World's Largest Collection of Paper Models!
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THE GOAL & PURPOSE; To offer everyone, anywhere, inexpensive hands-on creative modeling adventure-airplanes and buildings-(mostly airplanes because I just love 'em). WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM; SELLING PAPER SCULPTURE; HELLO!!... COMPUTER AND THE INTERNET...I STILL believe it was invented solely for the purpose of creating and, more importantly, distributing paper models. Creating is simple to explain... With a computer one's able to design a paper model that fits and goes together perfectly. Marketing is another matter. Paper models are one of the few products that can be 100% virtual . They're displayed and delivered (within seconds and worldwide) to the end user entirely electronically. Buying: Say you're interested in the P-51 Mustang and key up on the word 'P-51 Mustang'. You soon discover that there is darn nice little paper model of this aviation treasure and that it's just $2.00. Hard to refuse, isn't it.?? So you click on the 'BUY' button and automatically that model is electronically dropped in to your cyber shopping cart and you browse on. (for simplicity, we won't dwell on the fact that this little shopping cart exercise is actually happening on an entirely different web site) . When you're done shopping you press 'check out', your models are totalled up and you're asked for your credit card number and it had BETTER BE RIGHT! hehehe. The site is, of course, quite secure. Seconds later, you're downloading your models to your 'puter's hard drive. Press 'print' and quick, reach for your exacto knife. No need to be worried, because if you goof up, simply print another. Print three in different sizes for a killer diorama. Be naughty, and print one for your friend.... Be real naughty and try and selling one on ebay! WEB SITE CONTENT: CD ROM: LASTLY,... THE MAGIC KEY to free models: With every new model release, Fiddlers Green sends out an email to the proud and valued CD owner telling him where to find his new model on the internet. This is simply a BLUE hot link he can click on and wait a few minutes till the download is complete. ANNUAL MAGIC KEY SUBSCRIPTION: FAQs: ADVANCED FIDDLERS GREEN MODELING: http://www.fiddlersgreen.net
Paper Model Airplanes Traveling at the Speed of Light An old hobby is returning with a vengeance via the internet The earliest known paper models are believed to be boats made from papyrus by the Egyptians and were placed in the sarcophagi next to the mummies to help them crossover into the next life. The Japanese have made elegant origami paper constructions for centuries. Papermodeling, however, declined sharply in the 1950's when plastic models became popular... but that's all changing now. The Internet has not only made it possible for paper modelers come together as a fraternity, but also, is increasing interest in this remarkable hobby. All you need is a color printer and access to the internet to obtain HUNDREDS of free models of airplanes, spacecraft, cars, railroad models, buildings and flowers. Using the keywords, you can surf into the world of paper modeling. With two or three clicks, (and before you can find your glue and scissors!), you'll see a bright yellow Piper Cub crawling out of your printer just pleading to be assembled. Or build a miniature English Cottage, or even a Jaws hand puppet. (List of free models and paper modeling FAQs at: http://www.cardfaq.org) FREE Models?! Something's fishy here.. what's the catch? Now, anyone, anywhere can get paper models delivered in minutes directly to their printer over the internet. You'll soon be adicted with a few free bees and then want to go on to bigger and better things. Prices are very reasonable, costing just a dollar or two per model. A big advantage is the fact that there are no foreign money conversions for models from abroad, no middle-persons, and no waiting to get started. Share them with a few friends? The model producers prefer that your friends to buy their own, but ... Tom Marlar, modeler in Florida, says: The concept of selling models in the form of data files is, in my opinion, a great idea for we builders and hopefully will make a little profit for the designer/seller. It really took all the pressure off when building, knowing I could reprint and correct my mistakes (and I made a ton of them). Having direct contact, via e-mail, with the designer meant that if I found a problem with the fit or design I could get a rapid response and resolve my difficulty in very little time'. Tim Ryan, modeler in Pennsylvania, says: 'It's great to see the cutting-edge efforts being made these days. This is the future for this hobby. I can download, print and start building a state-of-the-art airplane kit of the first quality in a matter of minutes. Not only this, but the very nature of the medium combined with computer technology begs for the option of variety. By this, I mean that a particular aircraft model can be offered in many different color/camouflage schemes. Offering these designs in electronic form means that a supplier does not need to keep mounds of inventory in stock.' Digital models are making inroads into paper model mail order businesses who are finding it easier to 'Print from Disk' under license, rather than buying the traditional way. 