for example the Popular Mechanics Magazine). The modern western trend is to teach people to be good and profitable consumers. Even children's magazines would rather tell where to buy models than how to build models.

The owners of the ABC-magazine declared that the paper models in the magazine are not profitable. The editors answered late last year by publishing a special issue of the magazine (called ABCD or just "Decko" after the Czech spelling of the letter D) containing just paper models. There was a famous castle, an Abrams tank in 1:43, the spaceship Challenger in 1:150, an F-1 Ferrari in 1:24, a Caterpillar bulldozer and a robot. The issue was printed in 5.000 copies and never reached the regular market as the ordinary ABC-subscribers bought them all within the first week after announcing. The editors managed to show that there still is a great interest for paper models in the Czech republic. Let us hope that the owners of the magazine feel enough impressed to let the publishing of paper models go on.

ARPP Centrum                           0603/508566
ul. Ruská 497,
Neratovice 277 11
arpp@altavista.net

from M.Tesar & V.Jancata <arpp@altavista.net>: ARPP Centrum is an association of Czech paper modelers, it has also paper models for sale. Centrum has also other exclusive paper model activities. If you are interested I can give you more detailed description, but I hope that English version of our site will be ready in January 1999 (we are already late - trouble with clear conditions for selling abroad).

from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: ...ARPP-Centrum in the little town of Neratovice 22 kilometers north of Prague. ARPP turned out to be a wall paper shop and ARPP-Centrum a sort of non-profit sale stand for paper models in one of the corners of the ARPP. Milan Tesar who owns ARPP and Vasec Jancata who created the web-site of ARPP-Center seemed to know all the designers and publishers of paper models in the Czech republic. I think ARPP-Centrum had every available and lots of no-longer-available Czech paper models for sale. Most of them were also built up for show.

I understood that it is almost impossible for them to answer orders from abroad as the banks profit so much from payments from other countries that nothing is left for the seller. So you have to go personally to Prague if you want to buy from them.

From Milan and Vasek I heard a little about the sad decision to stop printing of all but three Albatros models. But, more luckily, I found that Richard Vyskovsky had designed some new models of world heritage buildings for the commune of Breclav. Vyskovsky has also started a new series of very nice post cards of Prague buildings.

Other interesting publishers in the Czech republic are, for example, "Propagteam" with a serie of american military cars and several postcards of cars and airplanes, "Minibox" with lots of road vehicles, "Pressfoto" with cars, "Fragment" with a railway historic item by Vyskovsky, "PK Graphica" with mostly cars, "Animal" with the Lednice minaret, "Betexa" with lots of rather simple models of animals, airplanes, cars, dolls and ships (among them, one of two Czech issues of the Titanic), "Mala zeleznice" with model railroad houses. But there are more publishers.

I heard that the future of the ABC magazine, that concerns paper models, is somewhat uncertain due to new ownership. But there are other youth magazines that could expand their interest in paper models.

from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: ...about the yellow race car on one of the czech pictures [on Gunnar's web site.] I haven't got out that one yet, but a very good czech publisher of F-1 cars is Mega Graphic. Perhaps it is their construction.

Mega Graphic has published at least the Porsche 962C in two versions, Lotus JPS 78, Benetton B 190 and Ligier JS 11. Their models are in 1:24 scale and very detailed. I think the Porsche, which I am going to try one day, has over 600 parts.

The Mega Graphic paper models would be the perfect way to learn all about the anatomy of a race car. I hope the addres is:
Mega Graphic
Sadova 65
Cepirohy u Mostu
PSC: 434 01
Czech Republic

The czech people seems to love trucks if you look at the many paper models of trucks, mobile cranes and caterpillars they have published. Several trucks are published by PK GRAPHICA, nakladatelstvi Kotlanova 2, 628 00 Brno, Czech Republic. But Richard Vyskovsky has also designed at least one for Albatross and Weiner design studios has designed for ABC-magazine and Minibox.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: Models of the Czech Republic seem to split into two sections themselves. Richard Vyskovsky designed models and everything else. Vyskovsky stands like a giant over Czech models.

The national champion in terms of models for the last thirty years or so, has been Albatros. They had a nice line of castles, houses, theatres and children's models beautifully designed, many by Vyskovsky, all on rather bad paper. The Prague Castle, for example, has about twenty sheets, on good paper and produces a large, intricate and beautiful model and stands comparison with the best models made anywhere. After the change in regimes at the beginning of the nineties Albatros came out with several models, some new, some old designs, on much better paper with excellent, glossy covers. This appeared to be the way forward and it was hoped that a whole new series of excellent models would be forthcoming. This proved not to be the case and obviously there was some difficulty in establishing a market and as of now, they have ceased production altogether, which is a great pity. In fact, Albatros was a large, state run publishing house, where paper models were only one feature of their output. They had a large store in the center of Prague. They have recently been absorbed by Bonton Publishing in 1998 and the current plans are to discontinue the paper models. Not all of the twenty four (24) models that I have from Albatros were designed by Vyskovsky but probably about fourteen were. The other major designer for them was Vladimir Kovarik and his work is excellent too.

The other extraordinary series of models is published by Radakce ABC. This is a magazine that comes out every two weeks (originally once a month, it was established in 1957) and is geared for children, perhaps 8 to 15. Articles about science, nature and such-like on newsprint. But in the center of the magazine, on better card, are eight pages devoted to either paper models, or some other form of papercraft. This is a regular feature of the magazine, so every year there are 26 such sets of papercraft. Again, the chief designer of many, if not all, of the paper models is Richard Vyskovsky. Some of the models come in sets and can go on for about a year, with hundred of buildings finally. The latest series, which is outstanding, is the Mestska Pamatkova Reservace. This is almost a complete city of buildings. I don't know if it's authentic or imaginary, but it makes a great display. In addition to building models, there are many vehicles (trucks, cars, military, motorcycles, planes, boats) plus things like lawnmowers, Christmas ornaments and a wide variety of other models. All extremely good and quite charming. I understand that the magazine, which was again state owned and operated, is now looking for a new market and will be changing their format. I am also told that the models will continue to be included and this is fervently to be hoped for. One of the problems with ABC has been that it is almost impossible to get a foreign subscription. The new owners are Ringier Publishing of Switzerland and they may be more eager to attract foreign customers. I have subscribed since 1993 but only through a Czech friend who sends me the magazine every few months.

Richard Vyskovsky is now involved with the latest Czech publisher, Pro Mesto Breclav. They have produced two excellent models in the Breclav area, a church and a castle. There is also a series of six (6) postcards designed by Vyskovky published by ERKOtyp. These also are of excellent quality. In addition, Vyskovsky has produced a delightful train and train station set for Papirova Modely, which is published by his son. Altogether an amazing achievement for one designer and rivals the accomplishments of any designer anywhere.

The non-Richard Vyskovsky designed models are rather smaller in number. Graphica PK has produced a good windmill. Duha published an excellent model of the Hrad Taufer castle. Edita Plickova published a sweet child's house. Another interesting model is produced by the convent of Prazka Loretta. This is located in the center of Prague and is famous for having a copy, replica or co-original of the House of Loreto, which is the Virgin's birthplace and which flew from the Holy land to Loreto in Italy. The original is a famous pilgrimage site and so is the one in Prague, though not on such a large scale. This is a model of the convent and the House of Loreto within. It's in black and white but is well designed and quite charming. Finally, not really models at all, but pop-ups of buildings and sights in Prague is a series by Kubasta.

(I am indebted to Vasek of ARPP in Prague for quite a bit of the history of these publishers and it's through his efforts that we may be about to secure subscriptions to ABC eventually.) The numbers after each publisher are the amount of models I have by that publisher.

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Albatros dr. Marcela Nejedla (out of business)	Twenty-four (24) models including the Estates Theatre (where Mozart's Don Giovanni gave its premier); the National Theatre; Prague Castle; the King's Belvedere on Castle Hill; Old Town Hall; Blatna, Cervena, Karlstejn and Kost Castles, among others, plus folk buildings and children's models. Good card stock, lively color and beautifully designed. A worthy national champion.	24
Duha	Hrad Taufer castle. Good models and possibly part of a larger series. Well designed and printed	1
Edita Plickova	Child's house. Very simple.	1
ERKOtyp Hajkova 13 130 00 Praha 3	Set of six (6) lively postcards of Prague buildings and bridges.	6
Graphica PK Nakladatelstvi Kotlandova 2 628.00, Brno	Excellent model of a local windmill	1
Kubasta Vltavska 2 Prague 3	Pop-ups of Prague buildings and sights	9
Papirova Modely	Excellent model of train and train station	1
Prazka Loretta Prague	Prague convent.	1
Pro Mesto Breclav Namesti T.G. Masaryka 10 690 81 Breclav	Church and castle in Breclav	2
Radakce ABC Dum Detskeho Radlicka 61 150 02 Prague	Twice monthly children's magazine. Always features models, buildings and others. Some wonderful series. Small but delightful and extremely imaginative. I have hundreds of these models.
Edice Papirovy Svet	This outfit may be connected with ERKOtyp

As ever, I'd be grateful for any further information, corrections or suggestions as to make these reports more helpful

from Mike Stamper <StamperM@visa.com>: Erkotyp now have 12 card models of the buildings of Prague. They have a web site at Edice Papirovy Svet with many other models. I am told by the company that you can type your order in the internet shop. They will then send an e-mail with the cost plus postage in USD. You will then have to send them a fax with the usual details, i.e. card number name, expiry date giving the amount to pay and a signature. I'm in the middle of trying this, but using e-mail for the order. Nothing to report yet.

I bought a few of the postcard models at book shops in Prague. I also bought a couple of kits (Estates Theatre and a large scale version of the clock tower) at the souvenir shop on Golden Lane in the Castle.

I managed to get a subscription to ABC magazine. One of my colleagues at work is from Prague and we arranged with ABC for them to send the bill to his mothers house for payment locally but for the magazines to be sent direct to me in London. I have had a subscription for about six months and ....so far... I've received every magazine.

I can confirm that they do tend to have models in instalments. The historic city mentioned in the FAQ is, I'm told, being issued in 50 separate installments. I have made some of them (see Heritage Models web site for a picture) and two instalments take up almost a whole A4 card for the base. ABC is also "serialising" a minibox model, this consists of a village and so far includes houses, various bits of traffic, railway buildings and a water wheel. So far, from the ABC magazines a wide assortment of models including boats, planes, a submarine, an old record player with horn "amplifyer, a Trojan Horse, an Indian Pueblo and the above building instalments.

Poland

On the Polish periodical Maly Modelarz

from Dariusz Lipinski <TonClass@netcom.ca>: Maly Modelarz (which translates in English as `Little Model Maker') is being sold here in Canada for C$2.95, C$3.95 for a double issue. It seems that wherever Polish emigrants go, Maly follows.

I understand, that many of you do buy this publication, so I might be here of help to those living in North America. There are two companies, one in Canada and one in USA from which you can buy a subscription to Maly:

VARTEX DISTRIBUTING INC. in Canada, tel. (905)624-4726, fax (905)624-4337. As they told me, one year subscription would cost about C$60.00. Much cheaper if you live in Toronto area and are able to pick the magazine from them personally.

LOWELL INTERNATIONAL in US, tel. (847)298-1185, fax (847)298-2392. They are located in Chicago.

Card models from other Polish publishers can be also purchased here, although not so easily. Usually if you know exactly what model you're looking for you might be able to order it through a local Polish store but it is very slow process and mostly ineffective. Better you look up a web page from Pelta in Warsaw.

from Harry B. Frye, Jr. <xfldengr@email.msn.com>: I called Lowell International in Chicago (Glenview) to asked about their being able to supply the subject models. They had no clue as to what I was asking, they do import Polish Newspapers. There was a little language problem but not enough to matter. I even spelled out what I was interested in and that didn't help.

from Dariusz Lipinski <TonClass@netcom.ca>: It looks like I gave out unconfirmed information. I called Lowell and it seems that they dropped off distribution of Maly Modelarz due to a minimal demand for it.

from Roman Detyna <digitalnavy@juno.com>: For those interested in Maly Modelarz - http://www.lok-zo.home.pl/m_model.html. You probably can't buy anything there but it is interesting site - the only one I know directly from the publisher of MM - LOK.

Pronunciation: read it as "mawi "- the polish crossed L is pronounced like English w. It is awkward to call this publication "Maly". It sounds like calling Fine Scale Modeler - "Fine". The full name is Maly Modelarz - Little Modeler.

from Strange <strange@conwaycorp.net>: If anyone is interested in Maly Modelarz subscription, it is now available for purchase through the Internet, for $35.00 a year. Since the site is in Polish, here are the instructions: Go to http://www.exportim.com/. On the yellow sidebar, click "Prenumarata Prasy". Next you will see an alphabet of links, click "M". Scroll down, you'll see Maly Modelarz. Click it, then you'll get your shopping cart view. Click on "Zamow" button and you'll see a form, with places for all usual stuff -- it does have comments in English. From there you should be able to finish the process, as most of the buttons and fields do have comments in English. If you need more assistance, please let me know.

Model shops in Poland

from Dariusz Lipinski <TonClass@netcom.ca>: Very good, good, probably, don't know, stand for card models selection. All of them were in business in 1997, but since than... well, who knows. Most likely they still are. Sorry if the addresses are not always 100% complete, but that's all that I've got.

	1. NAUTYKWARIAT
	ul. Piwna #12
	Gdansk              Probably.
	Apparently gone, see below

	2. SKLEP MODELARSKI
	ul. Rodzienskiego #88
	Katowice
	tel. 58-28-33       Probably

	3. HARCERZ
	ul. Mostnika #3
	Slupsk
	tel. 42-24-22       Probably

	4. No name !?
	ul. Koscielna #16
	Ostrow Wielkopolski    Good

	5. MODELARZ
	Plac Sw. Macieja  #11
	50-244 Wroclaw
	tel. 72-21-13           Probably

	6. JET-MODEL
	pl. Grunwaldzki #6A
	Wroclaw                  Probably

	7. MODEL CENTRUM
	ul. Grabiszczynskiej #57
	Wroclaw                  Don't know

	8. D&B s.c. HURTOWNIA MODELARSKO-ZABAWKARSKA
	ul. Wojska Polskiego #18B
	58-500 Jelenia Gora
	tel. 75-260-78              Good

	9. AERO MODEL CENTER
	ul. Traugutta #29A
	83-200 Starogard Gdanski
	tel. 162-20-77              Don't know

	10. FUKS
	ul. Dluga #26
	31-146 Krakow
	tel. 32-28-93               Don't know

	11. HAS HOBBY
	ul. Dzielna #7
	00-154 Warszawa             Very good

	12. SWIAT MODEL
	Plac Wolnosci
	Rybnik                      Good

	13. MAJSTER KLEPKA
	ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie #26
	20-002 Lublin                   Good

	14. P.H. MODEL HOBBY
	Osiedle LOTNISKO-D.H. "Jubilat"
	08-521 Deblin                   Don't know

	15. ALIBI MODELE
	ul. Raciborska #1
	Gliwice                         Good

	16. TOMCAT-MODELARSKI SWIAT
	ul. Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920r #4
	Warszawa
	tel/fax 22-46-46                Good

	17. ART HOBBY
	ul. Nowolipki #12
	00-151 Warszawa 
	tel/fax 310-425              Good
	   Mail address:
	ART HOBBY s.c.
	ul. Targowa #73
	skr. poczt. 162
	Warszawa 4
    

from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: In Gdansk, the Nautykwariat in ul.Piwna is gone. No one knew where.

On the other hand, the Maritime Museum in Gdansk (with its shop close to the famous Crane Gate) had quite a lot of cut-outs for sale.

I also found a good model shop in Poznan that is not in the faq:
TERSUS, Sklep Modelarski
ul. Paderewskiego 8
61-770 Poznan
tel 852-36-16
fax 852-94-28

If you go to Poland, you should try the newspaper stands for cut-outs. Poland has a great tradition with small stands selling everything from Shakespeare to shaving utensilia. As cut-out models in Poland usually are published like periodicals, you can find them among the political papers, the art magazines and the gardening gazettes.

