Let's Build a 3D Card Model - Step 4 -- Conclusion

If you have been working along with the first 3 Steps you will have four walls and two roof sections.  Now is the time to do any cleanup around the door and window openings.  Check the corners for fuzzy card residue and use your knife blade to remove. 

Front wall with cutouts complete and tabs folded'

The two end walls have no cutouts so just fold the tabs.

Take a lead pencil, and from the INSIDE of the door and window openings, use the side of the lead to darken the paper and card backing to eliminate any white spots.  Do it from the inside so if the pencil slips you won't get pencil marks down the face of the building.  Ask me how I know!  Also apply lead to all the edges of the walls and roof sections from the INSIDE faces.

A few problems came up during the assembly:

a.  The chimney is too small to fold easily when glued to the card backing so if you have not glued your sheets to the card cut out the area around it and set it aside.  The best solution is to print the sheet with the chimney and fold as a single sheet of paper.

b.  The tab on the one roof section is too thick to match the other side so I cut the tab off and made a paper hinge to replace the tab. Lay the two roof sections peak to peak (check the position for the chimney) and glue the hinge in position over the seam.

c.  This would be a good time to do something I forgot to do, paint the underside of the roof sections that overhang the walls.  Almost any dark color, tan, brown, black, looks better than the face of the cereal box.

d.  Some of the tabs (mostly at the ground level) need the corners trimmed back about a 1/16" and then at 45 degrees to clear he  tab of the of the mating wall.  I used a small diagonal cutter to trim the tabs, but the knife will do the job just as well.

 To mount the doors and windows recessed into the wall we need to add some spacer strips to the inside of the walls and mounting strips to the back side of the doors and windows. To do this use some of the left over mounted print and cut 4 or 5 strips about 1/8" x 3", holding the steel rule tightly to prevent slipping.

1/8" x 3" strips for mounting the doors and windows.

Study the picture below for a moment.

Using the strips we just cut, trim and glue them to the inside surface surrounding the cutouts, both sides of the 2 big center board wall cutouts, both sides and top of the 4 blue doors cutouts and both sides, top and bottom of the 2 window cutouts.  Align the strips to the edges of the cutouts and use just a couple little dabs of glue.  These strips create the spacing to recess the doors and windows.

Now cut strips about 1/4" longer than the width of the doors and windows and mount to the rear (inside) surfaces with a single little dab of glue.

Spacer strips and mounting strips applied and drying.

When the glue had dried dry-fit the windows and doors in the cutouts and behind the spacer strips.  This is the time to ensure you have the right item in the right cutout.  Also note that some have top or bottom details that must be correct; the big center board walls have weathering at the bottom edge and one window has a person's silhouette.  When satisfied with the fit and location, mount the cutout items with a single dab of glue on the 4 protruding tabs and set aside to dry.

Doors and window located and mounted in the wall sections.

At this time you can take a look at the 3D effect you have created.  If you built the model in Step 1 compare the flat surface with the recessed surfaces.

We are now going to do the final dry-fit of the 4 walls.  check each corner to ensure the tabs don't overlap or interfere with each other.  If you have a small desk drawer you can use the inside corner of it to ensure a square corner and same height where two walls meet.  I cut several right angle triangles with about 3/4" long legs. and glued them as gussets in the corners to keep the structure square.

With the 4 walls complete, fit the roof to the walls and determine how much overhand on each end.  Apply glue along the tabs, locate the roof over the peak of the side walls and hold in position pressing on the end wall tabs to let the glue tack.  Now turn the house over on the roof and press the side wall tabs against the roof, both sides.

The chimney is the last item to mount in the location noted on the roof panels.  Scrape a little glue to the inside of the mounting edges and a very little to the edges and set in place.

Here I am comparing the 3D model with the flat surface model I built earlier.

You now have a substantial model in HO scale, 1:87.  Place it on your HO model railroad, or on the shelf for others to admire.  I am already thinking of a little diorama with a split rail fence, outhouse, well, woodpile, maybe a cow or pig...............

Till next time,

Armchair