Working With Cardboard

[Steel_Wind]

My experiences with ink jet printers and the nature of how those inks run when exposed to even small amounts of water is not a happy one.

I have personally destroyed not one - not two - but three ink jet printers by using third party inks and refills. Sorry. Never again. Hell - they clog when using their own inks if you do not use them regularly (and I tend not to as I use a laser for general printing).

All of the above makes me a laser fan in general and a color laser fan for this sort of work in particular. Highest quality image, permanent ink that resists smudging and does not deform when exposed to water (which glue contains). What's not to like if you can get the cost down?

I would agree that printing at Kinkos for this sort of project is insanely expensive. That is why purchasing a color laser as outlined above seems the best solution for me.

 

[D'karr]

My experiences with ink jet printers and the nature of how those inks run when exposed to even small amounts of water is not a happy one.

I have personally destroyed not one - not two - but three ink jet printers by using third party inks and refills. Sorry. Never again. Hell - they clog when using their own inks if you do not use them regularly (and I tend not to as I use a laser for general printing).

All of the above makes me a laser fan in general and a color laser fan for this sort of work in particular. Highest quality image, permanent ink that resists smudging and does not deform when exposed to water (which glue contains). What's not to like if you can get the cost down?

I would agree that printing at Kinkos for this sort of project is insanely expensive. That is why purchasing a color laser as outlined above seems the best solution for me.

I guess this becomes different strokes for different folk.

I use ink refill cartridges exclusively for printing Cardstock Models. I also have regular cartridges for when I need to print something on "high ink" setting. Can accidents happen and water get on them? Yes. I, however, have never had it happen so the occurence becomes a very low "blip" on the radar. So I don't look at it from that perspective.

If I had $300+ just lying around I would probably still not get a Color Laser Printer. It would have to be an absolute neccessity for me to do so. At this point, no matter how much I print Cardstock Models, none of it is a necessity. It is still a hobby.

All of my hobby purchases fall into the "hobby" budget so even the printer would have to fit into that category. All my purchases are into the thousands of dollars. However, none of them individually probably cost more than $80. I think the most expensive one is my miniatures case and that probably cost $80, and I was miffed about paying that much.

Could I save some money each month to cover a purcahse like that? Absolutely. However, that is still not the point. For me something like that is too expensive as a "hobby" purchase.

YMMV.

I've printed several cardstock models, including The Maiden, on a Color Laserjet printer at work. I agree that the colors are more vibrant, overall a beautiful effect. If I have the opportunity to print some more I'll do that. Meanwhile, my ink refill cartridges offer a very "inexpensive" alternative that works very well.

 

[Conaill]

I have personally destroyed not one - not two - but three ink jet printers by using third party inks and refills. Sorry. Never again. Hell - they clog when using their own inks if you do not use them regularly (and I tend not to as I use a laser for general printing).

One more note on inkjet printers, for those of you considering your printing options: Don't buy the ones where the print head is part of the printer! That way you'll never have to worry about running into those type of problems.

Most injet printers these days have the print head included in the ink cartridge, so if you do get a clog that can't be solved using the printer's cleaning routine or some warm water, you can just get a new cartridge.

Most cartridges will easily last for 3 or more refills, or the equivalent of several reams of paper.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Thanks again for all the advice folks! Given the costs of making the Maiden properly, I've shelved that for the time. I plan to do it in the future. It looks so nice. But I need something functional first and pretty second. I decided to model this more on what I saw of Rel's project. So I got a sheet of styrofoam from Michael's last night and I'm going to look at various deck plans. Then I'm going to sketch the outline onto the foam and cut it out. (The piece I got is a nice tabletop size - 12 x 36 inches.) I'm still wondering what to do at that point once I have a basic deck. I'll probably do a second deck, but I need to experiment first with the grids.

Has anyone done paint on styrofoam? How has that worked out? I would imagine that the grids are the hardest to lay out. I figure if I do this option I'd paint, then lay out the grids then put the cabins and bulkheads on top. Paint is appealing because it will have a more finished look than option 2 (see below) with the edges showing. Do you prime? How many layers?

A second option would be to use cardboard (again because I have it and it's cheap and brown colored like wood) as an overlay on the styrofoam. The styrofoam will give the deck some "height". The cardboard will cover it for looks and ease of ruling the grid and the cabins. This will be good colorwise, but bad lookswise due to the edge of the cardboard on top of the foam.

A third option would be to use a printed deck plan laid over the foam. This is my least favorite option because it requires spending money to print the plan at Kinkos.

Once I get all this figured out, then I'll worry about the gasbags.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[D'karr]

Thanks again for all the advice folks! Given the costs of making the Maiden properly, I've shelved that for the time. I plan to do it in the future. It looks so nice. But I need something functional first and pretty second. I decided to model this more on what I saw of Rel's project. So I got a sheet of styrofoam from Michael's last night and I'm going to look at various deck plans. Then I'm going to sketch the outline onto the foam and cut it out. (The piece I got is a nice tabletop size - 12 x 36 inches.) I'm still wondering what to do at that point once I have a basic deck. I'll probably do a second deck, but I need to experiment first with the grids.

Has anyone done paint on styrofoam? How has that worked out? I would imagine that the grids are the hardest to lay out. I figure if I do this option I'd paint, then lay out the grids then put the cabins and bulkheads on top. Paint is appealing because it will have a more finished look than option 2 (see below) with the edges showing. Do you prime? How many layers?

A second option would be to use cardboard (again because I have it and it's cheap and brown colored like wood) as an overlay on the styrofoam. The styrofoam will give the deck some "height". The cardboard will cover it for looks and ease of ruling the grid and the cabins. This will be good colorwise, but bad lookswise due to the edge of the cardboard on top of the foam.

A third option would be to use a printed deck plan laid over the foam. This is my least favorite option because it requires spending money to print the plan at Kinkos.

Once I get all this figured out, then I'll worry about the gasbags.

Thanks again for all the help!

The only "problem" with styrofoam would be if you chose to spray paint it. Spray-on Paints eat through styrofoam like the alien's acid blood through the Nostromo. To prevent any of that, if you chose to spray paint, brush on a thin coat of acrylic paint before spray painting. This will prevent any melting. You can use acrylic paints all day on styrofoam without a problem. Painting a grid can be accomplished with something as simple as a permanent marker.

Cutting styrofoam is more challenging. If you are using a blade you will find that styrofoam is messy to cut and unwieldy, to say the least, just to make matters worse. Cuts with a blade tend to never go in the direction you want and look bad. Unless you are building ruins or a cliffside I'd recommend you avoid blades. I'd recommend you buy a "foam cutter". They're usually available at Michael's or any other craft store. Their cost is about $10.

Paint your outline directly on the foam. Then use the cutter to burn out the ship.

Good Luck and welcome to the wonderful world of miniatures modeling.

 

[Romnipotent]

coat styrofoam with a PVA+Water solution from a spray bottle as well... that can work.

if you're going to make a cardboard based ship, do it as if it were wood. spines, ribs, and such. then coat with paper, and build it up with more glue. its like ship building... might as well build a real ship for all the work...

 

[Storminator]

Not all spray paint will destroy foam. Testor's brand seems to consistently work fine. But always test your spray paint on a scrap first. Priming with acrylic also works well.

I've found $5 color ink cartridges at froogle.com for my printer. They worked fine.

PS

 

[ajanders]

Whoa...try this as an alternative

All my dreams have come true...

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