GPM                        + 48 (042) 657 94 40 (TEL/FAX)
PO BOX 13
90-954 Lódz 4
Poland
biuro@gpm.pl

from Dariusz Lipinski <TonClass@netcom.ca>: I found a new website (Gryf Hobbies) in Poland. These people are selling models there. I contacted the owner, Mr. Boguslaw Czyzynski, and according to him he is interested in selling models abroad. His English is "no English" though. If somebody would want to receive some information from him, German is recommended. He told me, he will send info about $US prices if anybody ask for it. There will be pictures of the assembled models posted on his webside in the near future. Gryf Hobby is mostly selling models in bulk and they are still on the look out for new dealers. From what I know they do supply PMI in the US. As for the individual customers, here are the conditions: minimum order is $100.00; price in $ US is 50% of the polish zloty price. For example, if the price is 10.00 zloty it equals $ US 5.00; the list of models shown on the webside is being updated on weekly bases; shipping costs: regular mail $10.00 for the first 2 kg. and $4.00 for each additional kilogram; air mail $10.00 for the first 2 kg. and $10.00 for each additional kilogram; payments should be transferred to the banking account indicated on the invoice you will receive.

To order you might want to use the polish sentence mentioned below so to make sure that Mr. Czyzynski will understand exactly your intention.

Chcialbym zamowic ponizej wymienione modele kartonowe. Moj adres; XYZ. It translates into: "I'd like to order the card models listed below. My address is XYZ" (where XYZ should be replaced with your address, of course.)

If any of you is about to visit Warsaw, there is a much better place to buy card models than Pelta. It is a hobby store called Has Hobby (Ul. Dzielna 7, 00-950 Warszawa) and it is located on Ulica Dluga (Long Street) in the Old City (Stare Miasto). Despite its name it is not really a long one. Major intersection is Al. Solidarnosci and Marszalkowska.

Pelta is basically a book store which also is carrying card models. They keep their models behind a counter so you cannot browse through them freely. You need to ask one of the two ladies who work in that section for help. Has Hobby is a hobby shop with as many card models, freely accessible and, what I liked the most when I visited them last year, they have something around 30 or 40 beautifully assembled card models on the display.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: For the first years that I was collecting the only Polish models I came upon were Maly Modelarz, and they are just about the worst printed and designed models I've ever come across. The Commissar's seemed to have wanted to create models that were essentially biodegradable and would turn to dust within a short period of time. I'm sure they succeeded in their ambition. All of the paper has turned brown, if they weren't produced already brown, and they really aren't that old. On the other hand, they have a certain charm about them that is very enticing. The models are of Poznan, Gdansk and Warsaw buildings, towns halls and castles mostly. I don't ordinarily concern myself with how these models are in the making but a friend of mine informed me that part of the instructions were missing on his example (mine too) and that things didn't quite line up together. But they do represent important Polish buildings and in that sense, are serious models. [Editor's note: the quality of the paper in the Maly Modelarz models has improved considerably in the late 1990's; see the reviews section for more details. However, it seems that most of the Maly Modelarz models lately have been vehicles, and Mr. Freidus is interested mainly in architectural models, so this has not benefited him.

In the last few years, however, the situation has changed dramatically. There are now at least two serious, important publishers in Poland with others springing up. The first of these is GPM, who started with a very good series of lighthouses but have now added castles and monasteries. Well printed, well designed, good paper, color, altogether first rate models. The same goes for JSC who now have about twenty (20) buildings, mostly in and around Gdansk. These too are well designed and stand comparison with models anywhere. A far cry from the Maly models and I can only conclude, a triumph of the capitalist system.

In addition, there are three other publishers, or were, one, the Muzeum WSI Kieleckiej, a museum, seems to have stopped producing models, which is a shame as the three I have (and bought from S&S) are very nice farm buildings from the museum. In color, they are very good examples of their kind. The ones I have are numbered 10, 11 and 17, so I assume there were at least fourteen more available once. The other two are Mikrus, which is new. The one model I have is the complete church complex of Jssna Gora at Czestochowa. However, the model I have shows the same buildings in two separate models but twice the size, which I assume is going to be published. Finally, the last publisher is Buko and they have produced two nice models, one a church and the other a city building. In color, well designed and including a street layout. They are numbered 1 and 2, so there may be others or these might have been the only models published by them. With the exception of Maly and Buko, all of the Polish models were purchased from S&S, who seem to have excellent contacts in Poland. Gdansk Town Hall, Poznan Townhall, Zuraw Castle, Krakow Castle, Lighthouse and others

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Buko	Kosciol; Kamienice ul. Grodzka	2
GPM POBox 13 PL 90-954 Lodz 4	Lots of lighthouses along the Polish coast, plus Semiramide Palace, the Temple of Zeus at Olympus, Castles: Mewe, Nidzica, Zamek Krzyzacki and Darlowo Zamek; Churches: Bazylika Mariacka in Gdansk, Karpacz-Kociol Wang and others.	25
JSC-Wydawnictwo Skrytka pocztowa 20 80-305 Gdansk 5 Oliwa	Patac Opataw w Oliwie Palace, Gdansk Zurow (Danzig Kantor; lots of local buildings in Gdansk. They also produce postcards and single sheet models as well as models in booklets	20
Maly Modelarz Ul. Chocimska 14 Pokoj 405		9
Mikrus	Jasna Gora at Czestochowa (500 scale includes church and cloister. Beautiful model, well printed, good color, paper, design. Hope this will be part of a larger series.	2
Muzeum WSI Kieleckiej	Pump house, two other farm buildings	3

As ever, I'd be grateful for any further information, corrections or suggestions as to make these reports more helpful

United Kingdom

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>:

    G.L. Shackelton
    GS Designs & 3-D Sketches
    Cottars, High Brogue
    Krikcudbright DG6 4SX
    Scotland, United Kingdom
    my notes say:  castles of Scotland, large sheets, line drawings

    Maj. J. W. Allan
    Houses of Scotland
    Balmullo, St. Andrews
    Scotland, KY16 ODA
    United Kingdom

    Leeds Castle Foundation
    Leeds Castle
    Leeds, England
    United Kingdom
    model of Leeds Castle
    

from Tom Mc Rae <t.mcrae@mailbox.uq.edu.au>: When in London last July I visited a shop called `Past Times', where I picked up a card model of a Victorian Jack in the Box on special. On the back of the package were details of other models in the series...
Punch and Judy Show
Zoetrop
Chinese Magic Box
Steamer battling the waves
and most tempting of all A working Chinese Automaton.
Models were put out by:
Norwin International
Venture House, Fifth Avenue,
Letchworth Garden City
Hertsfordshire SG6 2HW U.K.
Has anyone come across those? Knows of a supplier?

from Fil Feit <filf@ns.kreative.net>: In downtown London there is a large (five or six story) toy shop. I don't remember the name; I'm sure people who frequent or live in the area and have kids know the shop.

Anyway, a friend who recently returned from a trip there said he saw paper models there, on one of the upper stories. He's not a cardmodeller, so I'm not sure what he considers a paper model. I've shown him a few of the Wilh. a while back, so he should have some idea.

Anyone in the area care to check that out? I'm quite curious to know if there's actually a shop that sells them.

from Rob Ives <rob@robives.demon.co.uk>: The shop you are thinking of is Hamleys I think. They certainly have a lot of Tarquin books there including my "Paper Locksmith" book, not sure what else there is though.

from Louise Heard <louise.heard@virgin.net>: I believe our shop [Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop; see main page for address] is the one mentioned as we are on "the upper level" of Covent Garden Market. We are 1/50th of the size [of Hamleys] with 20 times the stock of cardboard models.

from Bill O'Neil <mobilone@iac.net>: Here're a couple cardmodel sources I came across in the magazine "British Railway Modelling." Seem to be mostly architectural subjects in scales: 2mm (N, 1:160) and 4mm (OO, 1:76) with a bit of 7mm (O, 1:43 in UK - 1:48 in US; kinda interchangeable.)

Freestone Model Accessories / 28 Newland Mill / Witney, Oxon 0X8 6HH Eng. tel: 01993 775979 (Visa, Access) 100 pp catalog for £4 incl p&p worldwide. Hours 10-10! they show "last stocks" of Fiddler's Green N scale items, a pack of 25 cards for £10. Is Fiddler's out of business? Or is this just inventory reduction? [Editor's note: Fiddler's Green is still in business.]

My English paperkits have generally the best renditions (art work, color subtley) of brick and stonework of any brands.

from Fil Feit <filfeit@hydrogen.btna.com>: I went over to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich [England]. The museum gift shop had a handful of what they called "pop-up" models from "Editions Mirontaine" in Bordeaux (tel 57 87 02 01). I picked up a Pride of Baltimore and an eclectic collection of London items (a double-decker bus, a phone box, and some other items). They were out of the Cutty Sark, but the REAL one was less than a quarter-mile away. Each of the models is tab-and-slot construction, about four inches long and cost £2.50.

The museum shop also had several models in book form: a Star Globe (#3.20) and "Sundials and Timedials" (£3.95) from Tarquin, and "Make an Astrolabe" and "Make a Nocturnal (Nocturlabe)", each at £2.50 from the Maritime Museum (no other name on there; I wonder if they were commissioned or designed there).

from David Hathaway <david@dhathaway.freeserve.co.uk>: The Fitwilliam museum here in Cambridge [England] carries the Tarquin books and the "Editions Mirontaine".

from Roger Pattenden<roger@heritage-models.co.uk>: The only specialist paper model retail shop in London (and probably in the UK) doesn't have a mention, so please let's put that right:
Bookends
1 - 3 Exhibition Road
South Kensington
London
SW7 2HE
Tel : 0171 589 2285
Derek East, who runs the shop, stocks L'Instant Durable, Domus and many more (including Heritage Models!). They specialise in paper aircraft kits and have a large stock from many producers. He also has what he believes to be the largest stock in the UK of Origami books. They've been established for a few years, but not yet on the internet, which they aim to put right soon.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: The best store for paper models around the world, including some fairly obscure British ones, is Bookends, at the lower end of Exhibition Road, very near the South Kensington tube station. They carry Usborne, Domus, Instant Durable, English Village Design, Landarte Graphics and quite a few others. Very nice people. Ask for Derek, he's the most knowledgeable about paper models.

The rest is really point of purchase and hope for the best. St. Paul's Cathedral has one or two. Queen's House, Greenwich has a small one. If you find anything else, I'd be interested to know about them.

from Pat Macguire <h.macguire@virgin.net>: I've just received two 1/33 scale Polish kits, A6M-2 Zero and F2A Buffalo, labelled "Kartonowy Arsenal". I got these from:
Books International
101 Lynchford Road
Farnborough
Hampshire GU14 6ET
England
Phone: 01252 376564
Fax: 01252 370181
These cost M-#2.99 each, plus post, of course.

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: When in England I have had good luck finding paper models in model railroad shops. There are several publishers who make HO and N scale paper buildings for model rail enthusiasts. If you can find a shop which doesn't seem to have brisk business you can sometimes find wonderful out-of-print items at original prices.

Other good sources in London are the museums especially the Victoria and Albert. I have always found paper models of buildings in their book shop. Sometimes paper models of building can be found in the National Trust shops. Another English source can be Past Times which is a chain of shops selling nostalgia to the tourists. And finally don't forget the shops at any heritage site. I have even found paper models of Stonehenge at their gift shop.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>:

British Railway Models

As the country that invented the railroad and the railroad model, it shouldn't be that big a surprise that the British are in the vanguard in railway paper models. More publishers than any other country and producing models of great beauty and variety. While I can describe the printing, size and other aspects of these kits, unfortunately, I have no experience in making any of them, so what I can't describe is how difficult they are to make and how realistic they look when made. Actually, I would be grateful if anyone could add to this article with that sort of information. As far as that goes, anyone who has any information regarding these models (other publishers, change of addresses, historical information, etc.) I would be delighted to have that as well.

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Alphagraphix 23 Darris Road Selly Park Birmingham B29 7QY	Kits come in 'OO' and 'O' with about fifty in the former and the balance in the 'O'. Mostly on single sheets of good quality card stock, reasonably well printed. Lots of shops, houses, railway buildings in both full scale and low relief. They also produce a large line of buses and trams.	78
Ascott, Derek Kirklinton Worth, Sussex	Rather odd models. Thin paper pages, meant to be glued to card, mostly Black and White, though some are in color, the series appears to be xeroxed with the result that the printing is not the best, though perhaps with coloring they will improve. They are really more like patterns to make models, than the models themselves. Large group of town buildings but the scale is not marked.	56
Bell Models Unit 17 50 Cotton Street Aberdeen AB12 1EE	Building kits come in "N" and "OO" scale. Already punched out, on sturdy stock, windows and doors open. The packaging is a little home made but the kits could be okay, with a little work. Full range of town buildings.	32
Bilt-eezi Published by the Engine Shed London E11 4QS	Very large, beautifully printed range stores, houses, railway buildings. Three scales: "N", "TT" and "OO". Really lovely printing on single sheets.	83
British Railway Modeling The Maltings, West Street Bourne, Lincs. PE10 9PH	A modelling magazine, occasionally they send a model to subscribers. I have two, a Country Station and a Weighbridge Hut, each sheet comes with three identical models but in three scales; 7mm, 4mm and 2mm. Good stock and lovely models. My brother-in-law collects and runs trains and he give me the models. Otherwise, I assume you have to subscribe to the magazine.	6
Builder Plus B&G (Wetherby) Ltd Fairfield House Sickllinghall Road Wetherby LS33 40Y (I believe they are out of business)	Rather nice, fairly simple models, partly pushout, partly cutout, the windows can open for greater realism. Single sheets for both "N" and "OO" scales Railway buildings and generic town buildings.	18
Freestone Model Accessories 28 Newland Mill Witney, Oxon OX8 6HH	Freestone, I believe, is the publisher of Prototype Models (discussed below) but they are also distributors for a great many English railway and other models, including lots of buses, building papers and accessories. A great resource and Jerry Freestone is a very nice man, excellent to deal with. They put out an annual catalogue with just about everything they carry.
Future Models Unit 5 The Mill Parliament Street Derby DE22 3RN	HO scale but not exactly railway models. Actually two castles, one small and one larger, great for kids. Very heavy cardboard.	2
Gilmour Kits	I think I got these from Freestone but it isn't in the latest catalogue so I don't know where to get them. There are three nice stations, Charlbury, Lambourn and Abbotsbury, actual stations in England. Two stiff sheets per kit, punch-outs, doors and windows open. No scale.	3
Graykits 32 Highland Road Northwich, Cheshire CW8 4AB	Four simple models: shops, houses, goods shed and water tower. "N" scale, single sheet, black and white.	4
Howard Scenics Milbrook Close Blewbury, Oxon OX11 9QL	Four simple models: two of terrraced houses, a set of backs and a set of shops for the front. "OO" scale. Black and white with some color. Mostly makes modelling sheets, rather than models.	4
Mainstreet Models 370 London Road North End Portsmouth PO2 9JY	A very full line of shops, theatres, houses (with and without stores) in "N"and "OO" scales. Thick card, plus window material, papers with curtains, and other material for constructing the model. They look very sturdy.	46
Metcalfe Models 1 Carleton Business Park Carleton New Road Skipton, N. Yorks BD23 2AA	Two scales, "N" and "OO", very stiff card, good printing, should make a good model. Most kits come with an exacto knife. Most of the models are of industrial buildings: mill, brewery, engine shed, water tower in addition to houses and a parish church.	24
Modelyard 16, Helmsley Road Leeds LS16 5JA	Three pre-cut models in "OO" scale: school, goods shed, terraced houses, plus one not pre-cut, a warehouse. Comes with wooden parts and some wire to complete the model.	4
Paper Kits, I Johnson 52 Masseyfield Road Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 6AE	A somewhat unusual series. Made from regular paper, not card, they are designed so that the constructing process reinforces the structure itself. Black and White. Mosts of the buildings in the series come in each of four scales: "N", "TT", "OO" and "Z", though some only come in certain scales. Full streetscape in the line: stores, houses, pubs, churches, schools, hotels, but also bridges and viaducts. I'd be very interested to know if these work when built. An interesting group of railway models.	108
Prototype Models was: May Cottage Hardigate Road Cropwell Butler, Notts NG12 3AH now: 28 Newland Mill Witney, OXON OX8 6HH United Kingdom	Buildings come in "N", "OO" and "O" scale. Very stiff card with window decals plus plastic parts included. Mostly railway buildings (goods sheds, platforms, signal boxes, shelters, etc, with some town buildings. Most of the models are based on real English railway buildings which are described on the package. Should make a high quality model. Bob Pounds <Bobp@dynamite.com.au> adds: Came across about four models by this company during a visit to a model shop in Sydney last week. I bought kit 26S8, a SR engine shed. It comes on two pieces of card, each about A5 size. The card weight seems about right for the model which is in N scale. I looked at a GWR engine shed but it was printed on very thin paper and I suspect one would have to paste the design onto thicker card before beginning construction. The SR shed is well printed, and offered plenty of opportunity for the more experienced card model builder to take it beyond a mere cutout model. For example, the wooden framing of the doors could easily be built up with another layer to enhance the 3-d effect; the heavy cast iron door hinges would stand being re-rendered in thin card with 'popped' rivet tops; while the 'glass' would be made more prototypical with a gentle watercolour wash of soot black.	36
Re-Rail St. Helens Model Centre 40 Ormskirk St St. Helens, Merseyside WA10 2TF	Appears to be a one-off. Printed by Alphagraphix for Re-Rail, it is a coaling plant ("OO") based on the installation at Carnforth. Interesting building, more compicated than the ususal Alphragrahix kit.	1
Superquick 18 Sherwood Avenue Ruislip, Middlesex HA4 7XL	In some ways the backbone of English railway models, the one you are most likely to find in hobby stores. "OO" Scale, punch-outs, stiff card. Mostly cityscape buidlings: cottages, houses, Swan Inn, school, filling station but some railway buildings too: locomotive shed, platforms, goods, depot, etc. Also three models in low-relief.	31
W&H 14 New Cavendish St London Out of business	Model and hobby stores in London, recently closed, they produced their own paper kits. Three nice models similar to Bilt-eezi, well printed.	3

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>:

British Models

There are several anomalies about the world of British models that in some ways mirrors the world of British everything. Along with France and Germany, the British were among the first to seriously produce paper toys in general and paper models in particular for a large, essentially middle class public. One of the models I have is by Raphael Tuck, who began producing paper toys, games and models at about the same time as J.F.Schreiber, in Germany and Pellerin in France, but whereas the latter two are still in business and Schreiber still a force in paper models, Tuck is long since gone.

