Review by Carl Erickson

Why is a 1/600 plastic/metal/wood ship-modeler enthusiastic about this book? Because it opened up for me a whole new range of kits to build that can not be found, and probably never will be, found in plastic, metal or wood. You see, you can buy your relatively inexpensive card model in any size scale, and simply copy it to 1/600 scale for your own personal use. Loss of color in copying is irrelevant, because we 1/600 modelers paint our models anyhow.

This 56 page card-back book (what else?) is invaluable to anyone wanting to make a card model. I bought it the same time as my first card model, (U.S.S.Card CVE -11 [an obsession here? USS Card? - no, purely coincidental!]) and followed its valuable tips and techniques in making a first class model. Without the benefits of this book, I am positive I would not have had the good results I did. My results were so good, I am now starting my second card model, the Dutch W.W.II cruiser De Ruyter.

Chapters explain what a card model is, their history, how to get started, tools needed, techniques, scratch building, and then into collecting and an overview of cardmodels. I found the chapters covering how to get started, tools, and techniques loaded with tips which enable a fine model to be produced on even my first try. If you are even a beginning plastic or wooden model builder, you probably have most of the tools mentioned in the book, but one - a scoring tool - which the book explains how to make from an old Number 11 modeling blade.

Published in 1994 by Caltrop Publishing, 1023 West 10th St., Winona, MN
55987, USA
ISBN 0-9637100-0-1

I obtained my copy from:
Paper Models International
9910 S.W. Bonnie Brae Drive
Beaverton, Oregon 97008-6045

(which by the way has given me outstanding service, and has a great catalog with many pages of ship models available).