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Cardboard for Dioramas?

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  • Member since
    November 2005
Cardboard for Dioramas?
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 27, 2004 5:15 AM
Made a cardboard mock up for my first dio attempt, and now i am wondering if i cant just use cardboard as my construction medium. It seems fairly solid and is easy to work with. Has anyone tried this and if so what are the pitfalls?Any advice and or comments would be greatly appreciated.Question [?]
  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Newport News VA
Posted by Buddho on Saturday, March 27, 2004 7:40 AM
I started on a 1/72 scale dio with 4 ruined houses and cardboard worked out fine. I glued two layers of 1/8 " thick corrugated cardboard together, covered the walls with spackle and balsa strips to simulate a bavarian style on the outside and that was as far as I got!

Dan

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 27, 2004 12:19 PM
Something you might want to keep in mind with cardboard is that it can warp if it gets wet or is put under stress. I was building the roof of a building out of cardboard a while back and was really happy with the way it turned out, only to find the next morning that the whole roof had twisted over night when the glue dried.

Certainly you can use cardboard, I've done so successfully on some projects, just be sure not to ask too much from it. Have fun, and good luck Smile [:)]
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 27, 2004 3:17 PM
Hi neudog,

I am finding out as I build my first diorama that there is not anything that is off limits to use for whatever you are constructingBig Smile [:D]

The end result is what you are looking forSmile [:)]

I agree with wrbridge as you have to be careful with cardboard but other than that, cardboard comes in many sizes, shapes and types of materialApprove [^]

So, knock yourself out and have funBig Smile [:D]

Richard
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by mark956 on Saturday, March 27, 2004 4:03 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by boybuddho

I started on a 1/72 scale dio with 4 ruined houses and cardboard worked out fine. I glued two layers of 1/8 " thick corrugated cardboard together, covered the walls with spackle and balsa strips to simulate a bavarian style on the outside and that was as far as I got!

Dan

Sign - Ditto [#ditto] I agree with Dan.
mark956
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 9:11 AM
I am an architecture student so I have built quite a few models using cardboard. As it happens my final thesis is also about using scale models in architectural design and presentation.

Cardboard is a great material. It exists in various thicknesses, it´s cheap and easy to work with. You can build very intricate detail using cardboard, provided it is thin enough. I used 0.5mm cardboard to build a 1:200 spiral staircase once.

However, the problem is (as previously stated) that it may warp if exposed to moisture from glues, paints etc. The corrugated kind (the material cardboard boxes are made from) is especially sensitive. What you can do to minimise the warping is to close the poures of the material by spraypainting it with a base coat.

Often it is the glue you use that causes the warping. This is due to the fact that normal white woodworkers glue has resin particles suspended in water. The water is soaked up by the cardboard which then warps as moisture is absorbed. What you need to do is use an adhesive that is not water based. Bookbinder glue is often recommended.

You should also consider that cardboard often is not thick enough for a wall in 1:35. Therefore, I would recommend using a polyurethane sheet which is layered between two sheets of cardboard, often used in large architectural models. If you remove the cardboard or sections of it, you can scribe patterns (bricks)into the polyurethane or make shell holes etc.
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Montreal/Canada
Posted by JohnReid on Thursday, April 1, 2004 7:56 AM
To solve the warping problem simply seal the cardboard using spray laquer.Cheers! John.
Guide my hand in your work today.JWRR. My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. My Photoshop: http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/
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