In addition, while I have come across more publishers of models in the UK than in any other country, and that's not even including the railway model publishers, there is no national champion such as Schreiber in Germany; L'Instant Durable in France; Ediciones Merino, Salvatella and Ciutat de Paper in Spain; Dover or Monte Models in the US; Leon Schuijt in the Netherlands or Domus in Italy. Very few of the producers of these models are real publishing houses and even when a major publisher produces some models, they are usually for children and not too many of them in any case. For example Macmillan, Penguin, Heinemann, and HarperCollins have all produced some models, none has a wide range or deal with real buildings in the country. The only publisher that comes close to filling this role is Usborne, but there models are all generic and fairly simple. In some ways the two that come closest to producing large groups of interesting models are Fiddler's Green and even more, Landarte Graphics, and both of these only have postcards. The Landarte Graphics line, particularly, is very similar to that of L'Instant Durable, well designed, good stock, lively color and a wide range of important UK buildings, but with this major exception. That L'Instant Durable in addition to over one hundred postcards also has forty superb models of great, historically important French buildings.

Also, unlike Spain and Germany, cities and other civic authorities, who produce some of the greatest models respectively in both countries are absent in Britain. With the one exception of Ledbury District, no town, city, county has published anything. The same is mostly true about museums, including open air museums where unlike Scandinavia where almost every museum has some models, such is not the case, for the most part, in the UK.

So then, who is producing all these models. Essentially, as in so much of British economic life, the main thrust has been left to dedicated amateurs to produce the major series of British models. In England there is Rupert Chicken and his excellent group of cathedrals and churches, Geoffrey Stinton, with castles and palaces, Roger Pattenden at Heritage Models (Harrow) with a marvelous line of buildings around London, Eduprint, a good series of vernacular and specific buildings and churches, and Oakenfull, who produced some excellent and beautiful models for the National Trust. In Scotland there is Major Jim Allan at Houses of Scotland and Pictprint, both with lovely models of Scottish vernacular and historic houses, palaces and castles. Many of these people are modeller's themselves and entered the publishing business through their hobby, (hopefully without excessive hopes of great profits, which has all too often been their fate.)

The problem, however, is that, as with all sales of paper models, there is a great deal of difficulty getting adequate distribution, which really only the largest publishers can achieve. Aside from point of purchase there are remarkably few places that paper models can be bought and this severely limits the sales potential for all these publishers. The Sussex Archaeological Society (1066 Models) at least has the advantage of being able to sell all its models in all of the museums and buildings that it runs. But even the National Trust, produced by Oakenfull, found that they couldn't sell enough paper models in their shops and finally gave up on them. It's really only the two postcard makers and the large houses that can put their line into regular bookstores or giftshops, the most logical places to sell this type of material. And the result of this impediment is that most of these smaller houses finally give up the unequal struggle and cease to produce and sell models at all.

To compound the problem, because these publishers are small and basically do-it-yourselfers, they are severely limited with how much money they can invest in each model and therefore the high production values and technical skill evident on the various European national champions is missing from most of the UK publishers. This includes the quality of the paper, the use (or absence) of color, the general size, the packaging, everything, in short, that makes a fine model fine, is circumscribed. The upshot of this fact is that the greatest model of a UK building, the Lloyd's Insurance Building, was produced in Holland by Thoth. In addition, such historically important and architecturally brilliant buildings as the Brighton Pavilion, the Banqueting House and Queen's House by Inigo Jones, the city churches of Wren and his Naval Hospital, Greenwich or the Chelsea Hospital have never been produced as a model (aside from postcards) In addition, there are no models of the great city halls in northern England. As far as that goes, with the exception of the Oakenfull models for the National Trust, now out of print, there are no serious models of any of the great houses of the country, either those owned by the National Trust or in private hands. In short, most of the great architectural treasures of Britain are unavailable as models, decidedly unlike the situation in France, Germany, Holland and Spain.

The basic fact to be faced is that the United Kingdom is not particularly fertile ground for paper models, and the reasons may be paradoxical. That while Britain had a long tradition of model making, much of it was for models made of metal. Miniature steam engines, metal boats, etc. competed successfully with paper when metal was the logical alternative to paper. Later, after the war, plastic, which was probably more affordable in Britain than in much of the continent, was too attractive for paper to compete with.

This last point brings me to the one great achievement of British paper models, the closest thing Britain ever had to a national champion, one of the supreme contributions to architectural papercraft and the main argument against the argument presented above. I mean, of course, Micromodels. which did produce a wide range of important British buildings, including many of the most important buildings of the country including Parliament, Hampton court, Westminster Abbey, the London City gates, Dr. Johnson's house, Anne Hathaway's house, plus some foreign buildings as well; the White House, St. Peter's, Rome. Started in War World II by Geoffrey Heighway, to allow servicemen and others to continue modelling while away, with few tools and little space to work in, they were described as "your workshop in a cigar box" and their diminutive size (4x6" cards) allowed this to be true. One of the reasons for their creation, and their success, was that modelmakers who were used to working with metal were forced by wartime restrictions to find alternate model media. Paper was perfect. And while they were very successful during the war and during the ten years after the war, they started to feel the pinch of plastic in the second half of the 1950s. Admittedly, the death of Heighway added to the problem of the company but the problems had started before he died, and the major reason for the company's demise was the difficulty of distribution, the indifference of the public to paper models and the competition from plastic and other materials.

Having said that, there is no denying that the series was very significant. Micromodels had an extensive line of trains, railroad accessories, ships, and other types of vehicles; they were well printed, well designed, on good stock, and in all ways had a professional and serious look about them. It's a great pity they did not continue until the resurgence of paper models in the later 1970s and 80s.

While there are a few publishers in Scotland, there is only one publisher in Wales, the Machynlleth clocktower by Nicklen, and none at all in Northern Ireland, so while I have been speaking about Britain and the United Kingdom, most of the models in the following list are English.

One last thought, taking all I've said above, it shouldn't be much of surprise to find that there are no distributors similar to Scheuer and Struver or Atelier GAG, in Britain. On the other hand, there aren't really too many like them anywhere, but that's a different story. The closest store to these two is:
Bookends
1-3 Exhibition Road
South Kensington
London SW7 2HE
Tel: 0171-589-2285
It is owned by Janet McLellan but I usually deal with Derek, who is pretty knowledgeable about models. They carry the complete line of Heritage Models (Harrow), and until recently Rupert Chicken and Geoffrey Stinton as well, though they may be discontinuing the last two (typical), plus the Landmark Trust and Nicklen models, plus several others. They also carry a reasonble line of foreign models, L'Instant Durable, Domus, Wrebbit, Merino, etc. Very nice people to do business with.

As ever, I would be grateful for any corrections, comments and additions on the material in this article. [Editor's note: since Robert Freidus provided the list below, I have made corrections and additions based on material from other sources. Errors should be regarded as my fault, and not blamed on Mr. Freidus. As always, comments and corrections welcomed. Additional contributors include: myself, Chip Fyn <chipfyn@quest.net> ]

