VW "Tractor-Trailer" - 1/35 Scale Paper Model

Inspired by a photo on the internet, I started with two copies of a 1/35 paper model kit of a 1962 VW Westphalia camper conversion, a PDF from PaperDiorama.com. With a bit of Photoshopping and a lack of adult supervision, it was an easy conversion and a nice break from more complex projects. The variety of similar full-size conversions pictured online suggests that a fair number of VW minibuses end up as camping trailers. (Mine ended its days as a chicken coop.)

With typical performance of "0-60 in 11 Minutes," could a 1960s VW bus really pull a trailer like this one? Apparently, swapping out the VW hamster cage for a Porsche engine was the common answer to that question. 

Paper Diorama's kits are free to download, easy to build, and fun one-to-three-evening projects. They look pretty good, too. Most are 1/35 scale, but like most digital kits, you can scale them up or down (within reason).

SNNNJ "Longhorn" -- 1/33 scale paper model

It's early 1942. As America enters World War II, the Navy desperately needs new pilots, but it lacks enough basic trainers and instructors to meet the demand. Enter North American Aviation Co. and good old American ingenuity. The SNNNJ "Longhorn" (Army version, AT-6½ "Texxxan") allows one airplane and one instructor to train three students simultaneously, helping to fill the needs of the Navy's new carrier flight groups.

I started with the 1/33-scale ANG Texan from Dave's Card Creations. I printed the canopy frames on full-page 8½x11 label stock, cut out the frames and applied them to thin clear plastic. I cut out the insides of the frames first, leaving a margin of about half an inch around the outside of each frame. That made it much easier to apply the frames to the plastic without distorting them. Once the label stock touches the plastic, it cannot be repositioned.

The glue I use (Aleene's Tacky Glue®) does not adhere well to plastic or metal. I applied a thin strip of label stock to the inside of each canopy frame along the bottom of the frame. The label stock sticks like glue to the plastic and the Tacky Glue sticks securely to the label stock.

The resulting aircraft would probably be underpowered and a bit tail-heavy, though it's not entirely unlike a Fairey "Battle" or Nakajima BN5 "Kate." Most of all, it is evidence that I don't have enough adult supervision.

"Space Laser" 1/72-Scale Paper Model

Rep. Green actually made this outlandish suggestion in a public speech in 2018. The extreme absurdity was too much to ignore, and DissentPins.com came up the "Secret Jewish Space Laser Corp" patch. I thought their effort deserved at least a prototype, so I built one. It's a joke; no offense intended.

DeHavilland Canada DHC2T Turbo Beaver "Raven" -- 1/48 scale paper model

This was a beta build of Design Group Alpha's (DGA) newest livery in their series of Turbo Beaver kits. Wingspan is just about twelve inches. I spent about 20 hours building the kit. I added toothpick spars in the horizontal and vertical tail and stripwood spars in the wings. And I added an extra layer of cardstock to the rudders--probably the most fragile parts of the model. Otherwise, it's "straight out of the box." The kit should be available soon here. Other liveries are available now in both turbo and recip versions.

The floats were much easier to build than I expected. DGA's design provides a sturdy and good-looking float with a minimum of fuss.

I found the instructions generally very good. They were a bit vague in a few areas, but photos of the finished kit made up for it. As with all of the DGA Turbo Beaver kits, those photos will be posted and downloadable with the kits. The artwork is excellent, fit of the parts is good to excellent, and the finished model is eye-catching. The kit includes parts for floats, skis, and conventional landing gear.

I think I'll pick one of the other liveries and scale it up to 1/32.

"Sakrison Supply" from Carolina Craftsman Kits -- HO Scale Laser-Cut Wood

 A few years ago, I drew up a plan for a mill that I wanted to scratchbuild for my HO-scale model RR. I based it loosely on a diorama I'd seen on the Internet, and I shared the drawings on this site. I didn't get around to building it, but someone out there in the Chronosynclastic Infindibulum saw it and built it. Someone else saw the drawings or the build or both and contacted Jeff Grove, owner of Carolina Craftsman Kits to say, "Please, please, please offer this as a kit!"

