Apollo 13 Lunar Excursion Module "Aquarius" 1/35 Scale Paper Model from the Kit designed by "Uhu02"

I built this kit several years ago, and it has won a few prizes at scale model contests. Uhu02's original kit is in 1/48 scale. I decided that a larger scale would be easier to build, so I enlarged it to 1/35 scale, which makes the model about 8½ inches tall, with a landing gear that spans 12½ inches. It is made entirely of paper except for main landing gear struts, which are wrapped around steel wire. 

The kit is a free download. The PDFs and detailed construction photos are here.

Photographing the model for submission to Fine Scale Modeler magazine, I discovered that part of the landing gear was collapsing. I spent an evening repairing and reinforcing the supporting struts with extra layers and liberal application of ACC. Paper brushed with thin ACC takes on the rigidity of plastic.

Fun with Science . . . a digression from scale modeling

 We have a huge black locust tree in our front yard, probably well over 100 years old. Every few years, it produces a bumper crop of large, weird-looking seed pods that need to be raked or shovelled to the curb. This was a bumper year. My wife said it looked as though we were being swarmed by big, ugly earthworms. Then she left me without adult supervision, and I produced this:

Edward Gorey, Mortician, Paper Model 1/87 Scale

 The latest addition to my layout's business district is "E. Gorey, Mortician." The name is a nod to cartoonist Edward Gorey and his somewhat macabre books.

The buildng is "Hoosier Mama's Pie Co." from Clever Models. I gave it a new storefront widened and repainted from "Rudy's Printing," another Clever Models kit, and I added the small loading dock annex on the side. The leaded glass windows, curtains, and doors came from photos on the Internet, as did the gargoyle holding up the funeral parlor sign.

The mortuary has seen better days, evidenced by the peeling paint and the broken-up sidewalk. The Order of Odd Fellows has a meeting room upstairs, which seems oddly appropriate. My layout is set in 1943, when many funeral homes also operated ambulance services.

The building next door (still on my bench) will be E. Gorey, Taxidermist, a convenient sideline for the funeral home.

Big Surprise!

The Winnebago Auto Modelers Club held its annual Winnebago Area Modelers Classic contest and swap meet today in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I decided to take several scale paper models -- several aircraft and a couple of Apollo spacecraft that I have built from paper kits.

There was no category for paper models, so I would be competing in categories for all media -- plastic, resin, wood, whatever. Before and during the show, I told several friends that competing paper against plastic was a probably a lost cause, and I didn't expect to win any awards.

There were eight judges and each judge chose his favorite model among all the models entered. And everyone at the show voted on their five favorite models with an award to each of the top seven vote-getters. 

Much to my surprise, by 1/35-scale Lunar Excursion Model (Uhu02) received both a Judge's Award and a Top Seven Award. Uh02 released the kit in 1/48 scale; I enlarged it to 1/35. I added interior lighting (LEDs), but sometime during final assembly, the circuit broke.

And my 1/12 Apollo Command Module (Ken West) and Service Module (scratchbuilt) won "Best of Show" for the most votes from everyone in attendance.

I made a sort of acceptance speech, telling the crowd, "I hope the awards you've given me today will bring out more paper scale modelers who will outcompete me at future contests."

65-ft Gallows Turntable - Sequoia Scale Models Kit - HO Scale

 

I built this one straight out of the box except that I used Tichy NBWs (nut/bold/washer castings) instead of the ones provided in the kit. The supplied NBWs just looked too small. The finished model is a hair over 9 inches long and 4 inches tall.

I used brown sewing thread for the wire bracing, instead of the fish line in the kit. The fish line is hard to work with and doesn't hold acrylic paint very well. Drawing the thread across a block of beeswax eliminated any fuzziness. (I learned that trick from ship model builders.) I omitted the supplied turnbuckles because I could not get them threaded on either the fish line or sewing thread, no matter how much colorful language I used. 

I cut the threads much longer than I needed and coated about an inch of one end in ACC to make it easy to snake through #70 holes. On the other end, I tied a figure-8 knot. The knots could still pull through the holes, but with a little ACC, they made good anchors. I secured both ends with ACC and trimmed the excess thread.

I modified the base (also provided in the kit) to use the pivot and wiring from a Peco N-scale turntable. I'll trim the ends of the rails when I am ready to install the turntable.