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Abbey Hotel Abbey Street Penzance, Cornwall	A lovely hotel in Penzance that we've stayed in several times. It's owned by Jean Shrimpton, the 1960s models which is good, but even better is the fact that her husband made a lively little model of the hotel. I don't know if they sell the model if you don't stay at the hotel. Color but simple.	1
Aberdeen Art Gallery Schoolhill Aberdeen, Scotland	The Mercat Cross (the medieval Market Cross) of Aberden. Simple.	1
Abydos Publishing 24 St. Charles Square London W10	Six models from the 1970s or thereabouts, Brighton Pavilion, Roman house with baths, Roman villa at Pompeii, Victorian Station, etc. Simple, really for children. Black and White.	6
Angus & Robertson no address	Victorian house; Theatre, Noah's ark. Large scale.	2
Arcturus no address	This one is peculiar. It's Elizabeth, the Kaiserin of Austria in 1900, in front of the Schonbrunn Palace. Delightful model and why it had an English publisher but only sold in Austria at the Palace is beyond me.	1
Autumn Publishing Appledram Barns Chichester, W. Sussex	Model farm. Juvenalia.	1
Avoncraft Museum of Buildings Stoke Heath Bromsgrove, Worc B6O 4JR	Black and White model of the first building installed at this building museum in Worcester, the Merchant's House of Bromsgrove. Black and White, but a good model.	1
B&S 472, Caledonian Road London N7	This is a treasure. Four separate boxes, each containing buildings from Noddy's Village. Child-like (and why not, they were for children) they are from the 1950s and pretty rare.	4
Bancroft London SW1	Models from the 1950s or 60s. Dockland and a working windmill, this appears to be part of series published by the company. Color, multi-page books. from Tim Perry <Tim@theperrys.swinternet.co.uk>: I am sure we had two books from this publisher with sailplanes in one and jet fighters in the other. I remember wrecking one glider model when, in my eagerness to get started, I cut two pages at once.... I also remember many happy hours deck-landing the RA5 Vigilante through the dining room and onto the kitchen table. The models flew well! I could only have been 5 or six at the time, that makes it about 1963 or 4.	2
BBC Children's Books Woodlands, 80 Woods Lane London W1Z 0TT	Juvenalia, color, well printed on good stock: Pingu, Noddy and a small card model of BBC House.	3
Beaver Designs Hadnock Road Monmouth, Gwent NP5 3NQ	Seven out of the eight models in the series. Generic historical buildings, punched and slotted together. Farmyard, Tudor House, Georgian House, Medieval castle, etc. Fun for kids.	7
Belcher, William no address	Old Curiosity Shop	1
Birks Heaton Mersey, Stockport	Juvenalia. Windmill, watermill, weather house.	3
Blackie 7 Leicester Place London WC2H 7BP	Juvenalia. Old McDonald Had a Farm.	1
Bodleian Library Broad Street Oxford OX1 3BG	Three interesting models: The Clarendon Building, the Sheldonian Theatre and the Sheldonian peepshow, all at Oxford.	3
Bond Agency 40, Dunes Road New Romney, Kent TN28 8SN	Roman villa, granary, gateway, bathhouse and Hadrian's Wall turret and Temple of Mithras. Educational for children, multi-sheeted, B&W, Quite nice.
Cabaret Mechanical Theatre 33/34 The Market Covent Garden London WC2E 8RE Tel: (+44) (0)171 379 7961 Fax: (+44) (0)171 497 5445 Email: barecat@cabaret.co.uk	One of my favorite places in London, it specializes in automata. They also produce books and postcards of models of automata. Not for building collectors but lots of fun and I recommend visiting them when around Covent Garden. A real treat for old and young.
Cabbages Desing no address	Juvenalia. Three charming stores: grocer, draper, butcher.	3
Café Rouge no address	Arc de Triumph from the restaurant chain. A small activity book for the children but the model isn't bad at all. There's an Eiffel Tower too but I haven't got that one yet.	1
Candle Books Ltd STL Ltd PO Box 300 Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 0JH	Very charming Bible village.	1
Castle Museum York	Reprint by the museum of the Fancy Bazaar, a Victorian sheet.	1
Chicken, Rupert 12 West Avenue Stoke Park Coventry CV2 4DG	A very interesting series based on the cathedrals of England and other important churches. Large scale, multi-sheeted, Black and White. Series includes Canterbury, Gloucester, Hereford, Lichfield, Salisbury, St. Mary, Warwick and others.	14
Chronicle Books no address	An Elizabethan and Garden. Beautifully printed and produced. Large scale. Very handsome. Also published in the US.	1
Churchill's Confectionery Edgeware, Middlesex HA8 0LL	Tudor Cottage and Anne Hathaway's House. Not really models; boxes for candy in the form of houses but I count them anyway.	2
Clark no address	Quite old, ,maybe the 1930s, but very crude. Large sheets with an Old Mill and Flour Mill. Very simple.	2
Copeman, Jan 44 Overstrand Prince of Wales Drive London SW11	Juvenile series but fun for the kids. Small scale, they come with wooden sticks to help make them work. Watermills, windmills, rocket launcher, medieval keep, etc.	7
Crayola Binney & Smith Amphill Road Bedford MK42 9RS	The crayon people. A castle to make and it comes with the crayons to color it with.	1
Croxford, Jenny no address	Juvenile. Four sheets of English Village. Very simple.	1
Cut It Out Products Lelant, St. Ives Cornwall TR26 3LH	Juvenile. Simple models of Fisherman's Cottage and Lighthouse. Sweet though. Also a crabber and another boat in the series.	2
CWS no address	A CWS store. Simple	1
Daily Express no address	During the 1930s the Daily Express produced large books of buildable toys and buildings. My copy is quite mutilated with many of the models completed and out of the book, but the Windmill is still in perfect condition and ready to be made, as is the printed information. Would love to find more of these.	1
Dale Toys Bank House Farm Holme Mill Holme via Carnforth Lanc LA6 1RE	Out of business. Watermill. Simple.	1
Dean & Son 41-43 Ludgate Hill London EC4	A regular publisher of children's material in the 1950s. Excellent model of Queen Elizabeth's Little House in Windsor, plus other children's models; Jolly Miller, Aladdin, etc.	8
Design Group Sherborne Sherborne	Sherborne Abbey. Really a pop-up. Very small.	1
Discovery see Marshall Cavendish Dobson & Crowther Smurfit Ltd Llangollen, Wales LL20 8AE	Two very good models, both of Caernarvon Castle in Wales.	2
Dorling Kindesley 9 Henrietta Street London WC2E 8PS	A major publisher. Education packs including pyramids, Roman houses, a castle. Very well made, large scale with lots of other features in the box.	3
Dragon Studio no address	Victorian Doll's House designed for the Children's Museum in Edinburgh. Simple but charming.	1
Draper Models Ooievaarlaan 3 98 Deinze, Belgium	They used to live and publish in England but have since moved but I'll keep them here. A whole series based on the buildings involved in the Battle of Waterloo, in various scales. Hougourmont, Haie Sainte, La Belle Alliance, plus Lord Raglan's HQ from the Crimea and some others as well. Black and White.	18
Eduprint 25B Southgate Horsea, East Yorkshire eduprint@netscapeonline.co.uk	An extremely nice, well packaged series. Mostly English vernacular architecture (manor houses, Norman churches, medieval guildhall, Roman villa plus some specific buildings; Peterborough, Ripon, Salisbury Cathedrals and others. Possible designed to be done children in school, they make a handsome set.	28
English Village Design The New House Wokingham Road Hurst, Bucks RG10 0RU	Simple sheets mostly for children. Color, good paper. Includes Old Curiosity Shop, Castle Howard, Dicken's House, Hampton Court Gateway, and plus some generic models, windmills, watermills, etc.	28
Eskdale Designs Danby	York Minster. Pop-up postcard.	1
Excitement In Learning	Out of business. A series of Medieval models: Inn, Fortune Theatre, Market Cross in one book.	10
Farnham Museum Wilmer House 38 West Street Farnham, Surrey	Model of the building that houses the museum in Farnham. Handsome and large, though simple.	1
Fiddler's Green Now at: 1960 W Ray Road, 1C-2 Chandler, AZ, 85224, USA Available in the UK through: Freestone Model Accessories 28 Newland Mill Whitney, Oxon, OX8 6HH	Masters of the postcard model business. Vernacular and specific houses, mostly in the UK but also some buildings in the US. Several sizes of postcards, they also come in sets: Industrial, Wild West, Village. Hard to find out exactly what they have produced and so avoid duplicates I have approximately 135 at the moment but I know there are more.
NEW Flat-Pack Heads Card Models enquiries@flatpackheads.co.uk	Polyhedral heads.
Frog Gardener's Cottage Dalvey by Forres Morayshire IV36 0SP	Castle Gate House and Croft House. Simple buildings for kids.	2
Garrod & Lofthouse Kevin Way Crawley, W. Sussex RH10 2SD	Two good models, Windsor Castle and St. Paul's Cathedral but last letter returned so may be out of business.	2
Glevum Games no address	Toy publisher in the 1930s. I have an Airport but simple.	1
Greenhigh, Belinda no address	Cardiff Castle Clock Tower. Really just a postcard.	1
GS Designs Cottars High Brogue Kirkcudbright DG6 4SX	A nice series of Scottish buildings. Burns House, Linlithgow Palace, Threave Castle, Tolbooth, Kirkcudbright. Large single sheets, Black and White, good paper.	8
Halifax Building Society no address	Six historical buidings from the building society, probably as a promotion of some sort. Peasant's House, Regency house, Tudor house, etc. Simple.	6
HarperCollins 77-85 Fulham Palace Road Hammersmith London W6 8JB	Juvenalia. Percy the Park Keeper	1
Harrods Knightsbridge London	This was part of Christmas present box of chocolates to me which included a model of the Harrod's Dome. The chocolates were good too.	1
Hawkes Edwards Cave no address	I hesitate to even mention this one. These are Christmas cards sent out by an architectural firm and are usually a building they have worked on during the past year. It's a long, complicated and serendipitous story as to how I found these people but as they send the cards to me on sufferance I don't really want to bother them further with modeller's trying to get the models. But they are delightful. Gunnar Sillen saw them and tried his hand for Christmas this year.	13
Heinemann Reed Childrens Books Michelin House 1 Fulham Road London SW3 6RB	Juvenalia. Thomas the Tank Engine Train Station, Village Shop, Little Gray Rabbit's House, etc.	5
Henderson Publishing Woodbridge	Juvenalia. Haunted House, First Christmas, Spooky House	3
Hendon Museum Hendon, London	Model of the Hendon Church Farm. Quite good.	1
Heritage Models Roger Pattenden PO Box 903 Harrow, HA1 4XY Tel: 0181 427 0818 Fax: 0181 863 4352 Email: roger@heritage-models.co.uk	Excellent series of historical London and English buildings. Well designed. Geffrye Museum, Hall Place, Forty Hall, Euston Station Arch, Kenwood, Cornish Tin Mine and others. Nice man.	11
Heritage Models moved, perhaps out of business	A series of small but nice models. Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, York Minster.	4
Highland Models no address	An Inn, Stable and Timbered house. Simple.
Highway Press 6 Salisbury Square London E4	Two models of friezes of Iranian and Egyptian villages. Not quite models but quite charming.	2
Houses of Scotland Balmullo, St. Andrews KY16 0DA	A delightful series designed by my friend, Major Jim Allan. Mostly buildings in Scotland; Balbirnie House, Claypotts, Huntly House, Ibrox Stadium, there are also some industrial buildings such as a coal, water and oil power plants and many more. Single sheets, Black and White.	20
Hoyland no address	Two outstanding models: Sulgrave Manor and a Milton Keynes church. Both very good detail, nicely printed. The gift shop at Sulgrave has both models.	2
Hunkydory no address	Large distributor. This one is a Nativity scene.	1
Hunt & Thorpe Bowland House off West St. Alresford, Hants, SO24 9AT	A Temple in book format. Color.	1
Innovate Donhead Mill Donhead St. Andrew Shaftesbury, Dorset	Hard cardboard models for children. Two historical models, Hardy's Cottage and the George Inn, Southwark, there is also a series of vernacular buildings, pubs, churches, farms, inns, etc.	10
Kellogg's UK	Kellogg's premiums, an outstanding model of Brookland Raceway, the village of Brookland, and a WWII airfield. Large, detailed, well-colored.	3
Kingfisher Grisewood & Dempsey Elsley House 24-30 Gt. Titchfield St London W1P 7AD	A Roman Villa in book form. For children but good.	1
Landarte Graphics 4 Hillside Cottages Downs Road West Stoke Chichester PO18 9BL	Probably the best series of postcards in the UK and only rivalled by L'Instant Durable anywhere. A large selection of buildings from London, England, Europe and the US. The New York City group is sold as a set, as is the Stratford (Shakespeare) group. Cities like Bath, Edinburgh and York also have a whole series to themselves. Very nicely printed and considering their small size, good detail.	87
Landmark Trust no address	The Landmark Trust buys and leases interesting buildings and converts them in holidays accommodations. They have buildings throughout the UK. They administer a great many houses on the island of Lundy and have produced this rather good model of the Old Lighthouse there.	1
Ledbury & District Society Ledbury, Herefordshire	The village of Ledbury in Shropshire produced their three town buildings: the Grammar School and Butcher's Row (large and small scale). Easy but charming.	3
Lion Publishing Sandy Land West Oxford	For children but sweet. The Birth of Jesus.	1
Litor Publishers Brighton	Litor was a serioius publisher of children's toys. These are a Castle and A Build Your Own Town. Probably from the 1940s.	2
Macdonald & Co 66-73 Shoe Lane London EC4P 4AP	A good series of children's books. Well produced, good paper: Haunted House, Tudor cottage	2
Macmillan no address	A real publisher but a children's castle is all I have.	1
Madoc Design Hillgate, Cherry Drive Seaton, Devon	Two very nice models from the Welsh Folk Museum. No response about any others.	2
Marshall Cavendish 119 Wardour Street London W1V 3TD	This is a major publisher of all types of books and magazines. These models were part of series called Discover History, which was a history pack for teenage students. It contained articles about people, places or events and included as part of the pack games, stories, and frequently a paper models, sometimes of a building. Models include the Globe Theatre for Shakespeare, Mount Vernon for George Washington, the Taj Mahal for Gandhi and others. Separately, they had a book of Medieval Book that includes paper models. Very nice series.	16
Matchbox Lesnay Products Co Ltd no address	A train station.	1
Methuen Childrens Books Michelin House 1 Fulham Road London SW3 6RP	Part of Methuen they produce a line of juvenile models based on story book characters: Rupert in Nutwood, Winnie-the-Pooh. Well made.	2
MIA no address	A fair. From the 1930s or 40s. Simple juvenilia but of the type in vogue then.	1
Micromodels Out of business	Well, finally the star of English paper models. Most of what I have to say I've said in the article above. I'm trying to collect regular Micromodels (in all the various price permutations), the reproduction series and the Autocraft line as well. Really a wonderful series with many buildings represented: Hampton Court, Parliament, St. Peter's Cathedral, Rome, the White House, London city gates, Dr. Johnson's house and lots more. I'm going to use this opportunity to list those models I still need, as follows: Anne Hathaway I 1'8 Anne Hathaway I 2'6 Cripplegate III 1'8, Newgate VII 2'0 Globe Theatre XIII 2'6 Bull Hotel XV 2'0 Thaxted XVI 2'6 Watermill WM 1'3 Sklyon NN 9d If anybody can help me find these models, I'd be very grateful. In addition to the architectural models, Micromodels had an enormous line of ships and trains and other assorted models.	49
Milbourne, M A W.A.G.1 POBox 38 Otley W. Yorkshire LS21 1SJ	From the sublime to the ridiculous. I found these models in an advertisement in a newspaper. Meant for children, they are so basic as to designed not for a two year but by a two year old. A house, a barn, etc. I wonder if he sold any others.	11
National Gallery Publications Trafalgar Square London WC2N 5DN	An excellent model of the National Gallery, London, I bought it in Sag Harbor, NY and how it got there beats me.	1
National Trust no address; also see Oakenfull	Two series of postcards of National Trust structures, but not the real buildings. Nymans Dovecote, Mussenden Temple Studley Royal Octagon, Studley Royal Octagon plus a village series.	9
National Trust for Scotland no address	Culzean Castle.	1
Nicklen, Rob Bron Llys Darowen Machynlleth SY20 8NS	Good model of the Clocktower in Machynlleth, Wales.	1
Norwin International Venture House Fifth Avenue Letchworth Garden City Herts SG6 2HW	Tower Bridge, London. A mechanical model, the center portion can be raised up and down. Well constructed model.	1
Novus Publishing no address	Simple cards for children. More dioramas than models	1
Oakenfull Oak Tree Models Crookswood Stud Farm Horsleys Green High Wycombe Bucks HP14 3XB	Produced the models that were sold by the National Trust in their shops. Six excellent models of NT houses, one for each period of English architecture: Standen, Hardwicke Hall, Beningborough Hall, Little Moreton Hall, Powis Castle and Belton House plus some other postcard models.of lesser houses. Very nice set, beautifully printed. Shame they didn't sell to well, discontinued.	17
Occidental Petroleum 16 Palace St London SW1E 5BQ	Claymore oil platform in the North Sea. Well, not a building perhaps but definitely a structure. Advertising promotion along with a oil tanker and motor ship.	1
Odhams Press London	Publisher of juvenile toys, games and books, the most interesting model has Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey and commemorated the coronation of Elizabeth II, along with the parade and coach. Other juvenile models. Others are simple models, almost pop-ups of a circus, windmill, etc.	8
Pan Macmillan Children Books 18-21 Cavaye Place London SW1O 9PG	Book of architecture with a rather bad model of the Empire State Building. Very simple.	1
Parragon see MacDonald Peter Frost Design Bristol	Georgian House. Simple.	1
Philmar no address	Vintage models: Tuck Shop, farm, doll house, windmill, simple.	4
Pictorial Education Out of business	Very interesting series. Pictorial Education was a monthly magazine directed towards school children and designed to be used as a teaching aid. Lots of articles about peoples of the world, geography features, English and other history, frequently in series forms, so that for bridges, say, there might be a series of 8 articles, either about bridges in various parts of the world or how they changed over time. Starting in 1928, with a small (2"sq) model of a Borneo house, they got more and more complicated and serious, until finally there 15 and 20 part models of the Globe Theatre (several times), Roman London, Old London Bridge, a Greek Theatre, Elizabethan Manor houses, etc. All in black and white on newsprint but a large and imposing model when completed. Finally went out of business in 1976. I have no complete original sets, but portions of about four originals. The balance are xerox copies taken from the British Library, Colindale, London.	32
Pictprint Little Broadmeadows Waverley Road Melrose TD6 9AA	A very nice series of Scottish buildings including Burns Cottage, Drumlanrig Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Glenfiddich Distillery, Traquir House plus several other palaces and houses. For some reason they also have Canterbury Cathedral.	12
Picturemaps Hastings TN34 3DE	Tower of London.	1
Point In View Exeter	One of my favorites. Hand drawn is an almshouse near Exeter. The "Point in View" was the conversion of the Jews, who were only allowed to live in the almshouses after they had converted. Charming houses, delightful model. Don't know how they succeeded with the Jews.	1
Press Syndiate of Univerisity of Cambridge Pitt Building Trumington Street Cambridge CB2 1RP	Ancient farm and a toy village. Simple, for children.	2
Puffin (also Penguin) no address	Circa 1940s from a major publisher. I have the second part of a three part series of a Cotswald Village. Good example from the period.	1
Purnell Paulton, Somerset	Simple, for children: Bungalow, Circus, Three shops, Farmyard.	6
Quaker Oats no address	Good promotional series of nine buildings in Quaker Town: Bank, church, factory, farm, Town hall, etc.	9
Queen's House no address	Small model of the Queen's House, Greenwich.	1
R.A. Publishing no address	Another publisher of toys, books, games for children. Westminster Abbey and Timothy Rabbit's Roundabout.	2
Raphael Tuck London	One of the early important publishers in England and the equivalent of Schreiber in Germany and Pellerin in France, though sadly now out of business. I have a Farmhouse from about 1915.	1
Robert Race no address	A children's Round About, very simple.	1
Rutherford, Andrew no address	A nice model of Bath Abbey.	1
Rylee no address	Another publisher of children's toys and games, now out of business. A Fairground and a Hut & Locomoative. Simple	2
Sandle's no address	Our Village. Simple, for children.	1
Scott Lawson Designs no address	A great set but an architect. Four buildings from Bedford Park, London, three by Richard Norman Shaw and one by Godwin. Well designed, good paper, a treasure.	4
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Henly Street Stratford upon Avon, Warwick	A very nice set of three buildings in and around Stratford plus a Globe Theatre, quite good: Anne Hathaway house, Mary Arden cottage, Shakespeare's birthplace.	4
Shaw Studios no address	Similar to the Daily Express models, large, bound book with lots of different models: crane, steam engine, chair of planes (amusement park ride). Known as Mammoth Books, mine are all missing parts on other models, though these are complete. From the 1930s.	4
Simon & Schuster Young Books International Group Wolsey House, Wolsey Road Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 4AA	Serious puablisher. Stonehenge and Medieval Tournement. Well produced, good paper.	2
Sisley, Jenny no address	Very simple model of the Tower of London.	1
St. Margaret's Church Glenrothes, Fife	A nice model of the church.	1
Stadia Graphics no address	Excellent series of football (soccer) grounds in the England: Wembley; Anfield, Liverpool; Arsenal Stadium, Highbury; and White Hart Lane, Tottenham. I'm only missing Old Trafford, Manchester for the set.	4
Stinton, Geoffrey Pump House Coates, Pulborough West Sussex RH20 1EU	A very superior series of single sheet, one color models including a whole list of important English buildings: Windsor Castle, Chatsworth, Leeds Castle, Buckingham Palace and others.	11
Surrey County Council Chatley Heath Semaphore Tower Painters Road Cobham, Surrey KT11 1PQ	Another charming exotic. The one model is of the Chatley Heath Semaphore Tower in Surrey. Part of a series of towers put up to speed communications before the telegraph. This line was on the route between London and Portsmouth and semaphore messages would be passed from station to station. Simple, but delightful.	1
Sussex Archeological Society 1066 Models 21, Bakers Farm Park Homes Upper Horsebridge Hailsham, E. Sussex BN27 3BE	A very nice series put out of the Sussex Archeological Society and mostly sold at the sites. Fairly simple and probably meant as teaching aids for children, they are still quite interesting. Examples are Anne of Cleve's House and the Barbican in Lewes, Michelham Priory Gatehouse and Watermill, London Bridge, Hurstmonceaux Castle, Bodiam Castle, plus some generic models: stockade, Tudor village and Celtic hut.	14
Sweet Wedding Bells no address	Very old game, possibly 19th century. Sort of like tiddly-winks with the object to get the coin on top of the church tower which the players assemble. Very sweet.	1
Tarquin Publications Stradbroke, Diss Norfolk IP21 5JP Tel: 01379 384 218 Fax: 01379 384 289	Not model for the most part but pop-ups of London, Paris, Greece, the Mayans. I sometimes get depressed when there are no models available and just feel the urge to get something close. There are two real models, Bath Abbey and Pultney Bridge, Bath, so there may be some other around. A serious publisher of children's books and toys, they have many other books of papercraft.	8
Thurman 24 Old Bond St London W1	Culzean Castle and Salisbury Cathedral. Good but, alas, out of business.	2
Time Travellers	One very good model, Carenarvon Castle. Color, good paper, general excellent, sorry there weren't more.	1
Tobar Limited St. Margaret Harleston Norfolk 1P20 0PJ	A rather good children's Elizabethan Theatre. Large scale, good paper. Also a Weather House, sort of a cuckcoo clock that one person comes out when it is good weather and another when it will rain. Charming.	2
United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel no address	A mission church.	1
Uplands 1 The Uplands St. Leonards, E. Sussex TN38 0HL	Models for children: Three Bears house, Silent Night Nativity.	2
Usborne 20 Garrick Street London WC2E 9BJ	Serious publisher and very easy to find. they are distributed everywhere and have foreign language versions all over Europe (French, Italian, German). Fairly simple models, though good color and on good paper, they are mostly generic in subject matter: cathedral, village, crusader fort, amphiteathre, medieval port, though they have one of the Trojan Horse. I include the language variations in my total.	29
V&A Press no address	Reprints of Prince Albert's Model Cottage for the 1851 Great Exhibition.	1
W H Allen 44 Hill Street London W1X 8LB	Model of the Tardis, the magic telephone box into which Dr. Who went and which was much, much larger on the inside than on the outside. Well known TV show in the 1970s (?) and after.	1
Walker Books Limited 87 Vauxhall Walk London SE11 5HJ	Simple, children's Story Castle.	1
Warne & Co Penguin Books 27 Wrights Lane London W8 5TZ	Hill Top House and Lakeland Farm, children's models by the publisher's of the Beatrix Potter books.	2
Weald & Downland Open Air Museum Singleton Chichester West Sussex PO18 0EU	Series of farm buildings at the museum. Black and white but well done Littlehampton Granary, Titchfield Market, Bayberry House from 1450, etc.	6
Wessex Papercraft Unit 16, Woodside Heathergreen Road Studland, Dorset BH19 3BU	Good model of Stonehenge.	1
Wicks, Paul no address	Postcard of a telephone box. Simple.	1
Williams, Ellis London no address	For children, and excellent model of the Welcom Doll House. Should be more from this publisher but I haven't found them.	1
Wimbledon & Putney Common Conservatory Wimbledon, London	The Wimbledon Windmill put out by themselves. Good model.	1
Wolverson, Astroquail no address	A juvenile activity that includes a model of Warwick Castle.	1
World International Egmont Company Egmont House, PO Box 111 Great Ducie Street Manchester M60 3BL	Simple farm with animals for children.	3
Xylopress POBox 17 Bromsgrove B60 1JB	A model of a birdhouse.	1

from Mike Hungerford<chthulhu@sdccu.net>: Here's a page with an interesting, though apparently mostly pre-built, model of Redwall Abbey, from the British children's stories and Nickelodeon TV series of the same name. About $20.00 US, or £14.99 in Britain.

from Kaye Meldrum <kjmel@pacbell.net>: On a two week trip to the U.K. I found a very neat model which I don't think I've seen mentioned on this list. Found it at the Tower of London. (And, I must say, I think it looks like a Rob Ives, but it doesn't seem to be.)

