Cardboard model making
Cardboard model making is the construction of models out of cardboard and paper . In English-speaking countries and Japan, the term "papercraft" ['peipəkra: ft] (English "paper craft") is common. Mainly cardboard model ships , airplanes and architectural models are built, but vehicles, locomotives and spaceships are also built.
General
As a rule, standing models are made. However, functional models are also possible through appropriate constructions. The models are mostly made from large-format cardboard sheets with a weight of around 170 grams per square meter. The individual components have been broken down into two-dimensional flat components by the model designer and must be joined together to form a three-dimensional model by folding and gluing. The construction is supported by instructions or exploded views . The most common form is the model building sheet. This consists of several printed cardboard sheets. Self-construction of models is less common. Today this is usually only used in the field of architecture to produce individual models of buildings.
The two old terms modeling arches and construction arches - used until the first half of the 20th century - precisely describe that it is not just about cutting paper, but also about building three-dimensional models with the parts produced in this way. The expression “handicraft sheet” is popular, but in terms of the limited creativity of given models, the expression is rather inadequate. The most appropriate expression for cardboard models is undoubtedly the model construction sheet: it expresses the object to be produced (model), the required work process (construction) and the actual material form (sheet) in a neutral form.
Due to the materials used, model making does not require any complex tools. A knife , scissors and glue are all you need to get started . Cardboard model making is therefore also suitable for familiarizing children and young people with model making. It is also much older than plastic model making and more common in some countries. The kits are either already printed and partly provided with "aged" coloring, which means that the painting work as usual with plastic models is no longer necessary, but there are also download models that can be printed out in any scale. However, other materials such as sewing thread , nylon , metal or wood are also used for detailing .
history
The earliest representation of a cardboard model is in the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg. It is a sundial crucifix by Georg Hartmann and is dated to the first third of the 16th century. Another early representation of a cardboard model are the table supplements designed by Hans Döring in 1544/45 to the “Description of the War” by Count Reinhard zu Solms. The oldest forerunners of the model building sheets are the picture sheets. These have been known as pilgrimage or holy images since the 14th century . In the course of time, secular motifs were also depicted on these picture sheets. They reached their climax with the Neuruppiner picture sheets . Another intermediate form to the model construction sheet was the demonstration sheet, which was later often used in school lessons. The cut-out sheets combined the contents of the illustration sheet with an occupation. Further forms of development are the stand-up arches , dress- up dolls and paper theaters .
Until the middle of the 19th century, the few model building sheets or model building instructions were only used to illustrate certain buildings or facts. The first commercial model building sheets were made in London in the late 1840s. One of the pioneers was JV Quick. He printed u. a. a model sheet of the Shakespeare house in Stratford-upon-Avon . On the continent there was Karl-Friedrich Fechner from Guben , who started production around 1850 and mainly delivered to Great Britain.
At the end of the 1850s, several publishers in France and Germany began producing model building sheets. Up until the 1950s, cardboard model kits dominated the market in the model making sector. Due to the simple production and the therefore low price, the sheets could be sold in large numbers. They mainly served the instruction and education of schoolchildren and young people. With the advent of plastic model making, cardboard models lost their importance and became a niche product. Many publishers had to stop their production due to declining sales.
An upswing in cardboard model making has only been recorded since the 1990s. The possibility of downloading model building sheets from the Internet as well as printing them out on color laser printers have further increased the opportunities for dissemination. Thanks to improved construction methods ( CAD ) it is now possible to construct cardboard models much more accurately than before. With the help of the computer it is easier to calculate the development of models and textures of model photos often make the models appear very lifelike. With the simple possibility of disseminating templates over the Internet, a paper model building scene has developed which, in addition to classic architecture and vehicle models, is also dedicated to the construction, development and creative design of fantasy and decorative objects.
The limits of the level of detail are now only limited by the skills of the model maker and the material properties of the paper. Ship models on a scale of 1: 250 with over 7,000 individual parts are offered. The spectrum of models offered today ranges from buildings (churches, museums, houses) to ships, planes, locomotives and spaceships. The main focus is now on the technical bow, especially ship and airplane models. Cardboard sheets sometimes achieve a higher level of detail and a more lifelike depiction of the original than plastic models, which are far more expensive. With accessories and additional parts, this creates an alternative to plastic models in static model making. Cardboard model making is therefore a highly dynamic variant of the model making scene.
Museum collections
- JF Schreiber Museum, Esslingen am Neckar
literature
- Dieter Nievergelt: Architecture made of paper. Musée Historique de Lausanne, Lausanne 2000, ISBN 2-9515033-2-6
- Working Group History of Cardboard Model Making (AGK) e. V .: On the history of cardboard model making. No. 1-16
- Katharina Siefert: palaces, tanks, pop-up books. Paper worlds in 3D. Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe 2009, ISBN 978-3-937345-33-8 (museum edition)
- Siegfried Stölting: Ships made of paper. Hauschild, Bremen 2005, ISBN 3-89757-280-X
- Barbara Hornberger, Dieter Nievergelt: Hubert Siegmund - Master of Cardboard , Scheuer & Strüver , Hamburg 2005, DNB 976966492
- Alvar Hansen: Building paper models . Aue-Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-87029-268-7
- Dieter Nievergelt (Ed.): 90 Years of Swiss Model Arches: The Pedagogical Publishing House of the Teachers' Association Zurich (1919–2009) . Zurich 2009.
- Dieter Nievergelt (Ed.): From the second to the third dimension: 500 years of building with cardboard . Möckmühl 2015, ISBN 978-3-87029-346-8 .
Web links
- "History of Cardboard Modeling Working Group e. V. (AGK) "with an extensive database (over 19,000 model building sheets)
- Page with crafting tips and information
- Card Modeling FAQ (mirrored site)
Individual evidence
- ↑ To be more precise: The model building sheet is dated “Anno obsidionis”, which refers to the siege of Vienna in 1529 . Wolfgang Brückner: The language of Christian images (= cultural-historical walks in the Germanic National Museum . Volume 12 ). Verlag des Germanisches Nationalmuseums, Nuremberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-936688-44-3 , p. 140–141 with ill. 129 .