The scissors-and-paste model is the watercolour sketch in three dimensions

There are those among the modelling fraternity who profess to despise glue and card, paper and parcel-tape, paper-clips, pins and drinking-straws as the raw material from which to construct engineering models. I disagree entirely with this view, and I hope that in writing this book I may help to sway readers to my way of thinking.

The truth is, of course, that there is ample room for all points of view. The magnificent examples of model engineering, products of lathe, milling machine and sometimes years of skilled labour, may be likened to the great gilt-framed oil-paintings which dominate the walls of Art Galleries and ancestral homes; masterpieces, often, but sometimes a little oppressive to humble mortals like myself, who find it refreshing to leave them in their majesty and spend a while amongst the watercolours. Myself, I find watercolours easier to live with, greatly as, in theory, I admire the Reynolds and the Lanseer! And so it is with models. The scissors-and-paste model is the watercolour sketch in three dimensions. It conveys its message by suggestion and simple devices, it can catch the colour, shape and essential character of its subject, and please its beholder no less than the rivet-for-rivet and true-to-half-a-thou. masterpiece in gleaming steel and brass. Its cost, however, in time and material, is a mere fraction of its more elaborate counterpart, and to the man whose fingers itch to be making things, but whose circumstances rule out workshops and elaborate tools, this simple scissors-and-past craft can be a most satisfying answer, as I shall try to demonstrate in the following pages.

From the foreword to Cardboard Engineering with Scissors & Paste by G. H. Deason, Model Aeronautical Press Limited, 1958.

One thing I always find interesting about these old model building books are the records of their authors' philosophical musings on the craft. I hadn’t thought of drawing a parallel between card modelling, Deason’s scissors-and-paste genre, and watercolour painting. It’s intriguing, and certainly stands in stark contrast to mainstream thinking on what the craft’s about. There’s something about the phrase, it conveys its message by suggestion and simple devices, that I rather like. 

I think it would be mistaken to take the analogy between card models and watercolours too literally, but maybe there’s something to it. It reminds me of Casual-ization, and John Page’s observations that Bill Schopp’s models and layout didn’t seem to be built to the most exacting standards, but there was something compelling about them nevertheless. Mix in a little artistic stylization from Francis Lee Jacques, and maybe there’s an interesting old trail that needs to have the overgrowth cut back. Just don’t use a digital camera on your hike :-)

A Review of Architectural Models by Robert Forman

These latter [JDL: ‘latter’ meaning ‘architectural models’] have for many years been the almost exclusive province of card and paper, such models being used extensively by architects in the course of their profession, and these are really a special subject, rather outside the scope of these pages. For those readers who may be interested, an excellent little book on the elements of this craft is “Architectural Models”, by Robert Forman, published by Studio Press.

I ran across that statement in G. H. Deason’s 1958 book Cardboard Engineering with Scissors & Paste, published by Model Aeronautical Press Limited, when I was investigating mentions of ‘Fashion Board’ in old books about miniature building construction. Deason’s book is excellent, so I had to hunt down the one he recommended as an excellent little book on the elements of architectural modelling.

I found an inexpensive and well preserved copy online, but upon arrival I soon discovered what it had to say to be somewhat less than expected, even by the standards of the time it was published - that being 1946. In contrast, John Ahern’s article Madderport’s Buildings that appeared in the July 1942 issue of The Model Railway News is a good example of the beautiful models achievable in that era.

The book itself is a little 64-page gem. It’s full of beautiful line drawings and well written text. The problem seems to be the book is a somewhat simplified overview of the subject, and it never seems to settle on who it’s written for. The dust jacket blurb mentions the book is suitable for children, but once inside the text focuses on the needs and uses of architects, architectural students, and various other professions and students. I don’t think the construction examples and explanations would well serve any of those audiences.

The venerable wall strip technique is shown on the left-hand page - that could be the children's part.

By 1958, when Deason’s book was released, a number of better books on constructing miniature buildings had been published in England: Modelled Architecture by P. R. Wickham in 1948 and Miniature Building Construction by John Ahern in 1950 to name two. Thomas Bayley’s Model Making in Cardboard, which deals almost exclusively with miniature buildings, was also published in 1958, and although quite good, it seems unreasonable to expect Deason to have mentioned it for timing reasons. The point is that by 1958 there were better books on miniature building construction available. Maybe Deason and Forman were friends? Or maybe miniature buildings wasn’t something Deason kept up-to-date on? Who knows? These are more of those unanswerable questions.

And what about recommended materials? The book isn’t focused exclusively on card, but in the materials chapter it mentions: Various papers and cardboard are used, ranging from strawboard to Whatman. I assume Whatman is a brand name of a cardboard, and is being bandied about in the same manner that Strathmore often is by some writers when referring to their Bristol board products. Bristol board is mentioned a few places in the text, as for making window frames, but is not called out in the materials section.

One last thing. Take a look at the following spread:

The so-called American bubble house is shown in the upper left.

I hadn’t heard of an American bubble house, so off to the internet I went. It turns out in the early 1940s there was a Los Angeles based architect, Wallace Neff, who invented a type of semi-spherical house by spraying gunite over an inflatable form such that when the concrete was dry the form could be deflated and removed leaving a dome-like structure behind. What you see in the drawing is a fairly close representation. So, I guess the book was fairly advanced in showing the reader how to model one of those houses.

And then there’s this weird association. Neff? Neff? Where have I heard that name before? Yes, in my favourite movie, 1944's Double Indemnity. Walter Neff was the main character, played by Fred MacMurray. Wallace Neff, Walter Neff? Odd. The movie was based on a 1943 book of the same name written by James M. Cain, but in the book the lead character was called Walter Huff. So, Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder changed the name from Huff to Neff, the last name of our bubble house architect, who by the way was quite famous and made his fortune designing houses for Los Angeles’ elite. Coincidence? Probably, but Architectural Models doesn’t say :-)

Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy...