Jeff contacted me, and I said, "Hell, yes!" and sent him the original drawings. This morning, in my mailbox was a copy of the CCC's latest kit -- "Sakrison Supply." As Andy Warhol once said, "Everyone gets 15 minutes of fame." I could do a lot worse. Thank you, Jeff! Thank you, Scott Alvord for a beautiful and inspiring test build! And thank you to all of you who begged for the kit.

 Here is my original drawing. (Feel free to share it.)

Here is Scott Alvord's outstanding test build of Jeff Grove's pre-release kit. (Wow!):

And here is the kit:

I guess now I really ought to build it.

Ma.K. (S.F.3.D) "Jerry" 1/20th Scale Plastic Model (Nitto)

I have mostly sworn off plastic models. This is a "shake the box" build from several years ago. The "Jerry" model stands about six inches tall. I'm guessing that it's a scout, lightly armed and fast-moving.

The Ma.K. gear fascinates me, but the prices for the models have gone through the roof. I'm still looking for paper models of the S.F.3.D fighting suits. So far, aside from a few scratchbuilds (with no kit offered), the only one seems to be for the "Snowman" Super Heavy Fighting Suit. Some kitbashing might be in order. 

So many projects, so little time!

Martin Baker M7 Ejection Seat, 1/12th Scale Paper Model

This was a challenging build due in part to some fit issues and to the instructions, which were often vague and occasionally wrong. Still, the results were worth the effort, if not exactly contest quality. At 1/12 scale, the seat stands 4½ inches tall. The build took about a week of evenings. The kit is available at ecardmodels.com.

U-Boat Type VII-C - 1/72-Scale Paper Model

The kit is designed by "Kooklik." It is an excellent kit with detailed construction drawings. The finished model is just over three feet long. I built it several years ago, and at the Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest held 19-20 May 2023 at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, my U-Boat received a Gold Award.

2023 Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest

The contest was held on 19-20 May at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc. I took six paper models for entry and one for display. I brought home six Gold Awards. The photos were taken by museum staff. These are the paper models I took to the contest. 

Click on any photo to zoom in.

Australian paddlesteamer Alexander Arbuthnot, 1:100 scale

Siluro a Lento Corsa Italian manned torpedo, 1:18 scale

Australian paddlesteamer Adelaide, 1:100 scale and New Bedford whaleboat, 1:30 scale

1:200-scale battleship Bismarck and 1:72-scale U-Boat Type VII-C

Contest models by other modelers:

•  photos by museum staff:  Photos - Google Drive

•  my photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/198476792@N04/albums

USS Cobia Gato-Class Fleet Submarine -- paper model - 1/50 scale

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” — Douglas Adams

     My "paper model" of the USS Cobia fleet submarine resulted from two factors:   too much time on my hands and too little adult supervision. The base is 5x7 inches, the periscope (rolled paper) is about 4 inches tall. The "water" is from an online texture library, and the wake is from a cotton ball. All told, it serves as a reminder to not take my hobbies (or myself) too seriously.

Australian Paddlesteamer "Adelaide" -- paper model 1/100 scale

Built in 1879 as a towboat on Australia's Murray River, the Paddlesteamer "Adelaide" today plies the Murray as tourist boat from Port Echuca, Victoria. She is the second oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer still operating anywhere in the world. While she mainly towed rafts of logs to a lumber mill, she did have some space for freight and a few passenger cabins.

Built in 1879 as a towboat on Australia's Murray River, the Paddlesteamer "Adelaide" today plies the Murray as tourist boat from Port Echuca, Victoria. She is the second oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer still operating anywhere in the world. While she mainly towed rafts of logs to a lumber mill, she did have some space for freight and a few passenger cabins.

The model is one of three Murray River paddlesteamers from World of Paper Ships, all in 1/100 scale. The kit comes printed on smooth card stock with excellent artwork.There are parts for two versions, a simplified model and a more detailed model. The latter includes detailed engine, pilothouse, and paddlewheels. The optional laser-cut set is a must if you want a truly detailed model.

