Great Looking Paper Structures, Only $8!?

[@steve87thpsap]

Great job and nice work showing us how to build it. One tip I got from my paper rafting wife, for sharper folds score the paper first, you can use the back of the knife. Score where you are folding too, or inside fold area.

[@StevesTrains]

Good idea on scoring the paper.

[@JohnB9474]

Steve thanks for doing this kit. I have seen their website in the past but the kits did not look all that easy. You made it look easier than I thought, so I order the same kit and have it in my computer ready to print. Good joib!

[@hadynmcloughlin4661]

After trying my first scratch builds using balsa wood and acrylic paints going to try a new style using card stock kits with some watercolour pencil detailing, thanks for sharing your process.

[@tinplategeektoo]

If you model UK outline, then scalescenes do the same thing and have a few free kits too so you can try to see if it is really your thing.

[@StevesTrains]

I have seen their product offerings. Some are generic enough looking to be used in a U.S. setting as well I think.

[@KevinSquire]

​@@StevesTrains Yes, I agree. I love ScaleScenes and use them regularly. Admittingly, I am modelling Eastern US - so I think that helps a lot. Just have to print it out at 92.5% since UK N-Scale is different than US N-Scale.

[@mikerubynfs]

I've used a few Scalescenes models on a HO US based layout for larger structures I print at 100% they are just a bit larger prototypes. Latest was the concrete bridge, that was a lot of making pillars and beams, but it does look good now finished.

[@gallopfreyan1622]

I came to recommend Scalescenes as well. They look great and are very cost-effective. Last year, I even wrote up a Scalescenes tutorial for our local club's newsletter. I'll have to recommend Steve's video in future though, since seeing the process in video makes everything a lot more understandable.

[@xmtryanx]

Nice! I've been making paper ship models for years, and never thought of paper for my layout. Great idea!

[@criticalthinker7822]

Tape is your friend when assembling printouts. Also for anybody who wants to add LED lights, black out the interior with black paint. Use painters tape to conceal any corners or openings to keep loght from shining through.

[@StevesTrains]

Good tip. I’ve used electrical tape to blackout windows and other interior areas from lights in the past but I kind of forget about things like that over time.

[@maltnz]

5:00 scratch - if the scratch is grey and you have them, try dark and light lead pencils on the scratch and see if that disguises the mark sufficiently.

[@someguy2637]

Steve, Thanks for sharing your experience with paper structures. I have tried these myself a few years ago. I purchased mine on ebay from a Canadian vendor. This guy physically mailed me the paper sheets which I then mounted on card stock or poster board. Once you have these in hand you can print multiple sheets and make as many copies as you wanted. As you stated, these took considerable time cutting out, and to glue together. True, they do provide an economical way to populate a layout; especially if you build a lot of layouts. I ended up using a mixture of these, built up and kit bashed structures together. I also used the face of these structures on back drops which worked out quite well for me. Like anything else, you get better at using these the more you do. Thanks again for making this video to share your views. If you ever make a layout using these entirely, I think that would make a great video.

[@scottpool4777]

Yes authentic definitely thank you very much.

[@idiotluggage]

Thanks for sharing this. I have used paper craft buildings in the past and like them. It's nice to see that the company has these in OO scale.

[@fmphotooffice5513]

About 30 years ago while studying the Titanic, reading books, etc (before the stupid movie) I constructed a paper model of the ship. Therapeutic. I used A R wood glue and pressure to make quick permanent connections, no waiting.

[@StevesTrains]

Nice! I bet that was an amazing project!

[@Trains-With-Shane]

That's a bunch of work but seems to give a pretty darn good result. All of the paper kits I have seen previously were a cube-craft type assembly where you just print out one flat piece, cut it out, and then fold it back in on itself and glue the edges-tabs together to make a 3D building.

[@DansGrandValley]

Very cool Steve, thanks for sharing. I just heard about these from a friend yesterday, so it’s great to see your video on them!

[@edwardstd52]

Nice work! I've done a couple but not the "craftsman" kind. I'll probably tackle some of those. People who like puzzles will like these as well.

[@basfinnis]

The result is really good 👌 Thanks for the run-through.

[@troysimpson9550]

Thanks Steve for doing this Video for us. One thing I have found that works great for making these type of small building is using rectangle magnets with those metal blocks you have. They make great clamps and hold things at 90 degree angles well.