The Sequioa Scale Models kit shows up now and then on ebay. If you build the kit, I suggest a change in the order of assembly:  The instructions have anchor blocks for the cables and the cable-end NBW castings installed before you build the gallows structure. I would save the outermost anchor blocks for last, after you have drilled for and installed the cables (using thread). That way, the block will anchor the thread and the NBW won't get in the way.

This is definitely not a "shake-the-box" project. It was at times a challenge, and the written instruction steps don't always correspond with the numbered scale drawings. I found photos of the finished model on the Internet, and they were helpful. I think the result looks good, and I'm planning to install it to look something like the one below that I found pictured in a back issue of the Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette.

Winger Paper Bag Co. Expands

 Winger Paper Bag Co. #1:  A few years ago, I scratchbuilt a paper model copy of Fos Scale Models' Winger Paper Bag Co. background flat. At the time, it was to be positioned against the background at Scots' Landing on my Ceresco & Wolf River HO-scale shortline.

Winger Paper Bag Co. #2:  The track plan at Scots' Landing changed, and now I needed a tall, narrow factory closer to the foreground. I scratchbuilt the Winger Co. again as a paper model, this time with full depth. The back is blank, since it won't be visible, and I flipped the facade to put the loading dock on the left instead of the right. I sold Winger Co. #1 on ebay to someone who can make good use of it.

The textures for walls, roofs, chimneys, and foundation, and the vents on #2 are from Clever Models. The windows and doors are from my "digital parts bin." The loading dock and its roof structure are basswood. The pallets are from Preiser, the meters and fire bell are card from photos, and the boxes are original artwork drawn on Photoshop®. I redrew both signs in Photoshop and applied and weathered them digitally.  The building's footprint is 6" x 3½" and it is just over 6" tall at the gables.

HO Scale Post Office - Laser-cut wood kit - Fos Scale Models

 This is a Fos Scale Models "Kit of the Month." I built it "by the book," with only two changes:  I substituted a 48-star flag for the 50-star flag that came with the kit, since my model RR is set in 1943. And I used printed shingles from Clever Models instead of the tar paper provided in the kit. The mailboxes and stovepipe are 3D-printed resin and are included in the kit. Since it's 1943, the townsfolk got together and repainted their post office in patriotic colors.

Fos's Kit-of-the-Month models are great little kits. This was a three-evening project that produced a nice foreground kit with a footprint of about 4 x 2½ inches.

The Fos Blog is one of my favorite resources for free scale modeling ideas & techniques. Check it out.

Australian Paddlesteamer "Alexander Arbuthnot" -- paper model, 1/100 scale, from World of Paper Ships

The Alexander Arbuthnot was built in 1923 as a towboat to pull log rafts on Australia's Murray River. She survives as a "living museum" and tourist boat. I built the model, from World of Paper Ships, for an article in the Nautical Research Journal, a publication for model ship builders. 

I used the optional laser-cut set that included paddlewheels, ship's wheel, some railings, and other details. The kit presents the "A-A" in tour boat configuration. I wanted a working boat for my model RR layout, so I added a woodpile (fuel) and oil barrel, and omitted the benches & tables, beer cooler, and BBQ. I scratchbuilt the railings from 1"x2" scale lumber. The finished model is 10 inches long with a beam of 3 inches and height of 3 inches at the towing mast.

At 1/100 scale, she's a little bit small for HO, but I think she'll look good sitting at the dock. I have another paddlesteamer kit from World of Paper Ships. I might scan that one and scale it up to 1/87, or at least scale up the pilot house and cabins.

This is my paddle steamer Alexander Arbuthnot on the cover of the Spring 2023 Nautical Research Journal. My construction article is inside.

At the 2023 Midwestern Model Ships and Boats Contest at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in May, my P.S. Alexander Arbuthnot received a Gold Award. 

1/25-Scale Garage again

This is the cover photo on the IPMS Steve Wittman Chapter (Oshkosh, WI) Facebook page:  the 1934 Ford 4-Door that Bob Kremer completed and painted for me, posed in the garage diorama I built for him.

Scroll down for more about the diorama.

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Aries 1B Paper Model -- 1/76 scale

 Downloaded from Uhu02, enlarged from 1/100 to 1/76, diameter about 6" -- a challenging build, but worth it. This one has been on my "to-build" list for a long time.

Second photo below posted in FineScale Modeler magazine's online Reader Gallery, June 2022 -