Papercraft Tips

Category	Instructions
	What You’ll Need For your models, you’ll need a few 8-1/2" x 11" sheets of white, 67-pound Vellum Bristol. Most office supply stores carry it. One brand is Wausau Paper’s Exact® Vellum Bristol. If you can’t find the Vellum Bristol, use smooth paper from an artist’s pad that’s about the thickness of a post card. Or, try your local print shop and ask for Post Card stock. For instruction booklets, the regular paper you use in your printer is fine.
	General Printing Information The FLY’N THINGS™ PDF files have been tested with an HP LaserJet III, a LaserJet III/Adobe Postscript™, and a Canon BJC-800 CMYK color printer, running under Windows 3.1 and 3.11. and MS-DOS 6.x. The fine-line quality will depend on the resolution of your particular printer. And, some versions of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, like Version 1.0 for DOS, may not support all printers. Or, support some, like color bubble-jets, for monochrome-only printing. All sheets have been sized to allow extra margin for some ink-jet printers, like the HP Deskjets, that need extra space at the bottom of the sheet. Model sheets in both black-and-white and color are provided so you can use your present printer. The color sheets are set for the Canon BJC-800 CMYK color ink-jet printer. For other color printers you may need to set the printer’s driver to “darker” to get the best colors. Or, if using a driver that has “screen match” capability, reduce the monitor intensity for a darker printout. See your printer manual for detailed information. When printing card stock on any printer, make sure you follow the maker’s instruction — check your printer manual. For some Ink Jets, you may have to “Help” it feed the paper. For most laser printers, open the back door and setup for a “straight-through” paper path. If your printer can’t handle the card stock, print the image on thin paper with a smooth finish, like Hammermill Laser Print. Then, laminate the paper to the card stock with a glue stick; Dennision’s brand works well. Or, print on paper and then use a copy machine to copy your printed image to the card stock.
	Printing Setup To print these models, setup your DEFAULT Windows Printer for LANDSCAPE mode, 8-1/2" x 11" paper, and high-quality printing. The samples are viewed/printed with Adobe Reader. Make sure you use the highest resolution for your printer. And, set to print the current page. The Adobe PDF printer control automatically centers the image on the printed page if you check the “Shrink To Fit” box. Please CHECK the printer-resolution setting in Adobe-Reader Print Dialog box before printing, as it overrides the printer control-panel’s settings!
	Please Note: The QUALITY of the printed image depends on the resolution of your printer. The paper-model Zero’s artwork and instruction sheets are in a vector format — NOT a Bitmap image. The higher the printer resolution, the better the printed image will be. If you have difficulty in printing, particularly colors, check that you are using the latest version of your color-printer driver. We have found that some print drivers, like the original 8-bit driver for the Canon BJC-800, can skip patches of color when printing from the Adobe Acrobat™ Reader.
	Cutting And Folding Parts Step 2 shows how to make a suitable cutting pad. Even the back of a paper tablet will work. You need a have a flat, smooth surface to cut and assemble on. And, make sure it’s thick enough so you don’t cut through and ruin your work table. We generally use on one of the new self-healing 11x17 inch cutting mats. Use a model knife, or even a small disposable type, with a triangular blade for cutting out the parts. If available, use the “scalpel” type knife as it has a thin blade. Small scissors are useful for cutting curves, like wing tips. A “straight” metal straight edge as a cutting guide makes it easy to trim parts to shape. For easy building, please follow our instructions: Score on the dashed lines, then cut out the parts.
	Cutting Boards The main thing is to have a flat, smooth surface to cut and assemble on. And, make sure it’s thick enough so you don’t cut through and ruin your work table. If you use heavy card stock, like the back of a tablet, just tape together several layers to get the thickness and rigidity needed. Plain transparent or masking tape is fine. We generally use on one of the new self-healing 11 x 17 inch cutting mats. It gives an excellent surface to cut on and the self-healing feature leaves a smooth surface after a cut is made. It’s also large enough to hold the model and its parts between building sessions. For models with small parts, tape a plastic bag to the end of your cutting board. Put ALL of the cutting scraps into this bag. If you accidentally should “throw away” a small part, just dig it out of the bag.
