Hi, Ya'll:
Just a wee warning here for those of you doing your first model in paper of a ship! Be VERY careful cutting on the marks designed to give shape to the stern like say, on the "Scharnhorst" or "Tirpitz" or some Liner. Especially those little wedge cutouts and the possibls curves in them! These set the shape correctly for that particular stern. Use a magnifier if you aren't sure of the wedges shape.
Here's a tip.
Get a sheet of craft foam and if it's, the darned thin sheets like I found at H.L. cut out three squares and glue them up in layers. using various sized wooden round beads shape the paper to the curves you need. Do not force this. Use the large beads first, These are about three eighths of an inch in diameter, Or you will wind up with creases in the hull sides!
Also:
Using that little spritz bottle just dampen the paper! It will shape better and the shape will come to be, Being damp, the paper will also dry to the curve you create. Also! And this is important! When Clamping this, to dry after applying glue. Do NOT clamp with out something between your clamps and the paper. parts are precolored and if they stick to the clamps, and when dry, when you try to remove them you will leave white fuzzy divots behind!
Believe it or not!
I use very light pressure alligator clips to clamp anything smaller then 1/200. They hold those weird edges together till dry. these joints do not overlap they are "Butt" joints, meaning edge to edge gluing. So this is a tender maneuver! You want them tight with no white paper streaks showing.The color they are printed in is not always coverable with a Sharpie.
The model of the S.S.United States I am working on right now for instance came out of the printers in a dark charcoal and not black! Luckily, I have a art marker set with the color in it! My Tirpitz though was Printed in exactly the same color as the Tamiya Acrylic for KreigsMarine Grey!
Note:
Sadly the wooden beads I got to replace my old ones could NOT be bought individually. So Three sizes of beads and the rest of the package just sits there, if no one you know wants wood beads for a project. Or glass beads(Which are more expensive, by the way) So, all in all they are an important part of a papermodelers list of tools though!
Another Note!
The item you can use to prevent sticking is the plastic bag the model came in. Cut some 2" strips, Half an inch wide, and put them on both sides or fold over so the clamp jaws come down on the plastic. The clamps will hold enough to keep the parts together even through the plastic. Using the "Alligator Clips " keeps the parts from slipping out of place! If a wee bit of glue shows through it will match the surface shape and you can use paint or a marker to cover it up!
Last item!
Keep the scissors you use separate from others(They shold be very fine point Fiskars) in the house and keep all tools clean. Your bending tools( Straightedges and special shaped tweezers) Especially. And check not once or twice or a third time to make sure your Embossing tool is exactly in the line you are embossing to fold toward or away from you. Otherwise you can have problems later in the .