Paper coating to protect ink

[enolagay]

well hello everyone i am new to paper models, i built 3 paper models so far, the first was a tidan ion cannon frigate, it turned out good for my first one, then i built 2 heavy cruisers from HomeWorld1, not so good, but I did learn alot from them.

Now i am building a vanaar class heavy cruiser, I used regular printing paper, coated it in automotive clear coat from a auto parts store, it give it a plastic quality, then reinforced all the paper with card board from empty cigarette box packs, and useing cheap super glue to put it all together (wal-mart 6 pack super glue for a dollar), plastic tubeing for moveable turrents i am even thinking of haveing movable guns on the turrents, i dont know how or if i am going to light up this one, if i do i am thinking of mounting a led into clear plastic and run the plastic to where i want it to light up at.

the clear coat on the paper that give the plastic quality made useing super glue a good idea, i am haveing no negitive effects on useing the cheap glue, when it is done i will post the model somewhere. this model is starting to look like a factory made toy making paper models is alot of fun,

P.S. if you play or played HomeWorld1 it is still being played online, we would like to see you there, also recording games gives a good refrence on building models, i know it did for me

thanks Enola_gay

[Cherel]

Hello! I am really interested in your models. I hope you will show us them.

So you don't know how to make turrets available to rotate? have you thought about magnets? the problem with them is that the turrets can also be removed, not only rotated, but this method was mentioned sometime ago.

I still own homeworld, although I only played online once -and I was totally destroyed by a fighter deathball. I am the kind of guy who loved exploiting the AI in "very easy" mode, capturing all capships it would throw at me ;D- Maybe the paperstarships community could arrange a hw1 party... I have not played it since....... ok, a long time ago.

about recorded games and references, it could be a good Idea. I remember going to HWShipyards to get reference pics of the bentusi tradeship when I built mine because of the lack of AIs.
However, not everyone owns homeworld, I suppose.

[TheGlove]

If you are up for a HW2 game... add me at msn or something

MSN: [e-mail]
XFire: sperma666

[enolagay]

i have perfected the moveing guns, they go up and down on the turrent, the clear coat is helping with excessive handeling, i got a idea on how to make turning turrents, i messed up a little on the vanaar cruiser but it is a minor mess up it dosent look that bad,

the sphere of strike craft is a swarm, it is a pain but with practice you can beat it, a light corvette wall with repair vettes and support frigates supporting them will eat up a swarm

my guns to my vanaar are tooth picks with the paper glued to them,(i shaved them with a carpendar razor) glued to a small tube(tube from cotton swab for ear) and a piece of paper clip running through the inside of the turrent inside the tube, that is how i got my guns to go up and down, if i didnt clear coat it with strong automotive clear coat my sweat from my hands would of ruined the ink and paper from excessive handeling, i would show it now but i have no camera for a computer, my first three models i first thought was good till i looked here and seen what you all where putting together, so this vanaar cruiser i will go all out on it so i will be proud of it enough to post it on the net

if anyone else has made guns to go up and down, could you share what you did?

[Nerath]

(To Glove and Raven from way, way, way back at page 1) ...Were some posts deleted somewhere in there, or did you all just spontaneously start arguing about stuff that never happened on this thread?

Anyway, filling a model with expanding foam, even a card-paper model, is likely to just make it explode. But...how do you print in cardboard? See, in America, cardboard is that corrugated brown stuff that refrigerators and other large appliances come in...if you mean card paper, then I know what you're talking about.

Use glue that dries clear. I recommend rubber cement because you can peel off misplaced parts with no damage.

[TheGlove]

no deletions, and look, the card paper I mean is white, ticker than a regular A4 sheet, and it comes in big sheets like 100x60cms, or as you would like, 3,5x2 feet, I just cut it in A4 size and print it.

[enolagay]

HW2, i would be playing, but my video card went kaput, and the one i am useing now is my old one, and it is not good enough for playing HW2, when i get some extra cash i will get me another video card and play HW2 again, i am not good at it, i dont have enough practice, but glove when i do play again.........I gonna own you lol jk

to stay on subject, i spilled soda pop on my model by accident, the automotive clear coat protected my model, like if the paper was plastic, i dont beleave much of anything else would of held up that i could of protected my model with, I just wiped it clean with a damp rag. lol

Any clear coat enamel will do the same as automotive clear coat, i just used automotive because i already had it for a touch up on my Opel GT, any wal-mart 97 cent can of clear coat will work, auto-zone automotive touch up clear coat will work, hardware store clear coat will work, etc. just remember the more it cost, usualy the better it is, it will have more hardener in the paint and be more durable

[Nerath]

That's insane. Your card paper is 3.5x2 feet? Why would anyone sell paper in that size? I get my card paper in 8.5x11-inch paper. That's standard size printer paper for America at least...dunno if Europe uses a size near to that or not. *shrug* I get card paper in big 200-500 page stacks of 8.5x11 paper.

And I doubt anything exists that an automotive coating can't protect. If it's meant for a car, it'll work against just about anything. But doesn't it make the paper all soggy? Is it a spray or a paint?

[enolagay]

it is a spray, and no,when you coat the paper, it dont get soggy, after about 4 or 5 light coats of clear coat the paper gets stiff like plastic, you would notice the diffrence in one coat,

i am borrowing a camera to put pics on here of my models, the vanaar-jet and the tidan ion frigate are the ones with clear coat, the only way i can describe it, the paper becomes like a thin peice of plastic, it has the water proof quality of plastic, it has a stiffness quality like plastic, but it is still paper, because it is still paper it is easy to fold, it being stiffer it is easier to fold than paper without being treated with clear coat

the downfall to clear coat, is just like a car, when you put a shine to a car, all of the little dings and dents show up more, like a mirror, if a mirror had flaws, and wasnt perfectly smooth, when you look into it that mirror,where it wasnt flat, that is what you would see first, also because it has a water proof quality, alot of your water based glues wont hold to it, rubber cement, and super glue will hold, they smell, they aren't water based, water based glue works by soaking into the paper and drying, when it is water proof, there is no holding power, it would be like putting elmers school glue on something like plastic, glass, aluminum can, when it dries, you could peel it right off, the water based glue wont soak into it

i just put my model to the test, i just thrown it into the air, smacked the ceiling, dropped to the floor i am looking at it right now, no damage to it.

also as in glue, paint wont hold to it unless it is not water based, so ther is alot of downfalls, but I already have the oil based paint, oil based enamel clear coat, glue that will hold it, so instead of buying all new stuff to go water based, i just used what i already have, hope this helps to better understand my method of clear coat

VERY IMPORTANT, If you use oil based flammable material, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF VENTALATION, the fumes can be deadly if you dont have proper air circulation, so read the warnings on all labels, oil based stuff is toxic till it dries, after it dries it will be stronger than its water based counterpart, water based stuff almost all of the time is not toxic, even when wet

if you try this, feel free to ask any questions, i am on here everyday, i will respond quickly

also my email is [e-mail]

last thing i want is someone getting hurt useing oil based material, it is safe so long as you know how to use it properly

thanks and good luck