[@StevesTrains]

Great tip!

[@jackheninger5471]

Thanks for this idea Steve. You may have solved a background issue of what to use and where to get them on my own layout. These paper models would also make great temporary place holder models until you get the kit you want or do some scratchbuilding. Northeastern Scale Models, known for their stripwood produces wood pallets for N and HO scales. If my memory is close you get + or - 10 pallets for less than $5.00.

[@HHExpress]

Very nice demonstration Steve, I need to look into that one time. Greetings from Hai

[@icedcoffeedrink]

if you wanted to go to the extra step it would be fun to hit these with a few coats of clear and give them some various paint and weathering effects.

[@StevesTrains]

Yep, I plan to spray it with dull coat at the very least, once I go out and buy a new can of it.

[@DMRJ]

I tried their free loading dock. Decent instructions. Pretty good looking too.

[@Silverstatetrains]

Thanks for sharing this. I am new to the hobby and I am currently working on a layout and may try one of these as the price is right.

[@tonykane8866]

I would bet that u could use that as a stencil and use styrene

[@andrewdavison5366]

Steve, I just bought a couple of these kits so your videa is reallly helpful. One question - would a light dullcoat spray once the kit is finished by advisable? I'm wondering if wetting the paper surface with the Dullcoat would damage it, e.g., cause wrinkling? Thanks!

[@StevesTrains]

I think it would be a good idea, but need to go very light with the spray. But, some protection so you don’t damage things when doing scenery work with water/alcohol is probably a good idea.

[@modelrailroader5619]

I have built a few of these. The price is right and they look great. Your first one will be a learning experience, but successive builds will be fun and easier to put together. Scoring the fold lines is very important! Thanks for sharing.

[@allenwilson8913]

I wonder how well these will last in areas of higher humidity. I love the idea but I’m concerned the bldg may not fare well in our humidity. Ive seen a lot of paper based items get wavy after a period of time.

[@StevesTrains]

Yeah, I’m wondering as well. I did spray it down with multiple coats of dull coat which will hopefully help.

[@allenwilson8913]

@@StevesTrains we’re gonna need a long term report on this as well. Thanks for the channel

[@Japan-in-N]

If you’re doing a lot of these it’s worth investing in a decent specific card glue. Here in the uk we have a brand called Rocket Card Glue and I’m sure it’s available in North America.

[@StevesTrains]

Yeah, I’ve seen that now that I’ve been looking more into this the past few days and that looks like something to pick up for sure. Thanks for the tip!

[@rickrodrick1978]

Thanks for this video, Steve. I'm planning to use several of these kits on my layout but I have never seen the steps along the way. This gave me a much better sense of what I'm looking forward to.

[@paulrmatzke298]

What is the glue in the small blue bottle?

[@Ron_Rhodes]

I've been designing my own buildings in Blender, making sure to keep the surfaces simple and flat. I take Google street view snapshots of the prototype buildings into Photoshop to clean up ,size and scale the material and apply them as UV maps. I export the 3D model as an .OBJ file and load it into Pepakura for unfolding and layout on to pages which I export as .PNGs. These get uploaded to my Cricut Design Space project where they are printed as Print then Cut images. I print them on cheap photo paper and then have my Cricut Vinyl Die cutter cut out all the walls and windows. I usually have to print two copies so the walls are thick enough, but I don't care about extra cutting at this point. I made an N scale Transamerica Pyramid and lit it with addressable RGB LEDs. Seems like a lot of extra work but it's very satisfying to see it all in the end and to know that it's all my design. And I don't worry about cutting my fingers off.

[@StevesTrains]

Wow, that sounds awesome! Yeah using an automated cutting device would make things go super fast.

[@kwarts]

Hi, I wonder why you don't use the Blender add on for exporting papermodels. Does that give problems with your textures? Kind regards, Christiaan

[@Ron_Rhodes]

@@kwarts Pepakura ($) lets you break and rejoin seams and handles tabs and lets you design the layout of each page of output very well and I love it.

[@Ron_Rhodes]

@@StevesTrains The cricut is limited to 6.75 X 9.25 inches per page however, so you need to piece together larger skyscapers.

[@SkipRoGlo]

Great video. What scale are these buildings?

[@StevesTrains]

This one was N scale but you can download the PDFs in different scales.