It's called The Executioner, by Arcturus Publishing Ltd., copyright by Keith Newstead. It's a moving model, when you turn the handle, the executioner chops off a nobleman's head... (which one, I don't know), and the head seems to fall into a basket.

They even had a working one in a glass case that you could press a button to work. Very cool.

It says on the back of the package:
This model produced exclusively for the Tower of London
by Arcturus Publishing Limited
1-7 Shand Street, London SE1 2ES

from David Hathaway <david@dhathaway.freeserve.co.uk>: This month's Marine Modelling International (August 2000) had an article that would appeal to the shipping enthusiasts, but only those with some serious storage space and willing to do some scratch building.

The article is on building a pair of models of the 250,000 ton deadweight bulk cargo/oil carrier Cast Bluewhale (waterline and full hull/working RC) from a full set of plans that MMI/Traplet are now publishing. The models are 1100mm long and 220mm beam. It is interesting in that the working model was built largely from card and the waterline model entirely from card.

The plans appear to give all cut-outs for the parts - Photocopy them to card for an instant model? It is a skinned complex egg-crate construction for the bows and stern, box for the centre sections. The plans have 7 sheets, 1-5 have the card cut-outs for the waterline model, 1 sheet underwater hull, 1 sheet superstructure and deck fittings. £25.00 + £5.00 shipping and handling. The models were built to 1:250 scale, not clear if the full plan set is 1:250 or 1:300. [Plans are 1:250, £16 or $26.80 plus S&H according to the web site.]

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: I spent the last few days on a short trip to the Nottingham area of England. One of the places we visited was Flag Fen just outside of Peterborough.

This is a Bronze Age site, with later Iron Age additions, plus a Roman road going through it. It was in the middle of the Fens, marshy areas that weren't fully drained until the 19th century but which in the Bronze Age provided an area for habitation among the islands higher than the surrounding marshes, lakes and meers. The natives built wooden islands in the middle of this area with wooden causeways linking everything. Much of this wooden construction sank into the marshes but was saved from disintergration by being trapped in the mud where no insects or bacterial life could eat it away. This has been rediscovered in the past fifteen years and extensive excavation is going on. Lots of fun for those interested in this kind of thing.

For the modeller, there are two models, both very simple but no less charming for that. One is a Bronze Age Roundhouse, black print on yellow paper, 12x18" and the other is an Iron Age Roundhouse, the same but smaller, 8x12". They are both very cheap, 50 and 75 cents.
Flag Fen
Peterborough
Fens
PE1 FENS
Tel: 01733 313414
Fax: 01733 349957

from Bob Pounds <Bobp@dynamite.com.au>: A new series of models from Parragon publishing company. They are: off-road vehicle, space station, jet plane (SR 71), express train, F1-racing car, hot air balloon, Missippi steamer, tractor. These models are better than the worst of the company's previous series, but not as good as the best.

The plane appears to be the pick of this batch, with the hot air balloon and the F-1 acceptable. The rest are somewhat simplistic. They would be good for people new to card modelling to help in building technical skills quickly. A quick scan of the series shows that by the time you have built the lot, you will have covered in some detail the fundamentals and more of good card modelling practice - lots of cones, cylinders, boxes and accordion folds - with a reasonable degree of precision cutting needed.

Of course the series was originally aimed at the juvenile market, but I think even a well cordinated 14-year old might have trouble with the cutting out of the cords for the balloon. The car models might be capable of being built by a 10-year old. The price is not bad - $A3.95 - which is about $US2.75.

The steam train is based on a British Southern Railways loco, with a rake of three coaches. The wheels are printed on the mainframe and bogies rather than being separate assemblies. The loco does not carry the railway's emblem on the side of the model, even though the cover of the book correctly shows it. The earlier series' Flying Scotsman is by far a more accurate and challenging model.

Details - Make your own (whatever), Parragon, 4-5 Queen St, Bath BA1 1HE, Great Britain, 1999. Designed and produced by SGA Design and Illustration, Hadleigh, Suffolk.

from Pat Macguire <h.macguire@VIRGIN.NET>: These Parragon models have been on sale here in Scotland, mainly in supermarkets and cut-price bookshops. I agree with most of the comments made. I bought the SR-71 which makes up into a remarkably (and big) impressive model. The Mississippi Steamer is good too, looks effective when made up. These were on sale here at £0.99!

Ireland

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>:

    Cuspa Models
    7 Marlborough Road
    Glengeary
    County Dublin, Ireland
    Irish Castles, Georgian houses and buildings, stone age buildings.
    

Switzerland

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: ...a Pinhole Camera kit by Peter Olpe. It comes with all of the pre-cut pieces, instructions in German and English, AND a roll of film. Cost 28 Swiss Francs. It's available through the gift shop of a modern art museum in Basel. The address and phone number are:
Foundation Beyeler
Baselstrasse 101
Riehen
Switzerland
tel. # 061/645 96 00

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: Another museum find was the Solarmobil City-el, a 1:12 scale card model of a three wheeled solar/electric car seen on the streets of Basel and Zurich. ItM-^Rs a simple model, but it can be upgraded with a solar attachment so that it actually runs! I found this at the Swiss Museum of Transportation in Lucern, but the address of the publisher is:
Group Powell
Stadlerstrasse 59
CH-8472 Seuzach
Switzerland

Here's another model of the reconstructed Roman villa at the old Roman town of Augusta Raurica. (I mentioned another version of this building same in a posting about the Zurich Pedagogical Publishing House.) It's available through the Roman Museum of Augusta Raurica at the following address for merchandise:
BSB Buchservice
Rittergasse 20
CH-4051 Basel
Switzerland

This next one is a reprint of an early 20th century kit of the Basel Cathedral, drawn by Niklaus Stoecklin (1896-1982.) The colors are suitably garish! Das Muenster zu Basel is available from:
Architekturmuseum in Basel
Pfuggaesslein 3
Basel

The last purely Swiss model is of the Re 460 000-118, the Locomotive of the Future, (currently in service) of the Swiss National Railway. It's an easy to build, 15" long die-cut, tab and slot give-away, available at most Swiss train stations. I noticed one sitting on the computer monitor of the ticket agent at our local station. He gave us two of them...probably since I had two small kids with me at the time. Note: Thomas Pleiner told me that card give-always are the most elusive to collect, as they are usually only printed once, and in a fairly small run. However, the Swiss National Railway is very generous with all of their free information and services, so I imagine if you were to write them that they would gladly send you one. (Just a hunch...)

p.s. A quick Internet search will turn up the addresses of the above mentioned museums (they almost all have homepages) if you'd rather try the gift shop and not the publishers, and the Swiss National Railway has elaborate Internet services. For the Basel museums begin with http://www.unibas.ch/museum.

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: Switzerland is a paper model hunting paradise, second only to the Netherlands in my experience. First of all, the Paedagogischer Verlag des Lehrervereins Zuerich has put out the series of 75+ relatively simple models that pop up in appropriate places, and are actually for sale in toy stores. I tried to find out more about this publisher, and found that they still exist, and have an address in a suburb of Zuerich - I called, but no one was home. A young man working at the hotel front desk beamed when I asked him about them, and said he remembered those models very fondly. It was the routine when he was in grade school (15 years ago) for the teachers to distribute the catelogue and take orders from the kids once a year - so every school child was at least exposed to the possiblitiy of buying the models. He remembered buying and building a number of them with great pleasure, and so did his friends. He was not sure if they still did it.

Looking for paper models for sale in stores, I found that the magic words were "Bastellbaubogen aus papier". None of the train model or hobbystores had any, but all could direct me to the stores that did, which were the big toy stores. In one, Franz Carl Weber, on Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich, there was a whole third floor devoted to models and Lego - but all the models were plastic or wood. The paper models (only PVLZ products) were down on the second floor with the toys for very young children, next to the big fat crayons. So, although they have a successful market niche, it seems to be labelled as a kiddie activity. This was also the case in Basel, where I found the PVLZ models at the Thiel paper goods store, (Streitgasse 4, 4001 Basel) next to the kiddie stuff.

However, models are also for sale in the gift shops of the major tourist attractions, and in the attractions themselves. In Bern, there are neat little ferry boats that cross the Rhine river using the force of the current. A cable is suspended across the river, and a second line runs from the boat itself to a wheeled runner that can go back and forth on the cable. This line is attached to an arm that can go the the port or to the starboard, making the boat trail at an angle. The force of the river current acting on that angle pushes the boat across the river, and at the far side the ferry boat man flips the arm to the other side, throws the rudder over, and back it comes, using no power. Ingenious, old, and there was a 1998 PVLZ model of the boat for sale on the boat itself. ("Basler Rheinfaehren"), with a complete description of how it works.

At the Swiss Land Museum in Zurich, there is a beautiful old horsedrawn coach, that used to make the dramatic crossing between two rail heads, across the St Gotthard pass. This is the BIG Alpine pass - higher than the Brenner or the St Bernard, and it is a dramatic and thrilling thing to drive today - I did it. Taking a big 5 horse coach over, with twisty roads, cows in the path and brakes that you depend on for your life must have been incredible. So in the museum, they had the PVLZ model of the coach for sale. This is one to "Micro" for me.

Also in that museum (which is one of the most incredible history museums I have been in), I found a non PVLZ model. This is of a castle - Schloss Hegi, and appears to have been designed to promote visits to the castle. The envelope shows a map of how to get to the castle, which is in Ober Winterthur. This is a well done, nicely colored, though simple 1:150 scale model of the castle, designed by one Alfred Schneider, and published, I think by Schulverwaltung Winterthur, 3. Auflage, 1999, with materialverwaltung (whatever that is) by The City of Winterthur. One could probably order it directly from the castle Hegi, address: Hegifeldstrasse 125, 8409 Winterthur, Switzerland. Or you could get it from the Schweizer Land Museaum, 8023 Zurich. (Do not have complete address, but that will probably work)

There is a great open air museum, that is a museum of buildings in Ballenberg, Near Brienz, Switzerland. Dozens and dozens of old preserved buildings there. My wife the architect and myselfthe modelbuilder sort of lose ourselves in those places. There I found in the gift shop models of two of the most remarkable buildings in their collection. These were published by Ketty and Alexandre, (address: Chapelle-sur-Moudon, 1099, Switz) so they are presumably available through other sources as well. Bothe are packaged under the name Ballenberg, The first package included a was a farm, store house and outbuilding from Ostermundigen, in the Berner Oberland. The second was a collection of four buildings from the Eastern Midlands. I have not examined other K&E models, but these appear to be well printed and designed, with lively and accurate colors.

In Basel, I found a model ofthe Basler Muenster (cathedral) for sale at the gift shop in the cathedral, next to the postcards of Erasmus' tomb. This is a scale model of 1:500, designed by Niklaus Stoecklin, a noted local artist, and published by the Arkitekturemuseum in Basel 1987, ISBN 3-905065-06-01. Stoeckling died in 1982, and apparently did no other models (at least according to the person at the gift shop). I do not know if there are other models at the Architecture museum, which we were not able to visit. This is a straightforward model which ignores the actual color of the cathedral, (which is stone grey with a brilliantly patterned and tiled roof, like St Stefans of Vienna) and instead printed in dull orange with a plain green roof.

Finally in the gift shop of the Kunsthaus of Zurcich, I found an odd little book, called "Katsu Kimura's Works - B*O*O*O*X", published by Taschen, no date, but since the creation of the Internet, since the Taschen website is mentioned. This contains punchout models of 11 objects, in colored cardboard. One is a banana, one a square egg, cheese, stawberries - and a variety of elaborate boxes. Anyone that can market a paper model banana deserves some respect.

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: From the Swiss Architectural Museum in Basel I got two models. First a replica of a model of the Muenster zu Basel (a church). Nice model, strange colors (pink walls, dark green roofs), but black windows look much better than light-blue windows. Scale is 1:500 and there are no instructions. Just follow the numbers I guess. Nice model for FFr. 15 ($9).

Their other model is the actual museum itself. It's a modern building from 1959. Made from concrete and glass. The model (scale 1:100) is black and white (as is the original building) and there are plastic parts for the glass facades and wooden sticks for the concrete columns. Very good model, but not for the paper purists. Only FFr.15 ($9).

The last two models can be ordered on-line at the museum, they send me the models and the bill, without asking to pay in advance!

Israel

from Moshe Lemer <moshelmr@bezeqint.net>: The only good source WAS the IAF magazine, but they stopped issuing them a few years ago due to lack of interest, that's what someone at the editor's office told me. When I asked him to give an estimate of how many subscribers built the models, he couldn't say but since I asked him again he said, about 200 out of the more than 30,000 subscribers, build paper models. In the late 1960's - late 1970's, (my more active paper life) I used to buy kits from book stores. Mostly issues of the IAF magazine, some JFS's and very few of Wilelmshaven's. The stores did not bother to renew their stock and the IAF magazine started distributing on floppy disks information/games related to the IAF. The only two sources of airplanes that I know of are in Tel-Aviv, one is the IAF magazine archives (very cheap kits) and the other is a hobby store that carries the IAF kits and some JFS kits (more expensive).

But do not lose hope yet. In Jerusalm there is a large book store (with branches in other cities) that might carry some paper models of different subjects. The store name is 'Steimatzky' and try to search for them on the internet.

from Moshe Lemer <moshelmr@bezeqint.net>: I contacted the IAF's website master regarding putting a link from there to my page and other card modeling pages on the net and here is their answer:

The IAF magazine is not going to publish paper models in the future, but in a few months there will be paper models in the IAF web site, that people can download and build. We will consider your suggestion then.

They are still working on the English version of the IAF web page. There's still a hope for paper models here.

Greece

from Panos Kokkinidis <pkok@mednet.gr>: I have found some greek paper models from a greek publisher named Kambanas. The models are published this year and it seems that it is a new topic for the company. The full address is:
Ilias Kambanas SA
Paparigopoulou 66, 12133 Peristeri Greece
Tel. +30-1-5762791
FAX +30-1-5743988
E-mail: kambanas@internet.gr
I am sure that they are doing retail sales, but I don't know if they ship outside Greece. There are three kits with english/german instructions:
1) The Parthenon (price: 5900 drachmas, 1 US$=300 drch)
2) Knossos (5400 drch.)
3) Delphi (4700 drch.)
Also there are four more models with greek-only instructions:
1) Mystras (5400 drch)
2) Agios Demetrios church (5400 drch)
3) Traditional greek house from Ambelakia, Thessaly (5400 drch)
4) Monastery in Corfu (5400 drch)
Since I prefer ships, I have no opinion about the models but they look easy to construct.