	Model Knives Use a model knife, even a small disposable type, with a triangular blade for cutting out slots and the parts. Or, a sharp single-edge razor blade will do. We find that the modeler’s version of the surgeon’s scalpel is an excellent tool. The thin, replaceable, blades give minimum edge distortion when cutting out paper parts. For easy building, please follow our instructions: Cut slots, score on the dashed lines, then cut out the parts. Model Knives.
	Special Scissors Small curved-blade scissors make it easy to cut curves, like wing tips. Here’s how to minimize distortion when cutting out parts. Cut along a part’s straight lines with your knife and a straight-edge guide. Then, with the scissors, make a rough cut about 1/8th inch larger than the curved portion. Trim to final size with the curved scissors.
	Cutting A Straight Line A metal straight edge as a cutting guide makes it easy to trim parts to shape. One of the center-handle metal straight edges, with one side beveled, makes it easy to align along the cutting line. If the straight-edge tends to slide when cutting out heavy-weight card stock, try putting a light coat of regular rubber cement on the bottom. When dry, this gives a non-skid surface. Or, even a couple of strips to paper masking tape will work.
	Folding The Parts One can just bend the parts on the dashed lines, but accurate assembly may suffer. It’s best to score along each dashed line. For many paper models, scoring on the printed surface can give flaking of the model’s “painted” finish. Score along the fold line on the BACK side of the part, prior to cutting it out. An easy way to transfer the line location is to make a pin hole at each end of the line just slightly past the part’s outline. Turn the part over, and score between the pin pricks Use care, especially with laser-printed parts, as the “color” tends to chip easily. HINT! An empty ball-point pen will still have a bit of ink. Some ink may come out from the heat of you hand. To by sure the pen is completely dry, close the air-vent hole with a drop of cement (the plastic “pencil-type” pens usually have the vent hole at the top end or under the eraser). If in doubt, make a pin hole at the end of each dashed line. Then, score on the back side of the part.
	Coloring Cut -Paper Edges For a more realistic model, color the cut edges of all parts before assembly. Use a colored marker pen or pencil around the edges. Make sure you test a marker pen on a scrap piece of paper from your model first. Some markers can “bleed” into the paper fibers, ruining the part’s finish.
	Glues & Cement The best method of gluing the wing and tail parts together is with an ordinary glue stick — Dennison’s brand works well. Remember, that paper absorbs water and warps; DO NOT LAMINATE THE WINGS AND TAIL WITH WATER-BASED GLUE! In all cases, weight down the laminated parts and let dry. The wing and tail parts must be perfectly flat. The so-called “Craft” glue is a thick type of water-based “white” glue. It dries clear. You can also use a very light coat of water-based “White” glue, like Elmers® brand, for assembly. Put some of this thin glue in a plastic lid, like one from a coffee can. Let the white glue dry a bit so that it become “tacky.” Apply to parts with a toothpick. Immediately wipe off any excess with a damp paper towel. Or, you might wish to try a model-type cement. We find that the Duco® brand of household cement works fine. It dries fast, but still has a reasonable working time letting you slide parts into final position. For any glue or cement, use small amounts to avoid warping the paper. If your printing and “colored ink” are waterproof, like from an Laser printer, use thick craft-type “white” glue for assembly — remove any that squeezes out from the joints with a damp paper towel or cotton swab If you can’t find the thick “craft-type” white glue, just squirt some of the regular stuff into a plastic coffee-can lid and let it thicken a bit. Apply with a toothpick. Do make sure that you test fit all parts before assembly. If your colors and printing aren’t waterproof, as with most Ink-Jet printers, we find that the Duco Brand of Household Cement — it’s much like model-airplane glue — works very well. It’s a bit thinner than regular model cement, giving a bit of “working” time to slide the parts into final position. The solvent in “Duco” DISSOLVES laser-printed images, so if you printed with a laser, use care! DO NOT USE THE “INSTANT” or so-called CRAZY GLUES!!

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