[@FredWilbury]

Yep nice I use Scalescenes and kit bash and enhance as for the cutting out it’s just what it is not a bother I don’t think 😊

[@StevesTrains]

No, it isn’t bad. But does make me want to buy one of those ultrasonic knives that will cut through matte board and such super easy.

[@ashleybishop9937]

Have you thought about using a Cricut or Sillouette cutting machine, especially if you are doing a few structures? It is something I have thought about but not done.

[@StevesTrains]

Yes, or the wondercutter that micro mark has, one of those ultrasonic cutting blades. That could help out especially with cutting heavier card stock or matte board. I may at some point pick up something like that and try it out.

[@mikerubynfs]

I use cork backed rules for cutting against, they don't slip or mark the prints. When gluing sheets to card I use a small roller to make them flat and smooth, it also makes sharp edges when folding around corners.

[@StevesTrains]

Great tips!

[@gerdeguelle1967]

Nice building and a nice video

[@spiderkidLarry]

Hello, do I need something to fit the bulildings or trucks around when I glue them? If so like what? What should I buy or something? I"m very new to this. Thanks

[@StevesTrains]

No, you don’t need anything, but maybe for the trucks especially it would be helpful to have a block of foam or something like that for the inside so they are more durable if you plan to handle them a lot.

[@michaelzalewski2532]

Don't forget the free dock on the sight

[@StevesTrains]

Yes, I forgot to mention that!

[@JohnB9474]

Steve another question for you. I have done a half dozen black and white test prints to make sure i have it right. In measuring the loading doors I find them all to be 8' by 9' and that seems a little small to me. I've made sure all the print settings are correct. Print to 100%. Make sure scale to fit is off. and still the doors seem too small to me. Can you advise as to how yours came out? Thanks again.

[@StevesTrains]

I'll check mine with a scale ruler when I get a chance. They are not as big as say the rail doors on a walthers warehouse type kit, but I'm not sure on the scale size.

[@StevesTrains]

So I measured them today and it came out to about 8.3’x10’ for the rail loading doors. I didn’t have my scale ruler handy so I just measured with a regular ruler and the doors were 0.625”x0.75” and then I multiplied by 160 for US N scale (I think British n scale is 1:148)

[@efremmallach6501]

Thanks for this! Paper kits hadn't really been on my radar until now, but I'll definitely keep them in mind. However, I think the $7.99 price is a bit deceiving. There's probably at least $20 worth of ink in the building parts and the instructions sheets. $28 is still cheap, to say nothing of the convenience of getting it instantly without leaving your home, but not as dramatic a comparison as just looking at the direct cost suggests.

[@StevesTrains]

I have a color laser printer that I’ve had for 10-15 years, so the cost per page for me is probably a quarter at most. Yes, with an ink jet you can run through ink in a hurry.

[@efremmallach6501]

@@StevesTrains Valid point; YMMV. Not everyone has an ink-jet printer with small, expensive cartridges. If one doesn't, that clearly makes a difference in the economics - but with any printer, they're still cheaper than wood!

[@jerrysmith1929]

How well does the matboard hold up to humidity? What about using styrene as the substrate rather than matboard?

[@StevesTrains]

We shall see. I plan to spray it down inside and out with dull coat which should help. But I need to go out and buy a new can of it.

[@daviemaclean61]

I have all manner of structures from scratch built to plastic and resin kits to card and paper ones on my layout. So this was very helpful for those sorts of kit. I'm not sure if it is available in the US (I'm in the UK) or is possibly under a different brand name, but you should try Roket (not a misspelling!) card glue. I had dismissed it as expensive PVA/white glue, but boy was I wrong! It dries quicker and stronger than those types and speeds up construction no end. Cheers PS - if you're not already aware of his channel, check out Chandwell, which is also in N scale. Michael is a dab hand with cardboard and glue!

[@StevesTrains]

Great tip! I’ll have to check that out. A faster drying, non-super glue would be super handy to have.

[@marktaylor8659]

Great job Steve. Did you clear coat the finished model to prevent fading? What kind of printer are you using? Inkjet? Laserjet? Thanks for sharing.

[@StevesTrains]

I’ll spray it with dull coat once I pick up another can. I used a color laser printer that is probably 15 years old but it seemed to produce pretty good results. I just used regular printer paper. I probably would have had slightly better results if I had used a better paper quality.