'It really eliminates a lot of messy supply side hassles", says Lou Dausse, of Paper Models International, Beaverton, Oregon. 'We fill quite a few of our orders by printing directly from our laser printer.' (pmidausse@home.com) A CD rom holds 640 MB of information which is more than enough for even 20 of the biggest models. You can buy an entire ship on a CD from http://www.digitalnavy.com and print parts as you need them. One of the cutting edge Cybermodel web sites, (http://www.paperparadise.com), invites you to email a free J3 Piper Cub model to a friend over their very busy web site. Another, (http://www.fiddlersgreen.net), shows off in great detail 160 downloadable digital airplane display models- even offering them on a CD rom to save the modeler downloading time. The content rich dedicated web site helps the modeler with his project and while he's waiting for the glue to dry, he can read up on the history of the airplane he's building. Bundled into the CD are black and white versions allowing the modeler to create models with his own unique markings. Also included are model display stands, aerodrome hangers, and impressive downloadable backgrounds for use in photographing the finished models. Taking it one step further, Fiddlers Green includes with their CD, a 'Magic Electronic Key' which just might prove to be the ultimate model delivery vehicle. As new models are published, they're hidden in a secret file on the FG web site and the url is emailed to the registered CD owners as an update to the basic CD. The URLs are changed from time to time and remailed for security reasons. Surveys tell us that TV watching is on the decline, but the surf's definitely up in the cyber-hobbyworld. Paper models delivered by the internet are just one more way computers are influencing the way we spend our leisure time. A Grandfather's Story... from John Wiegman- Feb 12, 01) (samwidge@in-tch.com) It all started as I watched Bub, my six-year-old grandson folding paper."Ah!" I said, "You're doing some of that Japanese art. Oregon, isn't it.?"He gave me a disgruntled look and then we laughed. "Grandpa, I'm not in a mood to be teased." he said, "If we have
to go to space but we don't know how, then we need to start experimenting,
don't we? I can't fault the little guy's logic. In fact, by the time that Grandma announced lunch, we had built and launched more than 30 elegant aircraft. Made from ordinary 20-pound copy paper, they were folded, unfolded, decorated, re-folded, flown, payloaded, balanced and re-flown many times. It is a treat to watch lofty arcs span a living room. We made
targets. We put circles of blocks on the floor to mark the confines
of our acrobatics. We took a break for onion soup and toast followed by butter-brickle ice cream. After lunch Bub grabbed my hand and tugged me to the computer. Typing "paper planes" we found a compendium of great designs. The most amazing of these was Fiddlers Green, http://www.fiddlersgreen.net. At Fiddlers green we were launched into a completely new paradigm. These paper planes were three-dimensional. We downloaded two samples, a Piper J3 and a Mig15. Bub and I were transported to a world where paper planes were models that looked as practical and realistic as anything made of wood or plastic. The designs are simple to build. We learned about science from these paper "craft" (double-meaning intended). We learned about dihedral. We learned about airfoil. We discovered the remarkable structural integrity of paper. We learned how wood (paper) can be made stronger and more useful than similar weights of steel! We learned the weight specifications of paper. We were introduced to the mysteries of drafting. We found history. We found joy! A nice article about us
by editor Bob Pierson Unfolding The Paper Model Market By Mark Lardas June 2003
"I was a one-man shop for years," Fyn said. "But I've added three full-time workers since 2000: two to handle orders, one to run the website." How to Sell Growth is largely bypassing many retailers, however. One of the few traditional retailers selling paper models, Village Hobbies in Austin, TX, has sold paper models for 15 years and reports solid sales without significant recent growth.
