Paper, cardboard paper and cardboard are used in all design phases (working, conceptual and design models), can be found in a timely manner and are economically, easy to handle and simple to model. In general, the following features must be taken into account: (our collection of material makes sense only if each material is assigned with its proper properties):

FORMAT – The most common size of the sheets is 70 x 100 cm. By successive partitions we get the smallest format, up to A4 (210 x 294mm). These formats overlap with various special formats.

FIBER’S SENSING – In all machine-made papers, the tiny fibres of the paper are oriented in the same direction as the material progresses through the machine during its development. That’s why it’s a bit stiffer in a direction perpendicular to manufacturing. The folds made in the parallel direction of the fibres are perfect; bending the paper in a direction perpendicular to the fibres sometimes breaks, especially when they are thicker. Like wood, the paper “works” better in the perpendicular direction of the fibres. Consequently, the fact that the water is wrinkled upon contact with the water and when drying does not get the right shape, it must be taken into account the bonding and painting. There are some dissolvent, such as nitrocellulose, that prevent paper from swelling.

WEIGHT – In trade, paper usually differs by its weight per square meter, for example, the thinnest paper for sketches is 25 g / m2, the machine writing paper is 80 g / m2, the book paper has 140 g / m2 . If it exceeds 180 g / m2, then the paper is dominated. An A4 sheet is the sixteenth of a square meter. If we overlap 16 sheets on a book weigh, we read the square meter. The carton is designed and processed according to its thickness.

WOOD CONTENT AND THE YELLOWING OF THE WOOD – During the paper making process, the raw material, wood, must be separated into its small cellular capillary vessels. This is done mechanically, turning it into a residue, or chemically (at a higher cost) in cellulose. The higher the cellulose content, the more resistant the paper is and the less sunlight through the action of the sunlight. It is called – wrong being said – paper without wood, that carton paper in the processing of which there no residue is left.

ADHESIVE – The paper is amazing (dry paper). To prevent paper and ink from being wiped off, add certain adhesives (such as white glue or usual glue) during the manufacturing process. The higher the adhesive content on a paper, the less the ink will fall. On transparent papers, the colour stays on the surface (and can spread) while the ink is absorbed in depth.

The most common types of paper and carton paper are:

  • Machine writing paper – It’s generally 80 g / m2 and can be found in 500-sheet A4 sheets of different quality. To build conventional models there must be used papers that, during the manufacturing, have no residues been added.
  • Draft paper – The thin paper for sketch drawings is engraved (30 cm wide and 200 m long = 1.5 kg) with a weight of 25 g/m2.
  • Painting paper (150 g/m2 and 175 g/m2) and carton paper (200 g/m2 and 300 g/m2) – White with residual content, generally possessing an amount of adhesive and its surface may be rigorous, brilliant or even very bright. Cartons are usually in 70 x 100 cm templates (medium size 50 x 70 cm) or 60 x 86 cm (average size 43 x 61 cm). Cartons, even thicker, are classified according to their thickness: simple = 0.5 mm; thick = 1.5 mm; very thick = 3 mm. Thick cartons (including cardboard or cardboard) can be cut and glued with great precision and accepts any type of colour applied both by hand and gun.

CARTONS – The cartons are distinguished from the cartons in their grey colour due to their recycled or brown paper content due to the high temperature residual contents.

The grey carton (cardboard) is the one used to make covers: it’s tough enough to curve, but should be cut with a sharp knife supported by a ruler (the brown leather cardboard is even more resistant). Cartons made from brown paper, once it has a thinner (or “seemingly thinner”) waste, is more brittle, less dense and can therefore be cut with a knife without the need to hold it against a ruler. For this reason, it is a highly appreciated material for building topographic models.

The most common format is 75 x 100 cm and even smaller sizes. The carton compares to its thickness starting from 0.5 mm to 4 mm. The cardboard made of wood-based sawing machines typically has a thickness of between 1.05 mm and 2.5 mm.

CARTONS FOR MACHINES CONSTRUCTION – There are cartons for the construction of different brands. They are very light, but quite resistant because they have a rigid foam core covered on both sides with cardboard paper. Easily cut with a cutter. This carton paper becomes yellow in time and therefore it is convenient to be painted or covered in some way. If the bonding and gluing is done at its end (it should be observed that the adhesive does not make the foam slip so that it is necessary to make test samples) the core of the foam is visible at the edges producing a disturbing effect (even if painted on top). Bifurcated assemblies can be made, too; but the most convenient is to cut the foam together with the coated paper of some parts, and this allows the paper to cover the other side of the second sheet.

The most used formats are 70 x 100 cm and 140 x 100 cm; the thickness is usually 3.5 mm or 10 mm. The most common carton of this type is known as Punchboard, sold by the brands Kapaline and Plumacolor.

CARDBOARDS WITH FOLDS – There are different qualities of folded cardboard. The folded carton can be in the collage on one or both sides of the flat paper sheet and consequently will be rigid or curved. There are also thicker sheets of different layers. With a good enough material to build the models of a land and rather light, but it is crushed because of an excessive load. The smaller the wrinkles, the more the material resists.

CORK PLATES –There are cork slabs in different tones, textures and thickness, both in DIY shops and shops specialised in soils and wall covering. There are plates of 100 x 150 cm and rolls of different widths; usually they have a thickness of between 1 and 5 mm

When purchasing the cork plates, special attention must be paid to the structure. If the cork beans are too big it disturbs the level of the construction machine. The plates used in the automotive (as insulating) or medical industry are very well suited to our final objectives.

Apart from the mentioned cartons, there is a whole range of similar products that, due to its colour, ease of modelling and rigidity, are very useful for building models such as bituminous carton etc.