[@FelineSublime]

How would these .pdfs go as plans for using styrene sheet instead of cardstock?

[@StevesTrains]

No reason you couldn’t temporarily stick them to styrene and then cut the pieces out that way.

[@brianbassett4379]

You must be so proud.

[@karenneighbors7659]

Where do you get the pdf file?

[@StevesTrains]

After you purchase the kit you get a link to a page with the pdf downloads for the kit and for the instruction sheets.

[@davidstokes8441]

It's the hand held shots I am having trouble with, it might just be me. In real life we can keep up, but it seems the subject of the shot needs to be kept still once in the camera.

[@StevesTrains]

Good to know. I’ll try be a bit more conscious about that in the future. I always appreciate feedback to help make videos better!

[@richardmorgan9273]

It's not that difficult to design simple buildings from scratch - textures such as brickwork and stone plus doors and windows can easily be found online and you can find prototype buildings from streetview or photographs as inspiration. Even if you get it wrong you've not wasted any money other than for printer ink - so just experiment!

[@robertb7918]

I notice that you have made an HO model. I ordered the N scale model of this building and I found many of the pieces to be so small that it was all but impossible to build the model. I have many years experience of building model railways and scratch building. I suspect that having designed the HO version of this building, the supplier reduced the scale of the design to be printed out for N scale and did not bother to check for the feasibility of the model when printed at such a small size. This is a pity because if the model was simplified and all the fiddly bits for the doors were removed it would be a great product.

[@StevesTrains]

No, I made an N scale model. It is on my n scale switching layout.

[@mikeelliott2736]

I have to ask. Why the gloves?

[@StevesTrains]

I mentioned in the video so I wouldn’t have to keep washing my hands from getting glue on them. This way I could just pull the gloves off for adjusting the camera controls and not any glue on them. I did that with super glue once…

[@davidstokes8441]

PLease, if you are showing something, like a building, to camera keep it still for ar least 5 seconds so the veiwer can focus on it.

[@StevesTrains]

So I actually originally had still images and then I replaced them with the structure spinning on the turntable as I figured it would be easier for people to scrub through the video back and forth to look at any angle they wanted. I’ll consider keeping still images in the future.

[@speeedskater]

gloves?

[@StevesTrains]

Only so I wouldn’t have to wash my hands before handling the camera if I got glue on them. Obviously I didn’t need them for cutting but didn’t expect to spend so much time cutting.

[@dogyerf21]

No way. Pay the extra money for molded details and save a ton of time not having to cut a million little pieces out. With painting and weathering, it’s still going to be a lot faster and look a lot better.

[@StevesTrains]

Lance Mindheim combines both to excellent results. Using printed imagery for a lot of the wall textured and then adding 3d details on top of that. Really depends on the wall textures you are dealing with. I think printed textures can really shine when trying replicate concrete panels and that kind of thing. Printed brick textures aren’t going to look as good in HO scale certainly. Maybe ok in N scale.

[@KevinSquire]

For what its worth, the model he choose to record is designed to be VERY customizable. So there is a lot of extra cutting / folding/ and other little pieces compared to some other paper models/options. For example, instead of having 1 long piece for a long wall, you have 4 small segments that get glued together. (Kinda similar to the DPM kits if you are familiar with those, but even more customizable)

[@StevesTrains]

Yes, it does make it easy to build any size or configuration of structure you want. They do have easier kits where it is more of the whole wall at one time type of process that will go faster. You could do that and then add on some 3D details if you wanted and get a good looking structure pretty fast. What might work nice is 3D printing or buying doors and windows to use with the paper kits. I may have to try that. That would save a lot of time and perhaps give a really nice looking final product.

[@melkitson]

I guess it depends a lot on your income. Some of us are dedicated model railway enthusiasts but are totally unable to afford more expensive kits. The satisfaction gained from building and customising card kits is immense.

[@melkitson]

This looks like a direct rip off of the Scalescenes concept even down to the instructions on the cut out sheets. I have used Scalescenes stuff for years even including gantries for container loading and unloading.

[@StevesTrains]

Can’t really comment on that since I’m new to paper structures but I’ll try to check out a scalescenes kit at some point here.

[@davidstokes8441]

I know you put a lot of work into this video, but there is too much waffle and not a lot of action, a true ibnication that you did not read the instructions first, sorry mate, down mark. 5/10