I never get any feedback hope people like them. The tyco style ones I just came up with look cool when you make a few of them and have them side by side. I designed it so you could place them side by side and the advertising wouldn't be repeated left to right. I also made a larger version to maximize 14" legal size printing. Mostly it was an experiment with my old Epson printer to see how far I could take the output size on it.
This new batch I designed I wanted to explore the larger media format. The garage will have a seperate base have to draw it up. Still working on the grandstand.
Have a few tweaks to make to the ped bridge and building to make construction cleaner.
The grandstand will have an integrated flag tower as well.
Hi Dan. I reckon there has been some great feedback along the way but I'm sure that more would give you an idea of what's hot/not. Maybe the figures do some of the talking. At well over 23,000 hits this thread has drawn huge interest. Are you getting larger hit numbers to your site for downloads, as a result?
Overall my site gets slammed on any given day, but the paper craft section not so much as other sections involving electronics, projects or tuning. The turbo charge anything section got a nice bump last week, and i got feedback from people on that thanking me for pointing out the mistake they made in wiring the button for the turbo effect. After I release a building model there is a 1 day bump in traffic to the paper craft section then it dies back down. Many of the original models i was able to fix up and post seem to be the most popular, for obvious reasons of nostalgia. As of this week the LED wiring section is up 235% in hits.
At this point I'm just making the last few models for fun i had some ideas for different paper craft folding designs i wanted to try out.
Making these structures taught me a lot in design and construction. what i didn't like about other designs i found on the web were you had to build a structure with glue and once constructed you could not fold it back down flat. That makes storage a huge problem and you end up throwing out buildings all the time. so i became fascinated with the original models that were designed to be assembled and taken apart for storage. I decided to try my hand at making models like that. i also love when the structures are one piece in design, but these structures are limited and you run into the issues of have to compensate with complex folding designs which take forever to build.
so for example the Tyco command control pedestrian bridge is by far the coolest folding design, however it takes about 90 minutes to complete all the scoring and cutting before you even get to the point of popping it up. it is very intricate and one screw up and you have to start all over.
So i came up with the new pedestrian bridge design myself that takes about 15 minutes to cut and pop up. its similar in size to the tyco version and the shape is similar but the construction is much simpler and faster.
basically i traded complexity of design for length of design, by spreading the design sideways i was able to eliminate all the super complex 45 degree folds and tabs
the new garage is just a box but i've never seen a 4 bay paper craft garage, usually they are 3 bay or 2 bay.
the new grandstand design i came up with is pretty cool as far as shape i'm not even 1/2 done with the folding yet.
also i'm not using design software i'm doing these by hand, just about all the papercraft software is good for is making boxes and stacking boxes you cannot making complex folds or curved or angled pieces.
i tell you the coolest thing about all this is i have a plastic bin that is now full of flat sheet models, just opening the top and looking down at all the buildings and colors makes me smile.
I would just like to post again and say that I love your papercraft site. Haven't had a chance to try out any of your newer designs yet, but we just had 5 nieces and nephews stay at our place who have destroyed our previous lot of your buildings, so we'll get a chance shortly to try out the new stuff!
I'd love to see a paper reproduction of the original aurora plastic garage/pit stop. The one with 2 bays, room for 4 cars and car manufacturer signs on the roof? I'm not sure if this would be possible to fit on one piece of printer paper, but would be fantastic if it could be done!
on a 8.5x14 legal sheet it would fit. the wider roof would need a redesign if you wanted it totally open in the center. i would design the front side area as a double fold so it would support the roof and keep it from sagging.
the only 2 bay open design would be the Peter Revson garage, which does actually hold 4 cars side by side.
i can step out the AFX firecracker 400 Garage or AFX dual oval speedway Garage designs into 4 bays if that is what you are after. it gets cumbersome as the width increases to make the long bends. that is why most guys build 2 pit buildings and set them side by side room for 6 cars.
here is a look at the pre-colored prototypes and a look at the new grandstand design which i'm still working on.
I was counting up the paper models i've done and its numbering over 50... amazing...
Last edited by slotcardan; 08-03-2012 at 08:11 PM.
Very cool stuff. I have designed & scratch built a few structures from thin sheet plastic commonly available from hobby shops along the way. It comes with "blocks" or other patterns embossed into it, and is available in many patterns and thicknesses. Seems like it could be used instead of paper with not a lot more work.
In other news, after seeing "little lemans", I have just ordered up a ferris wheel (albeit a little smaller version) for my layout.