Dausse pegs customer unfamiliarity. "Retailers see my finished models at a trade show," says Dausse. "Impressed, they order kits. Then the unmade kits sit on their shelves. They never reorder." So how can a storefront retailer cash in? It takes work. Put effort into marketing. Make models to show customers what finished models look like. Give away samples: a $1 or $2 model is a cheap way to generate interest. Look for manufacturers with CD-ROMs of models, which give merchants better margins and customers more models. Many manufacturers are individual designers that prefer direct mail or do not understand wholesaling, preferring to offer their products directly over the web.
Chip Fyn has the solution. "Retailers could sell Fiddler's Green models through virtual stores linked to my site through a retailer's home page," he says. "We could both make money without physical inventory. I cannot sell the idea to retailers, though." Interested? It may be opportunity knocking.
A Journey into
Paper Modeling Time for a little background. When I was a kid, I used to build plastic airplane models, which helped to contribute to my parent's debt load. Sorry Mom & Dad. I wasn't very good at it either. When I got older, I got better at it. Unfortunately, there is still the problem of paint and glue fumes and trying to recover from mistakes and broken parts. Back when I had my Tandy 1000 computer, I found a really neat program called "The Toy Shop". You could print out and make real working toys from paper. This was my first introduction to paper models and helped pass many long hours at sea. A few years ago, I was doing my usual prowling around websites. I found that people were now publishing models that you could download or buy on CD. I gave them a try. They were just complex enough to keep my interest yet easy enough to still be fun. I started to collect them. Right now I've got enough to keep me going till 2007. Anyway, here are a few I've done. Chance Vought F4U Corsair - In my humble opinion, the best carrier-based
aircraft of World War II. The idea: Take the largest engine you
can lay your hands on and wrap the smallest airframe you can around
it. The unique "Gull Wing" was necessitated by the huge Pratt
& Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine. By bending the wings, the
main gear could be made shorter even with the large-diameter propeller
required. Unfortunately, the huge engine also made forward visibility
poor at low speeds, making carrier landings even more difficult.
Because of this, early Corsairs were land-based. None of the problems
were insurmountable and Corsairs were deployed to the fleet, serving
into the Korean war. Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen - The best example
of the underestimation of the Japanese by western forces. It was
believed at the time that all Japanese weapons were knock-offs
of western designs or "rice paper and bamboo". The Zero-Sen proved
faster and more maneuverable than any other carrier-based plane
at the time. It also packed more firepower than any of the aircraft
it was up against. This was a winning combination at the beginning
of the war. Unfortunately, the lack of armor, better US aircraft
and tactics later in the war proved to be it's downfall. Mikoyan
Gurevitch MiG-15 - UN forces in Korea were unpleasantly surprised
when these started appearing above the battlefield. Lightweight
and maneuverable, it easily outclassed the fighters and bombers
of the UN forces, which were still largely propeller-driven. Germany
had deployed the ME-262 late in the war, and the Allied powers
were working on jet designs of their own, but they were primitive
compared to the MiG-15. The Soviets were able to leapfrog ahead
using a captured German design and a copy of an English engine.
The resulting aircraft was at least equal if not superior to any
other aircraft of it's time. North American F-86 Sabre - The great
equalizer of the Korean War, the F-86 was the only aircraft in
the UN arsenal that could keep up with the MiG-15. There is still
much debate about which is the better aircraft. The F-86 was larger,
faster and more advanced than the MiG, but was lacking in firepower.
Pilots loved the aircraft and claimed it knew what they wanted
to do before the pilot did. German A4 (Aggregat 4) - The
world's first guided ballistic missile and the progenitor of the
space race. Both sides utilized the A4 and it's creators to advance
their own missile programs. Some of the German scientists, led
by Wernher von Braun escaped to the west along with as much data
as they could carry. Those who chose to remain behind went to
work for the Soviets. Both sides captured assembled A4s and components.
Many A4s made test flights from the US and the Soviet Union. The
data gained by these flights was used in building advanced boosters.
Several currently used Russian and US boosters can trace their
ancestry back to the original A4 design. Click on the picture
to see a closeup of the tail section.
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