Denmark

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: First, a reprint of the Round Tower of Copenhagen, purchased at the Round Tower itself, which is located at Kobmagersgade, Copenhagen. A single sheet, it's about $5.00US

The second and better model, is Krudttarnet Frederickshavn, a three sheet farm, and is available from the National Museum, Vestergade & Frederiksholms Kanal 12, DK-1220 Copenhagen for about $8.00US.

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: At the Danish Armory (military museum) Gift Store:

A) V3 - "the only Danish-built armored car". A one sheet model of a makeshift armored car built by the Danish resistance at the end of WWII, and used to subdue some Danish collaborators as the Nazis left. The real thing is outside the Danish Resistance Museum near the Little Mermaid. Why "V3"? Well - it was a secret weapon, and we wanted to top the V-1 and the V2, I was told. No clue who produced the model.

B) Several wearable models of Knight's helmets and Queen's crowns, from Sweden. I bought two of the helmets for 35 Danish crowns apiece--about $6. the Black Knight's Helm (svarte riddarens hjaelm), and the Helm of Lars Ulfsson. All by someone who calls himself Bjoern Hjaelmmakare - who makes clever models of helmets, shields, crowns, and whatever "borgar" are, but puts no address on them. They are robust, printed on sturdy cardboard, and are for really wearing.

Really hit the mother lode at the gift shop of Copenhagen's Round Tower, as noted by Robert Friedus earlier. A word about this unique building itself - it is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe, built at the beginning of the 1700's by that glorious spendthrift, King Christian the 4th. It is a cylinder about 12 stories tall, and stands in the place of a bell tower of a big church - a remarkable instance of Science standing at the head of Religion. Inside, a spiral ramp lets you walk (or if you were C the 4, be driven) all the way to the top. On top is a fabulous view of Copenahgen, and a small observatory - they let the public in at night. I found

1. Three different models of the Round Tower itself -
   1. A little post card version published by Cardboard Cut-outs of Malmoe, Sweden, Spaanehusvaegen 46A, 21158 Malmoe, Sweden, tel 46-40-232252, fax 40-231008. In the genre of Fiddler's Green, but cruder.
   2. A one page reprint of an 1884 version of the tower, that has a slit in the side through which you can see on vertical panel of a rotating cylinder inside. The model is "RundTaarn som Skole-Skema", and was published as part of a magazine for children - you were to write your school schedule on the inside day by day, and then turn it each day to see what classes you had. It also includes a 2-dimensional model of an elephant that waggles its ears when you pull its tail (significance is that the highest order that the King of Denmark can award is the Order of the Elephant). This was republished by the Round Tower itself in 1992.
   3. A bigger round tower model that also includes the attached church. This may also be a repro - it is labelled "Reproduceret af Ballermann & Son as". This is the best of the 3.
2. There was also a handful of Danish subject architectural models produced in Sweden, again by Cardboard Cut-outs. One unique one was Uranienborg - the early astronomer Tycho Brahe's house on the Danish Island of Ven. This is a large and colorful house with viewing platforms on several levels for observing the heaven's in all directions. The model is straightforward, booklet format, and has the nice touch of coloring the reverse side of the paper where it counts. I get the feeling that paper models are alive and well in Sweden, but never heard of any before this trip.

Belgium

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: Waterloo: The battle field gift shop has several models of small farms that got taken over or attacked in the course of the 1816 battle - maybe for the die hard lead soldier buff, or someone who just wants a model of a little farm. Two small format ones are "La Haie Sainte" and "La Belle Alliance & small farm". Both published by Pireme Publishing Ltd, which must be British - it is all in English and is lableled the "Waterloo Battle Series". They also had a bigger format (1/72nd scale) and very nicely done booklet of "La Ferme de la Haie Sainte". This is brand new, copyright 1997, production by Heroic Decor , a French publisher, Tel 05-49-563958.

I also spotted a store that I know used to carry paper models 25 years ago. It was closed when I went by, so I couldn't find out if they still do. It is a Model train store in downtown Brussels, and the name is Brand, at 62 Grasmarkt street, just a stone's throw from the Grand Market and some really amazing restaurants, if any one happens to be in the area. They were the source for a really striking model of the Grand Market I bought eons ago.

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: While you were all having fun in Dayton, I spend the weekend in Brussels Belgium. Found some interesting models in a second hand bookstore.

They used to sell lots of models, but have stopped about ten years ago. When I asked about models, I was send to the third floor of the shop (passing a note 'private') and there was a box with about 100, mostly architectural models. Bought some myself: Aldo Rossi's Theatro del Mondo (Academia), Villa Gestel (010 publishers), Amphitheatre Romain (Tomis Sarl Editeur), a Mexican Templo Mayor, two micromodels by Myles Mandell (Kremlin and Caernarvon Castle) and a the Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier, which looks like a part of a magazine (L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui).

But they still have plenty of models left, many Spanish models (Ciutat de paper), many Dutch models (010 publishers and Academia) and even the Taco Titanic. The address of the shop is:
Posada Art Books
Rue de la Madeleine 29
1000 Brussels
Belgium
(closed om mondays)

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: There is very little activity in Belgium. The lone exception was Makit at the beginning of the 1980s, who were part of the architectural model renaissance of that period. Their series of models are among the best ever done and it's a great pity that they were not successful in finding a market for their product. With exception of one or two other modest efforts there seems to be no paper modelling interest in Belgium at all.

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Ambassadeur Verpakking Duiven	These are three (3) Belgian buildings but they are not really models. They are packaging for cookies found in a bakery in Bruges. I'm not absolutely sure whether these are by a Belgian publisher or by a Dutch one. (I file them with the Dutch models, though the buildings are Belgian.) The three buildings, measuring 7x3x5" are Kruiwagen, Brussels, 1439; Gildehuis, Antwerp and the Gildhuis der Unvrije Schippers, Ghent, 1739. There was a fourth building in Bruges, which I do not have. The cookies were quite good too.	3
Archives D'Architecture Moderne rue de L'Ermitage 86 B 1050 Brussels	This model of the Maison du Dr. Lay might possibly have been produced for an exhibition about this building. This is a great model, very large and ornate. The building in question is a modern masterpiece, similar in style to Corbusier's Villa Savoie, by the architect Louis Herman de Koninck and built in 1934. There are 15 stiff-papered, full colored sheets, 12"x16" plus a booklet about the building and the architect. As fine a model as I have.	1
Averbode Abdijstraat 1 3271 Averbode	Two sets of excellent models, one a Medieval Village and the other a Medieval Town, both with about a dozen individual buildings in the sleeved sets. The sheets are 8x10", very well printed and designed, marvelous color plus lots of text on the history and how to build the sets. They were designed by Bernard Coppens.	2
Draper Models Ooievaarlaan 3 98 Deinze, Belgium	They used to live and publish in England but have since moved. A whole series based on the buildings involved in the Battle of Waterloo, in various scales. Hougourmont, Haie Sainte, La Belle Alliance, plus Lord Raglan's HQ from the Crimea and some others as well. Black and White.	18
Godiva	A Godiva Store but not a model. Just a package for two pieces of chocolate candy. Again delicious. 2 1/4x2x 2½".	1
Makit	One of, if not the, greatest sets of paper models every made. The series includes Bruges Hall & Tower; Tower of Pisa; Brussels Town Hall on the Grand Place; a set of all the other buildings around the Brussels Town Hall and finally a combined set of the last two sets. This set, #5 in the series, sits on a ground plane (provided) that measures 24x30" and has 982 separate pieces. There must about sixty to eighty buildings altogether on the forty 9x 15" sheets. The color is superb, the printing beautiful and the general overall design excellent. All of the kits are in 1:303 scale. The kits also include a history of the buildings, very good instructions, plus a knife and glue, all in a very attractive box. The series was to have continued with St. Marks, Venice and the White House, I think but these others may not have been produced. In any case, they were the last and the company is now out of business. A very sad end to one of the great ventures in paper model publication.	5

South Africa

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: I did find three paper models of houses for sale in a hotel gift shop in Pretoria. The models are die cut "boxes" with the rear side blank for a greeting. The houses are Gold Rush, Cape Dutch and Victorian. All are noted as the Historic South African Series so perhaps there are additional models. The publisher is The Paper Architects, PO Box 74330, Lynwood Ridge 0040 (South Africa?) The models were 20 Rand each (about US$3.70). The models are well done and are similar to those by Applewoods, Claire de Lune - J M Appert, and Mirontaine.

New Zealand

    Port Daniel Press Dunedin NZ  
    15 Scotland St & 20 Elder St  
    Dunedin 
    New Zealand 
    e-mail:ro@earthlight.co.nz
    

Norway

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: Pretty slim pickings, although excellent topics abound (Designers with an itch for something different take note). I wish I had found a paper model of the Hansa houses in Bergen (the only original Hanseatic league warehouses still standing, I was told - and a great museum), the Haakon's Hall Fortress of Bergen (a marvelous downtown castle from the 1200s), the Cathedral of Stavanger, any Stave church (An incredible kind of architecture - sort of a Nordic Pagoda, covered with viking dragons), any of the dozens of ferryboats we took, the preserved medieval village of Agatuna, or Utstein Cloister near Stavanger. However, I did find:

A) A black and white (to be hand colored) model of a Iron age longhouse, reconstructed for real as a living museum outside Stavanger. Model is produced and available at the Stavanger Arkeologisk Museet (P.O. Box 478, 4001 Stavanger, e-mail AmS@Ark.museum.no) as a single sheet. I may have been the first to ever buy it, after I found it buried in their collection of posters for sale - they didn't know what to charge.

B) The composer Edvard Grieg's house, Troldhaugen. This is a die-cut, colored and simple booklet. I found it at Troldhaugen, which is just outside of Bergen on a fjord, in the gift area at the concert hall that has been built on the site. This was designed by Steinar Lilletvedt, and printed by "Kunst-trykk Edg. Hardvedt".

Sweden

Statmedia                           +46 31 56 29 00
Box 227                             +46 31 56 30 13 (FAX)
423 32 Torslanda
Sweden

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: I've also gotten models from two Swedish museums. The first are 9 models of local buildings from Forsvarshistoriska Museum, Sven Engkvist, Curator, Kompanigatan 12, 553 05 Jonkoping.

Second are three models, two very good (Residenset i Falun and Vass Britas Gard, local farmsteads), the third just a simple sheet and not quite a building either, Dalarnas Museum, Box 22, 791-21 Falun.

Italy

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: In Italy there is at least one national champion, Domus, and they continue to produce an excellent series of national and international buildings. However, with only the occasional effort by some small publisher, there is very little being produced in Italy. In fact, almost of the models that are for sale in book stores (the main distribution outlet), when not Domus, are either Dover or Schreiber. There is very little interest in paper modelling in Italy either.

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Arsenale Editoriale 30123 Venezia Dorsodoso 3700 Venice	Two very good and interesting models. The first is entitled Capriccio Veneziano. This is a little unusual being a campo with various buildings around the well: a palazzo, several houses. However it it is not a real scene but has been put together with each of the buildings from a different part of Venice, which is why it's called a Capriccio, or caprice of the designer. This is 8 ½"x12", good color but expressionistic drawing. The second is the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal but also featuring such buildings as the Camerlinghi and the Fondaco de Tedeschi plus a vaporetto. This is quite large, 17"x23", seven sheets, very good color and printing. The designer of both is Massmiliano Lungo. It appears these were the only two models produced.	2
Calegari Edizioni sri Via Sismondi 62 20133 Milan	The one model by this publisher is a reprint of the Station (Stazione) first produced by Tomis/Sarl in France. They seem to have reproduced the whole series, though I have only seen this one. Same model, different cover and information. 9"x12", excellently printed and designed (just like the originals).	1
Contraddizioni Lungarno Archibusieri 14r Borgo dei Creci 40r 50122 Florence	Two models, one of Orsanmichele and and the other of the Ponte Vecchio, both in Florence. There is no publisher listed in the model but the store where I bought them claimed to have commissioned them, so I'm putting them down as the publishers. The former is six pages and a cover, the latter is four pages and a cover. Simple but good color. The drawing is more schematic than precise. They are 12"x15".	2
Domus via A. Grandi 5/7 Rozzano (MI)	These are major publishers of magazines about architecture and home furnishings, who also produce a full line of excellent models, mostly but not exclusively of Italian buildings. Basically they are the only serious model publishers in Italy and there models are found in most large bookstores throughout Italy. The models include the Villa Rotunda, Tower of Pisa, Temple of Fortuna Virile, St. Ambrogio. the Rialto Bridge, Campanile of St. Marcos, Florence Cathedral, plus separate models of the Baptistry and Gioto's Campanile. Buildings from outside Italy include the Empire State Building (two regular versions plus two more, one colored as US flags and one colored as US dollars), St. Basil's, US Capitol, Sydney Opera and many others both in and out of Italy. Originally these models made to be cut out, later they were produced with some of the sheets pre-cut and other to be cut out. Now all of the new models are produced pre-punched. I have tried to collect all of the models in all the various styles. The major designer of most, if not all, of these models is Jesus Moctezuma. Most of the models come with from six to eight sheets, sometimes more and the usual size is 10"x13", thought the larger scale model of the Empire State Building is larger. Very good printing, color and design. Very slick as would befit a publisher of slick architectural magazines.	30
Edizioni E L Trieste	Children's (5 to 7) punch-out model of a house complete with furniture. Excellent color and graphic but very simple . 9"x13", 8 pages, published in 1998.	1
Filippi Editore	A model, though more like a diorama, of the Piazza San Marco, including the church, campanile and the buildings around the piazza. The model is 9½"x13", on ten sheets, very good color and printing though somewhat schematic in design.	1
Finmeccanica	In association with the Institute and Museum of History of Science, Florence. This is a model of the cupola of Florence Cathedral, in the form of hat that you can wear. 1997.	1
Marca Stella	A very simple, child-like model of a bakery. 9x12½" on thin stock.	1
Produzione Distribuzione Fustelpack	More a diorama of Florence Cathedral and piazza. 3"x5"x6" when finished. My only excuse for these dioramas (or pop-ups too) is I get so frustrated at not finding regular models that I start to make exceptions as to what I collect. Really a mistake but it feels good at the time.	1
R.C. S. Libri Milan	Torre de Mostri Cattivissimi but I can't find it and can't remember anything about it.	1
Biagi Sergio	Florence Cathedral. A pop-up. 4"x4"x6", produced in 1987.	1
Tormena Genoa	The Palazzo Spinola in Genoa. It comes complete as a kit with a model to make and then paint. Similar to the Caisse Nationale models. 12"x16", the package includes lots of information and other activities besides the model. Palace interior, part of activity pack with various modelling and coloring projects.	1
Tridart (Siena) di Favilli B.C.	Two models, one of the Campo in Siena and the other of the Piazza Signoria in Florence. Not quite models as they simply stand up to create their effect but well done, beautifully printed, the Campo is 14"x19" (1996) and the Piazza Signoia is 18"x26" (1999).	2

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: Just returned from three weeks in Italy with very little to report in the way of models. Actually I spent most of my time searching out Italian cemeteries (got to 24 of them) for a book I'm working on but the truth is Italy is very poor soil for finding models. However there was one set that was excellent.

These were two models, one each of the church of Orsanmichele in the center of Florence and famous Ponte Vecchio over the Arno. There is no listed publisher for models, in fact, no addresses or publishing information of any kind, but the shop where I bought them (just behind the Palazzo Vecchio) said they had commissioned them and that there are plenty more. The models are fairly simple though printed with good color and heavy paper. The size is about 9x12", the Ponte Vecchio is 6 sheets, the Orsanmichele, 4 in a bound folder. Scale: 1:100. They were about $16.00 for the two (25,000 lira).
Contraddizioni
Lungarno Archibusieri 14r
Borgo dei Greci 40r
50122 Florence

Japan

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: An exquisite Japanese model of Azuchijo, a Japanese castle. Around $40.00US including postage it is typical of the best type of Japanese model, beautiful printing, heavy paper, slip-cased, lots of instructions (though in Japanese). Soshisha Co Ltd, 4-26-26 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, attention: Sumie Komata.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: While I don't have hundreds of Japanese models, what I do have represent some of the finest examples of printing and presentation of any models made anywhere. Meticulous is a good word to describe all of the following books and models. It is possible that there are publishers of cheap models in Japan but I haven't come across them nor have I ever seen any Japanese postcard models. As ever, I would be very grateful for any information anyone else had about other Japanese models and publishers.