All your work is amazing and I've been watching in awe as you post up new pictures
I want to build a "stadium" grandstand around the "big curve"
What would it take to modify the grandstand so that it's chords around the outside of the curve? The curve is comprised of 15" & 18" radius curves, plus 7/8" cork border. I was thinking the chord would be 22.5 deg (1/16 of a circle). If my calculations are correct, the front would about 6.75" long and the ends would be tapered at 12.25 deg.
slotcardan, I've been following with interest your postings of various track structures made out of paper/cardboard, and I think they are a real alternative to searching for original race structures no longer built, converting structures from other sources, or scratch-building. On my own track, I have used part of a Tomy cardboard grandstand & garage to fit in a specific area:
In my case, I have been fortunate enough to find and/or convert structures at hobby shops & slotcar shows, and still have a few I'm working on. But I see real talent & creativity in what you have done......
Making a Curve structure poses a problem with storage if you wanted something to be stored flat.
it can be done but the piece needs to be very long and will require many pieces.
that is why you always see papercraft when rounded that looks like hexagons.
i think i have an idea for a rounded papercraft shape. i'll see if i can draw it out and see if its possible to make something.
my thought would be along the lines of the curved bleachers that altas and Aurora made.
let me mull it over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbrunne1
I love the new grandstand
All your work is amazing and I've been watching in awe as you post up new pictures
I want to build a "stadium" grandstand around the "big curve"
What would it take to modify the grandstand so that it's chords around the outside of the curve? The curve is comprised of 15" & 18" radius curves, plus 7/8" cork border. I was thinking the chord would be 22.5 deg (1/16 of a circle). If my calculations are correct, the front would about 6.75" long and the ends would be tapered at 12.25 deg.
thanks, the biggest challenge is all the modifications i had to make to allow output on a home printer. there are so many designs i can make but they just will not fit on legal size or letter size paper. I have the same Tomy cardboard grandstand, the size just will not allow home output and honestly the design is terrible on it. it is very cartoony and it does not hold itself together well at all. it does not store well either so it cracks and gets all warped.
Since i'm designing Free models i have more freedom then the original papercraft designers had i can throw any sponsors i want on them, any public art i find, and i'm lot limited by manufacture costs of the die.
i can make these hyper realistic but then you start spending days on assembly i keep in mind that i want parents and children, grandparents to assemble these so i have to reduce complexity.
I'm pretty proud of the pedestrian bridge and grandstand i came up with from scratch it looks so cool sitting on the table. I have a few more changes i want to make to the bridge to richen up the final product.
the 4 car garage i'm not 100% happy with the design is basically done, but i've thought about making separate roofs for it, these would be optional and sit on top of the garage and give it different looks other then just a flat roof.
i have this cool idea for a British inspired country cottage garage with a steep roof line, it would be a 2 car or 1 car garage, but would look so cool with a T-jet Jaguar sitting inside it.
have a half finished model of a Tyco US-1 Stomper garage also, the design is boring.
I have plastic buildings from aurora and Tyco and Altas and i love them, but what i hate about them it storage, and they get dusty, and once they start looking crusty what do you do with them,,,,,, then they are delicate and you get stuck with the same look every time you change the track. I'm one of those ADHD slot car guys that get sick of tracks REALLY fast and i constantly need to swap things around, plus i have no space so when i setup a track i lose a ton of space for doing other things.
whats so cool about these paper fold ups is i break them down store them flat they are safe take up no room if they get ruined i print out a new one. i can swap them out however i want as well.
Lego is like that as you know but lego is limited also, and expensive.
whats been fun for me is using my ancient architecture training, 5 life times ago i thought about becoming a architect.
what i like most is the different folding designs that is part of the reason I'm not happy with the 4 car garage since its just a box.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedhoppy
slotcardan, I've been following with interest your postings of various track structures made out of paper/cardboard, and I think they are a real alternative to searching for original race structures no longer built, converting structures from other sources, or scratch-building. On my own track, I have used part of a Tomy cardboard grandstand & garage to fit in a specific area:
In my case, I have been fortunate enough to find and/or convert structures at hobby shops & slotcar shows, and still have a few I'm working on. But I see real talent & creativity in what you have done......
hope people like them. The tyco style ones I just came up with look cool when you make a few of them and have them side by side. I designed it so you could place them side by side and the advertising wouldn't be repeated left to right. I also made a larger version to maximize 14" legal size printing. Mostly it was an experiment with my old Epson printer to see how far I could take the output size on it.
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