... especially if they're in your head*.

I keep thinking about the various details I should add to the ground floor. Support columns here, shelves there, a workbench in the corner, and on and on. 

But I realized the project has gone on a little too long and decided to just glue up the walls and elevator-floor insert and get on with original plan: creating a removable roof and detailing the second floor.

After a little more trimming and fitting on the interior insert, I glued up the whole shebang.

That upside-down tobacco can is an item from my father's workshop filled with nuts and bolts just as he left it. Makes for a fine weight for holding stubborn parts while glue sets. In this case it's sitting on top of the elevator shaft to hold it square to the floor and walls.

Elastic bands hold the corners together.

The model was left this way for a day to allow the glue to fully set.

Once dry I had a good look at the foundation and realized the brick pilasters didn't have concrete bases, so I added some made from 0.030" thick styrene strips. 

Afterwards, the concrete caps were glued to the tops of the walls, and a lot of touch-up painting was done to the foundation, wall caps, walls, and window sills.

The next step will be to install the removable roof.

Take it easy and stay tuned.

*with apologies to the Eagles :-)

Ironmasters of Upper Canada

I was surprised to find this documentary on the history of the Marmora ironworks featured at the Marmora Heritage Foundation's website in honour of Marmora's 200th anniversary this year. It's a little on the long side, but there's lots of interesting information in there. 

If you're a regular here you may recall that last year I searched around for the location of some old speeder sheds in Marmora and Havelock. I decided to send my location question to Anne Philpot at the MHF. She generously responded and sent my question off to some local experts. She also sent me these interesting links to photos of old Marmora railway structures: The Central Ontario Railway and the Marmora Station and News from the Train Station. In amongst the photos is one of a rather intriguing water tank, and another of one of the boxiest freight warehouses I've ever seen.

Hobbs’ Choice…of materials

46 year old Mineral City Depot model in card with balsa bracing

Galen wondered in the comments section of the review of Pictorial House Modelling by Edward W. Hobbs if Hobbs recommended any materials we might consider unusual. I didn’t think he did, but I decided to go back and have another look. Here’s a list of Hobbs’ recommended materials along with some one-liners about what he  suggests using them for:

Bristol board

2-ply for small models like those in 1/8” = 1’ scale; 4-ply for larger works; although various plies can be used in different situations.

Bristol board seems to have been around forever as a primary model making material, but as with all manufactured things, it was invented at some point in time. Looking around the internet the short story appears to be that it was first made in Bristol, England (I’m not sure by what company) sometime around 1800; however, it wasn’t named in honour of Bristol the city, but after Frederick Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol. Strathmore’s 500 series Bristol board, which is a mainstay of cardboard structure modelling and the one I like to use, was invented in 1893 by the equally old Strathmore Paper Company that was founded in 1892 in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Apparently Bristol board was the second paper product the company manufactured. There are lots of Bristol board manufacturers, and everyone seems to have their favourite, but the key here is that it’s been around in one form or another for 200+ years. Given its high quality, it isn’t surprising that Bristol board has long been a preferred modelling material.

Fashion board

A lower cost, and somewhat lower quality, substitute for Bristol board.

I don’t know what this is other than the book says it’s cheap, not as white as Bristol board, and spongy. I’ve looked through my old books on making miniature buildings and I find mention of Bristol board substitutes such as strawboard, ticket board, pasteboard, pulpboard in many of them, but only saw ‘fashion board’ mentioned in Wickham’s 1948 Modelled Architecture, which noted that it, along with ‘watercolour board’, are artists’ materials, being high-quality cards faced on one or both sides with papers of various texture. 

What seems to me the most interesting non-Bristol board cardboard for miniature buildings, at least as far as story is concerned, is ‘International Pasteboard’ that Chris Pilton mentions he used to build the models in his 1987 book, Cottage Modelling for Pendon: 

The material which I use for making Pendon buildings was bought in Bristol in 1941 by Pendon’s founder, Roye England, just before the shop was destroyed by enemy bombing. He bought £10 worth, which in those days meant a good large stock ever since. Although bought in Bristol, the card was not in fact Bristol board (apparently its skin is too brittle). It was apparently called ‘International Pasteboard’ and came in sheets varying in thickness from 0.2mm to 0.75mm.

Whether it’s fashion board or some other product, it looks like Bristol board has always been a pricey material, and most writers have had to mention some reasonable quality, lower cost alternatives. 

Mounting board

Their textures can make them useful in special situations.

Plaster of Paris, Plasticene, Playwax, Sealing Wax

Could be used to make entire models or parts of them.

Necol

A type of plastic wood.

Pine, mahogany, or oak

For bases.

Strip-wood

Species and sizes aren’t specified.

Fine sand or emery powder

For roads and paths.

Small pieces of slate or stone

For scenes needing rocks.

Small pieces of mirror or waved glass in blue or green

For representing water

Sponges or loofahs

For modelling vegetation.

Flock or flock wallpaper

For covering surfaces like lawns or fields. Hobbs notes that flock is hard to obtain except near cotton mills.

Seccotine, LePages, Croid

These are glues.

Oil, watercolour, or poster paints

Poster for cardboard models; Oil for wood or plaster models; Watercolour for small models.

It’s important to keep in mind the book was published in 1926 in England, and so it deals in brandnames and materials that were common then and there. However, the list doesn’t seem that odd reading it here in Canada close to 100 years after publication.  After substituting a few modern brandnames and materials, it could be used as a list for shopping the internet. Although, you’d be missing out on many modern developments.