Besides the models described below I have one more Japanese model, that of Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto. This is also a very good model on about ten sheets. It was purchased from A.W. Waldmann who gave the publisher as Maisel. All the writing and instructions are in Japanese and I have not been able to find out any more information.

AG Industry 15335 NE 95 Street Redmond, Washington 98052	These are not really models at all. They are greeting cards, 4x6" with an envelope, that when opened, make a pop-up or stand-up building. I have fifteen (15) examples and they are similar to the Origamic Architecture models of Ondorisha and Kodansha, except these are already cut. Examples of the buildings in the series are: Taj Mahal, Arc de Triomphe, Mikonos Church, Rialto Bridge. All designed by Keiko Nakazawa.
Heibonsha 5 Samancho Chiyodaku Tokyo 102	I have three (3) Heibonsha models and they were all purchased from L'Instant Durable, France. I have written directly but not received any response. The three models are castles, Shuri, Edo and Azuchi, on beautiful, stiff paper, beautifully printed, with from 24 to 32 pages of model for each. The size of the book is 8.5 x 11.5". There are lots of instructions, all in Japanese, plus an insert on the history of the castles in French.
Kodansha International 2-2 Otowa 1-chome Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 112	There are two books by Kodansha., American Houses, 7x10" and American Buildings, 10x14", with about 25 buildings in the latter. These are not really paper models but more like origami buildings. The paper comes flat but is divided, either in the middle or with a big and small end. Cuts are made in the paper, which when pressed in the reverse direction from the original fold, creates a building-like effect. They are very clever and most interesting as examples of architectural papercraft. Among the buildings in the series are the White House, the Statue of Liberty, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Nishimura 1-754-39 Asahimachi-Dori Niigata-shi 951	Nishimura has produced three models. The first is the Eiffel Tower. This isn't really a true model since most of the model consists of the girder-work, which is attached and pulls up to a height of about 3ft, in one piece. It is then held rigid by adding the various floor stages and some outside girdering, which supports the whole. Again, a very interesting example of architectural papercraft. The box size is 12x12". The other two are Tower Bridge, London and the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. These are both 9 1/2 x 14" and are in 1/300 scale. They are prepunched. There is some English instruction but mostly in Japanese. They appear to make up to be very good, solid models.
Ondorisha 11-11 Nishigoken-cho Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162	There are three Ondorisha books. Two of them, Origamic Architecture by Masahiro Chatani and Paper Magic Pop-Up, also by Chatani, are similar to the Kodansha model books. There are eight (8) buildings in the first book and twelve (12) castles and palaces, plus lots of non-architectural models in the second. The third is the best, and a typical example of the best kind of Japanese paper models. The model is Horyuji Five Story Pagoda. It contains 16 sheets and the size of the book is 7x10", as are the other two books. There is some English instruction.
Shokokusha 25 Sakamachi Shinjukuku, Tokyo	The Shokokusha books are similar to Ondorisha and Kodansha, being origamic models. I have six volumes, though I believe there are more in the series. They are 7x10" each with 60 to 100 pages in each book. The titles are: Origamic Architecture Goes, Modern Building Masterpieces by Chatani; Tour of Kyoto by Chatani; Tour of Nara, Ancient Capitol of Japan by Chatani & Nakazawa; Pattern Sheets of Origamic Architecture by Chatani; Origamic Architecture of Masahiro Chatani; Origamic Architecture Around the World by Chatani. Altogether there are about 180 buildings in these books. Again, not quite models, though you do make them up, but great papercraft.
Shubunsha Maki Tajima 1-5-9 Sarugakuchou Chiyodaku, Tokyo 101	Four great and one unusual models plus reprints. A wonderful model of Himeji Castle, in a 8.5 by 11.5" book, with 16 pages of model. Excellent paper and great printing. Wonderful detail. English introduction but most of the instructions are in Japanese. Three other superb models: Classic Station, Tokyo (16 pages), Katsura Villa, complete with a beautiful ground plan (30 pages), and the Tosho-gu Youmeigate Pagoda (16 pages). All in Japanese. They really don't get better than these four models. The fifth one is the Landmark Tower, Tokyo but designed so that there are drawers in the models that can be used to store things. In addition there are two models of European castles, Chambord and Neuschwanstein, which I always assumed were mere reprints but looking at them now, I am not so sure. They are in hardback books, the same size as the above models, also beautifully printed on good paper. Finally, there are available from Shubunsha reproductions of the French publisher Gaillimard-Tomis, such as the Bastille, Roman house, Eqyptian temple and so on. Japanese printing on the covers, but the same model inside.
Soshisha Co. Ltd 4-26-26 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150	The two best models in Japan and perhaps anywhere. The first is Azuchijo Castle. 7 1/2x10"it has about 50 pages of model, on stiff, good paper, printed beautifully with great attention to detail, the finished book in a slipcase. The companion model is Yakusha East Pagoda and is similar. All of the information and instructions, which are copious, are in Japanese, and it is only recently that I learned from David Kemnitzer the name of this model. I had also just referred to it as a pagoda. I had come across it in a bookshop in Amsterdam, so you never know where these treasures will surface.

Canada

Wrebbit Inc.
Customer Service
C.P. 546, Station Youville
Montréal (Québec)
Canada
H2P 2W1
Wrebbit@accent.net

from Bob Bell <bobbell@portal.connect.ab.ca>: I just returned from a short vacation in Vancouver, B.C., and visited my favorite bookstore where I found quite a few paper models that are not listed in dealers catalogues. Most of them I already have since I bought them from that store a few years ago but I did buy a couple of new ones. They are:
Saturn V rocket and moon lander. This is not the Alan Rose model. It is smaller but much more detailed.
Space Shuttle Columbia and delivery rockets.
Both of these are in book form and imported from Japan (didn't I mention that the bookstore is an Asian importer?) Other models in stock include a series of dinosaurs (very impressive models), a witch, Dracula, a series of books on gliders (like the Whitewings models) and books on model ships, tanks, and locomotives. All these model books are published in Japan so naturally they are printed in Japanese. However the models are well diagrammed

So, if you happen to visit Vancouver go to SOPHIA Asian Book Store located on Nelson Street just off Granville Street. For the origami and origami architecture fans you will find a plethora of books there, many of them not available in English versions.

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>:
Sophia Bookstore, Ltd
725 Nelson Street
Vancouver , BC
Canada V6Z 2A8
E-mail: minoue@axionet.com
Tel: 604-684-4032
Fax: 604-684-1683

Turkey

from Larry Stillman <larrys@vicnet.net.au>: I am back from my great trip to Istanbul... I despaired of ever finding some models, and then, in the middle of a power failure, as I turned on my torch (flashlight), in the bookshop of the Islamic textiles museum (what carpets!!), were copies of Hagia Sophia (Justinian's masterpiece), and the Blue Mosque (by Sinan)...

I only bought Hagia Sophia. It is not on the best of card - printed on one site, that sort of cheap grey on the other, but it will be about 12 x 16 inches by a foot high or so when finished. It came to about $10 US, maybe less. Instructions are in English, French and German. The level is moderately difficult, maybe 10 hours for a nice job.

I have tried to get the publisher's web site to work - www.revak.org.tr, but it won't!! If any of you are really interested to find out what models they make, the details are "Revak" - that is the publisher, I think, and the phone # is 0212 240 72 84, fax 0212 231 33 50, street address: Dolapdere Caddesi no. 106, Kasimpasa, Istanbul.

from Taner Ertunc <taner.ertunc@etm.com.tr> regarding Revak models: Here are the prices for the models. You can send your credit card details via email to revak@turizm.net or fax to (212) 281-8566.
Blue Mosque $9USD
Hagia Sophia $8USD
Ephesus $5USD
Troy $5USD
Leondros Tower $5USD
Aspendos $5USD
Ataturk Mausoleum $5USD
Shipping is 18USD for 4 units. Soon you will be able to purchase online at www.turizm.net. Editor's Note: Revak is a guild of Turkish tour guides. To find the models (and tour guides and other publications) follow the links to 'Turkey', 'Books, Newspapers & Magazines', and 'Books by Revak'. Or just click here.

Thailand

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: Got a long letter from Mr. Lambert Bruyelle about his plans for a paper model museum 'A World of Paper' in Pattaya, Thailand. He also included black and white photocopies of two paper models from Thailand (the only two ever produced over there he thinks, because in Thailand they do have paper but only use it for Origami). They are a House and a Temple from Thailand, two FC sheets A4-size plus instruction sheet in English each and cost 210 bahts, that is about US $6. They're published by SK paper works in Bangkok:
124/87 Soi Termboon
Bangkoknoi-Talingchan Rd.
Bangkunnon
Bangkoknoi district
Bangkok
Thailand 10700
Tel+Fax: (662) 424-1201

Finland

from Gunnar Sillén<gunnar@modellbyggare.com>: I have just returned from a short trip to Helsinki. Guess what I looked for running street up and street down! Not many paper models in book stores, paper shops or tourist shops, I now know. So you'd better go directly to the museums. Some Finnish museums publish their own paper models that are for sale in no other place than that museum's shop.

If you want the excellent models of the Turku (Åbo) castle and of a workers home in Turku designed by R. Mattila, you have to go to Turku and visit the castle and the District (Landskaps) museum.

If you want the model of the Saarinen and friends house at Hvitträsk, you have to go to Hvitträsk some kilometers west of Helsinki.

If you want paper models in Helsinki, you should go to the Town Museum (Helsingin kaupunginmuseo). They have published:
Two old houses in HO scale (1:87).
An old horse-drawn tram with horse, driver and transparent material for the windows. Scale 1:32.
A modern tram. Scale 1:50.
Two buses (Leyland Royal Tiger 1953 and Scania-Vabis 1962). Scale 1:50.
All the models above are designed by Jouko Jokinen.

The Helsinki Town Museum has also published some facsimiles of old cut-out models from the museum collections. A bus and a car from the 40's (?) and a beautiful German sheet with a lot of small paper dolls (Ankleide Puppen), printed by Gustav Kühn around 1840 and the oldest paper cut-out in the museum.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: My first Finnish model just came (courtesy of Gunnar's address and research). This is a model of the house (now museum) at Hvitträsk built (I believe) by Eliel Saarinen in 1901-1903. Beautiful model, 14 pages, good paper, good design, excellent all round. The cost was 50 markkas (circa $10 US) plus shipping. The address of the museum is:
Hvitträsk Museum
SF-02440 Luoma
Finland

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: Just received two models from Finland. Both of them are superb examples. They are large (about 15x20"), good paper, in color and extremely well designed. One is of Åbo Castle and the other is a sailor's or fisherman's house, outbuildings and yard. They were both designed by Reino Mattila, the first in 1980 and the latter in 1987 for two Finnish museums. They are now available from the following address:
Leena Lehmusto
Information and Marketing
Åbo landskapsmuseum (District Museum),
Box 286
20101 Åbo
Finland

Argentina

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: A friend from Puerto Rico passed on to me some old paper models he had saved from his youth, and recently unearthed from his father's garage. These were published in a children's magazine called Billiken, from Buenos Aires, that came every month (or week?) with articles, games, and a cut out, usually of something of historical significance. There are simple wagons, the house where the declaration of independence was written, the first assembly house, and most ambitious, a large format model of the buildings around the Playa del Mayo as they were in 1810, all printed colorfully on thin newsprint. He had built some, but saved these "for later".

Also in the bundle was a set of post-card sized models of little houses from Barcelona, that must have come with the magazine. These are simple models of modern detached houses and small buildings, published by Editorial Roma, apparently in a series called Recortes Estrella. The copyright is 1963. Cant tell if these are real houses or fantasy ones. They are signed by the artist "Beaumont"

Russia

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: I have two models but I don't really know anything about them. Two unknown publishers. One building is the church of St. Sophia, though where I don't know. Actually, there is quite a bit of Cyrillic writing on the wrapper so I should really do the research and find out what I can but I haven't done it yet. The other is even more obscure. It's a house. I'm sure there are and have been other models but I have no idea how to try to get them. Any suggestions?

Publisher	Comments	# of models
Unknown Publisher	St. Sophia Church (purchased from Atelier GAG)	1
Unknown Publisher	House	1

As ever, I'd be grateful for any further information, corrections or suggestions as to make these reports more helpful

from Vladislav <bedokur@mail.ru>: Frankly speaking there are not many Russian models at all. Most of the publishers are local and their products do not spread outside their region (city or state, if you please). Most of the models that could be seen in Russia are Polish-made.

Models of tanks occupies the first rate, than goes ship models and airplanes. Tanks were always the most popular object for modeling in Russia, ships models that were published lately mostly the models of the "before 1917" period that is not well known to the public and Soviet airplanes are widely presented by Polish "Maly Modelarz". Architectural models are not popular and their quantity is insignificant.

By all means there is no sense to look for a model in a souvenir shop - they all are sold only in "Military Book" shops and if you will be lucky enough to get to a book fair (so-called "knizhni rinok") you might get two or three rare interesting kits.

And some more interesting moments:

• 90% foreign models - Polish or Czech, no matter - could be found half-3/4 price that it is sold on Internet;
• among Russian modelers it is widely spread the way of exchanging models - if I have a model that is not actual for me and my collegue has one I am looking for we can exchange the models.

USA

from Ken Seemann <Ken.Seemann@mci.com>: A year or so ago I was in the Dallas "Store of Knowledge" and ran into something some of you may be interested in. (FYI - Store of Knowledge is a chain of stores created to sell the U.S. PBS TV and NPR radio products.) I found a set of oversized postcards, each a card model in one complete card. The cards are about 7" x 10" a piece. The set cost $12 and contains 7 cards. The models are the Smithsonian Institution, Washington Cathedral, Capitol Building, White House, Lincoln Memorial, Union Station, and the Jefferson Memorial. They were printed in 1992 by Landarte Graphics and are called "Postcard Cutouts." Although the company address is in Pennsylvania, the cards were printed in England.

Has anyone ever seen or built these bad boys?

They come in a simple celophane envelope. The paper hanger stapled to the top of the celophane -- NOT through the models, thank you -- says that they have several other sets -- one for New York, then 11 other SETS for Great Britan. The company address is 2221 Lovi Road, Freedom, PA 15042. Phone is 412-774-1896.

Let me know what you know. I grabbed them because they reminded me -- size wise, definitely not design wise -- of Micromodels. They look about the same scale, but MUCH less detailed.

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: Spent the weekend in Charleston South Carolina, absorbing old houses on tours. One of them, the Nathaniel Russel House, actually had a postcard sized paper model of itself on sale in the gift shop. It's along the lines of the little French postcard modles of famous monumets - "written and illustrated by D. A. LeMasters, c 1989." Havent seen this before. It is very simple, crude even, but I am always impressed when a paper model breaks out into open commerce like this. Has anyone seen similar items?

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: Ms. LeMasters has published a number of models of houses. At one time they were carried by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. I tried to purchase models directly from her and was told that she was not interested in selling to individuals. So if you want a copy of something the only hope is to buy it at the site illustrated in the model.

The LeMasters models I have acquired are:
Franklin Stove
Mount Vernon
Monticello
Shadows-on-the-Teche
Washington Monument
Jefferson Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
White House
Decatur House
Does anybody know of others?

from Bob Santos <SantMin@aol.com>: I have five of then that I bought in Philadelphia, they are: Independence Hall, City Tavern, Graff House, Carpenter's Hall, and Franklin Court.

from Harry B. Frye, Jr. <xfldengr@email.msn.com>: This past weekend while at the annual Easter Boat Show at the Lake of the Ozarks I stopped in at the local Book and Toy store and found 4 new (to me) airplane kits. They're by Hillel Ben-Yosef, published by Random House in 1997. The kits are MIG-21 MF (isbn 0-517-18642-X), SR-71 (isbn 0-517-18644-6), Spitfire (isbn 0-517-18645-4) and F-105 (isbn 0-517-18646-2). I visit this Book Store every time we go to the Lake and this is the first time I have found any Cut and Assemble kits. Since these were in the Bargain Books (clearance) area I asked the clerk about them but she was clueless.

The covers show pictures of an actual built model, not too well built, maybe that's why they didn't sell. Other than the usual lack of interest. They had a few of each left at $3.99 each, so if any is interested try calling them and see if they will ship. It's the Stonecrest Book & Toy Store, Osage Beach, MO. 573-348-4788.

