Download “Remarkably Realistic” Paper Model Buildings
for Railroad Layouts. Strong, Long Lasting, and Durable
When Assembled with Cardboard or Corflute.

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paper models from the Home Page

If you like making dioramas or creating scenery for your train layout, then have a good look around this. It contains a large selection of printable paper model buildings which can be constructed for HO scale layouts, as well as N scale, or to OO scale if you live in the UK. After a good look around you’ll see this site also contains a series of useful demonstration videos, some free calculators for railroaders, and several train room posters to download free of charge. You’ll also discover the wide variety of plans for making paper model buildings. Each is beautifully detailed with careful attention to accuracy and minute details. These paper models are quick to download and look superb (and super strong) when assembled,

paper model buildings

A great many people are intrigued by paper model buildings and how good they are for bringing a level of quality and realism to scenery on a railroad layout. The reason for the “true-to-life” look is due to the photographic images used on many of the scale models. The paper models which you can download from this website are not like illustrations, drawings, or graphics – they actually resemble photographic images, so can be used like printable color templates that replicate real lifelike structures. You just can’t achieve the same level of authentic realism and originality with plastic kits.

Unmatched Realism With “Fun to Make” Paper Model Buildings

Have a look through the plethora of amazing printable paper models available for sale on this website. Not only are they fun and practical to construct, they are also incredibly durable and strong when assembled using cardboard from cereal boxes, sometimes corflute, and even balsa wood painted with acrylic paints for post and chimney construction. What’s more, the plans for these railroad buildings are easy to extend, add to, and modify to suit the unique requirements of your train layout scenery or diorama scene.

  paper background railroad building models

The above picture shows some of the range of background structures that can be downloaded and constructed from inexpensive corflute board. They get printed on paper (regular photocopy works better than expensive alternatives), and glued to some corflute or foam board. This process makes the models amazingly strong, just like plastic kits but without the expensive price tag. So it is feasible to construct multiple scale railroad buildings for the cost of just one or two plastic models. And, the paper models won’t require painting, or skilled weathering to achieve the kind of quality exhibited with these printable plans. That’s not to say that plastic kits are a waste of money, you just need to be aware of the higher cost and additional work and skills required to construct them to a high standard.

download old wild western paper models

Select From More Than 200 “Unique” Designs of Paper Models

Not only are these designs very sturdy when put together with card, there is also an incredible variety of downloadable plans to select from and buy. The above old west and mining town models are an example of the variety templates that can be downloaded. They can be put together with paper, card, and balsa wood can be used for the thin post supports. All those materials are inexpensive and readily available at art and craft hobby stores. The cardboard can be card from cornflake packages, so that will save you throwing the old packs in the trash. Extra card can be glued inside assembled buildings if necessary to provide additional strength. These printable paper models are particularly suitable for OO gauge railways and HO scale railroads, but there is also the option at the checkout to buy N scale versions. So, with that in mind lets talk a bit about that size of train layout.

Deciding on N scale has numerous attractions, but possibly the biggest draw is the small size when compared to larger scales like HO, OO, and O. Although N scale (1:160) is not the smallest (1:220 Z scale and the tiny 1:450 T scale are much smaller), N scale does allow for a considerable amount of track, scenery, and train operation in a relatively small space. This is a big advantage for anyone who has limited room available. Prototypical (real) length trains of around 100 cars can operate in N-Scale.

N scale products began appearing in about 1962. The first locomotives were quite crude and ran poorly. As with most products, either consumer demand drives improvements or consumer apathy eliminates the product from the market. Fortunately, demand has driven huge improvements. It is now possible to buy N-scale products that are every bit as detailed and well-running as any other scale model. Kato, Athearn, and Micro-Trains manufacture beautifully detailed and superbly running locomotives and rolling stock. For those so inclined, super-detailing parts are also available. A good magnifying headband, strong lighting, and a good set of small tools are necessary if a lot of N-scale detailing of rail equipment or structures is to be done. Working on N-scale details is more challenging than a larger scale, but not difficult to master with the proper tools. Surprisingly detailed layouts have been created in about the space of a home coffee table.

N scale models are in fact 54.5 percent the size of similar HO models. The same applies to trains, scenery and paper models. As a result you can build an N scale layout in an area about 30% of that area needed to build a similar layout in HO scale.

Due to its smaller size, N scale is more intricate. For this reason it can be less suitable for youngsters and the more seasoned railroaders who may find it difficult manipulating the small rolling stock. There aren’t as many options in terms of accessories compared to those available in HO Scale but with growing popularity this is changing.

If space is an issue then N scale could be the answer. N Scale allows for more complex and realistic layouts in limited space. Curves can be made much more gradual. The smaller size of N scale greatly reduces the need to utilize unrealistically sharp curves to reverse the direction of the train on a layout.

N scale allows for layouts where the scenic landscape can dominate the railroad as it does in real life. As a comparison; a common-sized 4ft x 8ft layout in HO scale would probably fit into a 2 ½ ft x 4 ½ ft space if it was modeled in N scale.

shipping container scale paper models to make

Make Your Paper Model Buildings To OO Gauge, N Scale or to HO Scale

The printable plans for the paper models sold on this website are also suitable for OO gauge and HO scale. Being easily printed out on a home printer is handy because they can be conveniently reduced in size if required. It is just an easy matter of adjusting the settings on the printer. The reason why many railroaders choose this option is because they can place some smaller background buildings against the backdrop to give the illusion the printed paper models are miles away in the distance. So, as you can see, these paper building models are very versatile and adaptable.

With N scale a three-foot wide layout could accommodate up to a 213 scale foot radius. The smaller N scale is also more accommodating to larger quantities of cars in a train. So, if you like the idea of long trains going through towering landscape, then N scale buildings might be what you are looking for.

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