The kit presents the boat as tourist boat. I wanted a working boat, so I omitted a few modern fittings and added some freight to the foredeck. I scratchbuilt the stand with "water" from an online texture library and texture papers from Clever Models.

At the Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest held 19-20 May 2023 at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, my Adelaide earned a Gold Award.

Siluro a Lenta Corsa -- Italian Manned Torpedo Paper Model - 1/18 Scale

 In 1935 two Italian naval engineers, Captains Teseo Tesei and Elios Toschi, proposed a manned submersible vehicle adapted from a standard naval torpedo. In the San Bartolomeo torpedo shops in La Spezi, they built and successfully tested two prototypes.

The Italian Navy called the submersible Siluro a Lenta Corsa (“slow-running torpedo”). Its poor maneuverability earned it the nickname Maiale (“pig”) among its crews. Each SLC carried one or two warheads and up to two hours of air for each crew member. It went into production in 1939. The Italian Navy built more than 50 SLCs before Italy signed its armistice with Allies in 1943.

Used only as coastal weapons, SLCs sank or damaged over 111,000 tons of merchant shipping and three British warships – battleships Valient and Queen Elizabeth and destroyer Jervis. They were often launched from submarines. And from a neutral Spanish port just two miles from the British naval base at Gibraltar, SLCs operated secretly out of an interned oil tanker, the Olterra, emerging from an underwater hatch -- a clandestine operation the British never discovered.

The model is a free download at www.papermodelers.com. I scaled it up from 1/25 to 1/18. The fit of the parts is very good and designer MATT77's artwork is excellent. His assembly diagrams and photos are helpful but require careful study, as several details that appear in the photos are not shown in the diagrams. I supplemented these with photographs and drawings from several online sources. I would call the level of difficulty 3/5. Building it took me about a week of evenings.

I added the control lines to the fins and some piping not included in the kit. I built the stand using cobblestone texture paper, and I scratch built the wood dolly from basswood and paper. The finished model is just over 13 inches long. The label on the base was modified from the kit.

At the Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest held May 19-20 at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, my Siluro a Lenta Corsa received a Gold Award. A lot of people commented on the outstanding "paint job." Hats off" to Matt77 for that. All I did was color the cut edges.paint job." Hats off to Matt77 for that. All I did was color the cut edges.

Russian "Aerosan RF-8" Paper Model, 1:35 Scale

 

"Aerosan" means "aero sleigh" in Russian. A variety of aerosan designs were built and used by Eastern European countries during the first half of the 20th century. But it was Russia that made the most use of these propeller-powered sleds.

The Aerosan RF-8 was built by the Gorky Automobile Factory under the name GAZ-98 and entered service in 1942. It was used in variety of roles including, recon, patrol, communications and raiding, often in support of ski troops and often behind enemy lines. Some 2,000 were built.

The GAZ-98 was powered by a GAZ truck engine. In the winter 1942-43, many of them were refitted with water-cooled inline aircraft engines and redesignated RF-8 or GAZ-98K.

They were built of plywood on a wooden frame, rode on independently sprung  wooden skis, carried a crew of two, and mounted a single 7.62 mm DT machine gun. The RF-8 was fast, stable, and effective in its various roles. It continued in service until 1950 for border patrol.

The model is a free download from Paper Diorama. I built this one as a gift for a friend who was a product engineer in the snowmobile industry. It's a nice little model and an easy kit to build.

McDonnell-Douglas F-15A Eagle Paper Model in 1/33 Scale

This is another of Yoav Hozmi's digital kits for Israeli jets. I reduced it from 1/30 to 1/33 scale, so it would fit on letter-size sheets. then built "out of the box." My only addition is the pilot, also made of paper. At 1/33 scale, this a large model, 22 inches long with a wingspan of 15 inches. The kit doesn't include landing gear, so it is displayed in flight. Yoav's kits are free downloads from the online forum papermodelers.com. 

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