UD-41 Dropship (Papercraft)

Making large models for wargaming can be a daunting prospect. Commercial model kits are pricey and while many people go down the 3D printing route these days, the time it takes to prepare the models for assembly can be significant. Enter Papercraft, where with a few sheets of paper, a knife, and a couple of pieces of paper one can work magic.

Okay, so I may have exaggerated some, but it's fair to say that there are some pretty awesome papercraft models readily available and they can make for an enjoyable project to boot.

The Genet Models - Mebbles site (link) has a heap of models available, and over the years I've made more than a few. The UD-41 Dropship is one model I've been meaning to make for a long time. It takes 36 A4 pages, with over 100 parts, it builds a big 100mm x 320mm x 352mm model.

The build isn't completed in an afternoon. Each element requires printing (I use ~210gsm cardstock - I bought various weights ages ago, threw them all together into a box, and recently rediscovered them), cutting (scissors if you're feeling brave, else a straight edge ruler + craft blade), edging (using a marker to darken the cut edges of the paper, thereby avoiding unsightly white lines on the model), gluing (you really want to get some specialty papercraft glue - once you've used it, you'll never go back), and assembly (much of the models is built as components that are then glued together). Here are some excerpts from the 26 pages of instructions:

   

Now I could bore you with blow-by-blow images of each cut, fold, and glue application, however I am not a cruel man. Instead, I'll limit my pictures to some of the more interesting ones.

You can see how the various bits fit together.

Those bits on the right are all used to reinforce the body...

You can see how the reinforcements hold the hull's skin in
its octagonal shape.

 

See how the inside of the bay slides into the body? Very clever and 
makes for a really good look.

The jets are very clever with an insert liner on each end.
I got caught out by the different-sized nozzles so had to 
print again and remake one of them. I mounted a magnet
on the inside to allow them to swivel.

Here are the landing gears. They're quite fiddly to work
but well worth the effort once they're done.

So now you've got an impression as to what it takes to build and assemble. It's not a particularly quick process, but with time and experience I am sure people could pump these type of builds out in a day or two. It took me a few weekends all up to get this:

So what next? I'm going to look into what might be done to stiffen the model some - maybe using Modpodge or some varnish? At some point I also want to explore greebling up one of these sorts of models, either with more paper parts or even other things, filling in the gaps and then try painting it. It could be fun. Also, I think I could make the insides more accessible e.g., making the cockpit accessible or event a panel to lift off the back.

My mates and I are starting to organise a sci-fi campaign-type game where we'll prepare our own gangs inclusive of their transports and play a series of skirmish-style games. We're not really sure what rules we'll use, rather it's more about building for a common purpose and getting together and hanging out. I hope to share some detail in the near future.