[Editor's note: amazon.com lists these as still in print, so you should be able to order them from most bookshops.]

from Bob Morley <morleyb@cosmic.swau.edu>: The other day, I received a flyer from a company called Media Graphics. In it they show a program on CD they call "Craft Factory." They say it includes a doll house with furniture, a complete village, aircraft and spaceships that fly, even some farm items.
Media Graphics
8175A Sheridan Blvd - #355
Arvada, Colorado 80003

from Mike Armstrong <wewander@inlink.com>: My kids love this cd. It's buggy, the models are simplistic, but it provides a cheap way of learning the fundementals. They print cut and paste all day long. Well between the reboots anyway.

Siera came out with a simularly titled product. It includes all those simple models from the Print Artist series. Find it here.

Here is Community Construction Kit for the Mac. Be sure to grab the samples while you're there. They are gif's.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: I went to the Huntsville, Alabama, Rocket and Space Museum on Friday, the home of Werner von Braun's Redstone Rocket research. In the gift shop I found yet another Space Shuttle, this one made of thin corrugated cardboard. It's a kit for kids, and it definitely falls into the paper toy category. (15 die-cut pieces, and a boxy appearance.) However, it is a handsomely printed model, and it's HUGE; about 22 inches long and 17 inches wide. The 'Canadian' arm also works, and it's able to deposit a small cardboard satellite out in space. (The space of our living room, that is.) My two kids having been playing with it non-stop ever since we put it together Saturday morning. Here' s the info:
Create A Space Shuttle: Adventures in Outer Space
Patricia Barnes-Svarney
copyright 1997
Publications International, Ltd.
7373 Cicero Ave
Lincolnwood, Illinois 60646
USA
ISBN 0-7853-2438-0
Price: $14.95 (tax included) US dollars.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: I was browsing the aisles at Toys R Us this afternoon and I came across some paper modeling software for kids. It's called "Elmer's Cut and Glue House and Castle" and it's published by PenaKids. There seems to be 50 basic forms that one can rearrange to create models of castles and contemporary houses. Once the design is complete the flat pattern is automatically calculated. All one has to do is then print and build. The package includes glue and scissors. Oh...the "Elmer" in the title refers to "Elmer's Glue." Price was US $19.99. Unfortunately it's only for PCs, not Macs. Editor's note: There are two products, Elmer's Cut and Build 3D Castle & House and Elmer's Cut & Build 3D Space Station and Town; see here and here for descriptions and pictures.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
Table Top Architecture
published by Battle Lines
PO Box 562143
Orlando, Florida 32806 USA
An odd assortment of architecture and architectural accoutrements printed in single colors (black or brown) on colored card stock. (This series was designed for use with "standard sized gaming figures" in strategy and/or role playing games.) Here's a partial listing of their offerings: Houses, Farmstead, Stone Tower, High Tech Containers, Coffins and Treasure Chests, Crates and Boxes, Organic Alien Compound, etc. I found a large assortment of these at War and Pieces, a mom and pop hobby shop in West Hartford, Connecticut. Cost: US $9-12 per set. Editor's note: I've seen these models in a number of hobby shops, but in 1997 they failed to respond to inquiries made by mail to this address.

Mouse House
Five easy-to-build homes for your computer mouse
Jim Becker and Andy Mayer
Penguin Books, 1995
ISBN 0 14 024441 7
The stock subheading for this title is Humor/Computers. Five small garages in which to park your mouse at the end of a busy day! Open the doors and drive into the White House, the Taj Mahal, the Parthenon, the Golden Pavilion and/or Chartres Cathedral. Die cut and colorful, each mouse house measures approximately 6 inches (15 cm) square. Cost US $9.95. I found this in the gift shop of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>:
I contacted the publisher of Red Grooms' Charlie Chaplin, Shark's Inc., and they told me that they did not produce the Gertude Stein cut-out. However, they DO have several other Grooms' cut and paste models available. They are:
Fats Domino
Opera House
Slam Dunk
Ruckus Taxi
All are US$20. each.
Sharks Inc.
550 Blue Mountain Road
Lions, Colorado 89540
USA
tel # 303-823-9190

The Opera House, designed by American artist Red Grooms, is a colorful poster format kit. It's a big, cartoony model of a recently restored music hall in Colorado. The poster seems to have been part of their fundraising efforts, and it shows a stage with several cowboys singing an aria. (Their cows and horses are also on stage.) Editor's note: Other work by Red Grooms includes: Ruckus Rodeo, a pop-up from Hackers, 1-212-688-7600, fax:1-212-754-2554; and models of Gertrude Stein (apparently out of print) and Charlie Chaplin (out of print).

AMSAT has a model of the Phase 3D amateur radio satellite.

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: I just got back from two of our local bookstores - Waldenbooks and Books-A-Million - and both of them have great, big cardboard display models of new and old Star-Wars characters, namely Battle Droid (68 inches tall); Pit droid (50 inches tall); R2D2 (39 inches tall); and Droideka (72 inches tall.) Wow! These things are for sale, too, as "paper engineered kits." However, their cost is out of this world: US$79 per creature, but US$97 for Droideka. True, they are HUGE, and they are printed very, very nicely, but the construction is basic tab and slot with a few plastic nuts and bolts thrown in. Too pricey for me, but if you're interested they can be ordered at 1-877-PIT-DROID (within the continental US), 1-310-358-8060 (outside the continental US.) Naturally the prices are higher outside the US. Published by Dorling Kindersly and Lucas Films.

I left one of the stores with something much more affordable: a book of six die cut models to put together of aircraft from the new movie:
Episode I Micro-Vehicle Punch-Outs
copyright 1999 LucasFilm Ltd.
A Random House Punch and Play Book
ISBN 0-375-80014-X
US$ 3.99.

from Robert Freidus <113502.164@compuserve.com>: I have also just received two excellent models from the US. I only ordered one of these models but they sent the second as a bonus. The main one is a Build It Yourself Orthodox Church and the companion model is a Greek Orthodox Iconostais and Altar. They are similar in format to Dover models (same paper, design, quality) and are essentially teaching aids for young church members. Two very interesting models. The address for them is:
Antiochan Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
Department of Christian Education
1358 Mountain Road
Englewood, NJ 07631

from Kell Black <blackk@apsu01.apsu.edu>: 3D Home Kit
copyright 1995 Design Works, Inc.
Daniel K. Reif
US$ 33.95
"Build a detailed scale model of your own home with removable roof and upper floors. All materials 1/4 inch scale. Includes an 18 x 24 inch (6,200 square foot) floor plan, scale ruler, roof slope calculator and 'how-to' instruction booklet."
I found this in the home repair/remodeling section of a Borders Books in Farmington, Connecticut.

Create Your Own 3D Bugs
Copyright 1998 Walter Foster Publications
"Make and decorate six big bugs!"
Tab and slot construction. The ant and ladybug appear to be nicely engineered. The patterns are die-cut on heavy white stock, and the booklet comes with colored markers and stencils for decorating the insects. This appears to be part of a series of "make and decorate" things. In the same bin I found a Hand Puppet booklet - same format- by the same publisher.

from Clark Britton <cbritjr@swbell.net>: I was at Barnes and Noble Bookstore this weekend and they had a large card R2-D2 on display I remarked to the clerk that it was nice and she told me that they can be purchased and gave me a special offer sheet that listed them (4). They are from Advanced Graphics in Pittsburg, CA -Battle Droid $79.00, Pit Droid, R2-D2, and Droideka. A lttle pricey for me , but they were interesting and rather well designed and constructed.

from Jim Hairston <jimhairs@gte.net>: For those of you that are interested in architectual models there is one of the Seattle Space Needle, approximately 40" tall.
Huha Models 18216 125th Ave. SW
Vashon Island Wa. 98070
(206) 463-1997

from Harry B. Frye, Jr. <xfldengr@email.msn.com>: Yesterday I visited a Book Store (Bookmark) that caters to teachers, educational material, etc. I found the neatest packaged models ever. It's called "Top Secret Flyers" by Educational Insights, cat. # EI-3625. The kit consists of 4 airplanes, 2 models of each plane. The planes themselves are simple punch out and fold and tape. It says a scissors is necessary but I can't see where. Now to the packaging. They come in a military looking briefcase, with clasps, each plane is in its own portfolio with a dossier. Really camp, sort of Austin Powers. The planes are: A-7 Corsair II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon and C-20A VIP Transport. Since there are 2 models each our build or save modelers won't be faced with a dilemma. Each plane has an ISBN but not the total package.

from Jon Murray <CARDJON@primary.net>: Just in time for the holidays, there is a simple, quaint , but very well done Christmas Village offered by Krause Publications (Great American Crafts Magazine). It is designed by John Michael Cook and represents a stylized English village in Winter. Appears to be HO Scale. It was offered in 3 installments in the magazine issues Sept-Oct-Dec. You can purchase the complete 6 buildings & gazebo by sending $5.95 + $2.25 shipping to:
Krause Publications
Dept GA99 CVCU
700 E State St
Iola, Wisconson
54990-0001
USA

from Peter J. Visser <peter@peterjvisser.demon.nl>: This is what I found in Oregon:

• A Tri-Met city bus. Very simple tab and slot model, found at the office of Tri-Met in downtown Portland. I visited the Tri-Met site but did not find anything on the paper busses and train. So I sent them e-mail suggesting they make them available on their web page. They replied, "We shall consider it." Maybe some more e-mails would help to put the models on the net.
• A Tri-Met city bus and light rail train. Also tab and slot, but with some more detail. Can be used as piggy bank. Found at the Tri-Met booth at the 'Taste of Beaverton'.
• Noah's Ark. Nice replica of a 19th-century toy set, including the Ark, Noah, his wife and 24 animals. Published by Chatham Hill Games (NY) and the Shelburne Museum (VE). Found at the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon City. They also have paper toys and paper pottery.

from Robert Tauxe <Tauxerob@aol.com>: In a bookshop shop in Japantown, San Francisco, found a two booklet boxed set of 3-D flying paper model airplanes, sort of like the White Wings gliders, but 3-D, some fantasy and some scale models. The title is "Paper airshow", by Andrew Dewar, ISBN 4-576-97183-2. All other identifying info is in Japanese, so I cannot tell the publisher. 1600 yen, which might have been around $18.50. The planes are small, like the Jack Armstrong penny weights, but built up from more pieces, and with extra layers of card up front to weight them properly. You sling shot them with a rubber band. Dewar appears to be an American - at least the photos of him flying the plane look like they were taken on the Washington Mall, and also in Tibet.

A curiosity - a Chinese paper model from the mainland. This is a simple and crudely printed model of an armored personnel carrier, on a single sheet. I got several for about $0.50 apieces. No publisher or date is indicated. I found it in the childrens section of a bookstore in Chinatown. They had no others, and knew of no others in San Francisco, but will inquire of their distributor in Beijing if there are any more model types to be had. Will keep you posted if I hear of more.

An oddity. In the gift shop (415-388-2956) of the Muir Woods National Monument (A forest actually, full of lovely giant redwood trees just north of San Francisco), I found a model of the forest itself. This is "Biotier", designed by the Bookshelf Paper Model Co of San Luis Obispo, California in 1989, for the Golden Gates National Park Association. $3.95. It is actually a cute concept - the trees stand about 5 inches tall from a round base, with tall brown trunks, and leafy lacy green bits that you glue on front and back. They are all laser cut, so the detail is more than you could get with scissors (at least with my patience) each of the trees is flat, but they stand in rows, so the effect is more forest-like, I suppose.

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: I recently purchased a new model of the Biltmore Estate house in Ashville, North Carolina. There is no ISBN number nor scale on the package. It was published by Landmark Creations, Inc., 621 Northwest 53rd Street 240, Boca Raton, Florida 33487. Cost was $22.00 plus taxes.

The model seems to have been drawn with great precision. It is die-cut (probably laser cut these days). It is done with the latest technology meaning that it is a CAD drawn and rendered model. I much prefer the rendered models as produced by L'Instant Durable and the older Schreiber models. I think the overall feel of the textures of the materials is more convincing when rendered by hand in water color. Perhaps this new model would be improved by touching up the printing with shadows, weather stains and reflections in some of the windows. But it is a great building that was not represented in model form before.

from David Kemnitzer <DKemnitzer@eypae.com>: The model of the Biltmore House is available on their web site. Search for "model".

The Fort Sumpter may be approved by the National Park Service but it is not a good model. Nor is the Biltmore Estate model. The art work is, in my opinion, crude. These seem to have been designed on a computer with the materials on the elevations drawn with "wallpaper" from the computer program. This can be easily contrasted with the beautifully rendered elevations that are found on the Schreiber and L'Instant Durable models to name but two excellent publishers.

from Matt Bergstrom <bergstromm@chi.ddbn.com>: At the end of the convention [Dayton 1999] you took some pictures of a little robot tinman and I told you I'd find out more about it. The cartoonist who designed the robot is named Chris Ware. He's gotten a lot of attention for his comic books, but there isn't much of substance on the internet to give you an idea of his work, perhaps because he is a bit of a Luddite, so he has no official website. Instead, a fan in Norway has put together a great overview of Chris Ware's books (the series is called "Acme Novelty Library").

The books are published by Fantagraphics, and you can order them through their website.

Issue #1 has the little robot guy on the back cover, #2 has a set of furniture for him and a flipbook movie, #3 has an ingenious little movie machine, like the kind in an old penny arcade, #4 has a little paper theater with scenery, #7 has the model bookshelf, 2 small boxed games you can put on the shelf, 3 little books printed inside the comic, and a boxy spaceship (this issue and several others are published in an obnoxiously large size, you won't be able to put it on any bookshelf!)

I think all of the issues have some kind of construction project or little trading cards you can cut out, but these issues have the most elaborate projects. The latest issue (#13?) has a little farmstead with buildings, where the story in the book takes place. He publishes his comics first in a Chicago free entertainment weekly called New City (he lives in Chicago), and then several months or years later they appear in one of the books.

He's an obsessive and prodigious artist, but the models are just sort of extras to the comic books, so I don't know if he really "product-tests" all of his creations. Some of them have a few minor problems, but nothing serious.

The books are hilarious and so well drawn, I'm sure you'll get drawn into the story. It's sort of strange to read the stories and have a little model of the characters or places there in front of you, like something that escaped from the book and took on a life of its own.

from William Wills <wvwills@ibl.bm> I have recently re-discovered the A Cut & Assemble Shaker Village by Edmund V. Gillon, Jr. that I had found in a Shaker Village shop in Canterbury, NH in 1989
copyright 1986 ISBN: 0-88740-077-9 $5.95
published by
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
77 Lower Valley Road
Atglen, PA 19310
Tel: (610)-696-1001

I acquired two copies this year, in August 1999, in another Shaker Village shop near Enfield, NH. It has a round barn from Hancock, Mass and other buildings from various villages. There are 9 sheets 18.5 inches by 12.25 inches folded in the center -- only one card has a piece for the barn that is larger than 9.25 inches by 12.25 inches, the other eight can be cut in half. The barn is 11.25 inches in diameter. Half of the cards are required for the round barn.

I have never been able to find it anywhere else. Even PMI doesn't list it. I have written to the publisher several times over the years, but never got a response.

Chicago

from Louis Dausse <pmidausse@home.com>: There is only one shop I know of in the area that carries paper models but that is a good source. Stanton Hobby on Milwaukee Ave, on the north side of town. About 5 blocks south of the Jefferson Park Light Rail stop. Great old line, but up-to-date, hobby shop, run by a great guy, Joe Stanton.

from Jimbo<oopsconsulting@zdnetonebox.com>: There ia small hobby shop on the south side of Chicago in the burbs (Oaklawn) that has a few models (on sale for 25% off). The shop is called "Pat's" and is on 95th street. There is also a Museum of architecture in the downtown area that has some models in their gift shop. They carry the "Build your own Chicago" postcard sets. I spend quite a bit in that place but got models I have never found anywhere else. I found a great book of mouse houses (computer type). It is well worth going to.

from Matt Bergstrom<Matt.Bergstrom@chi.ddb.com>: The shop you're thinking of is, I think, the Chicago Architecture Foundation store at 224 South Michigan (and also in the basement of the John Hancock Building). There is also a great architectural bookstore, the Prairie Avenue Bookshop, at 418 South Wabash. All three of these stores carry the Build Your Own Chicago postcards. Additionally, they also carry some elaborate, and tempting, paper models of the National Gallery of Art and the Robie House (this one much more elaborate and well done than the Dover version).