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Post by wierdoom on Dec 3, 2008 5:57:27 GMT -9
Greetings, I'm new here, and I was wondering what is the ideal material to glue/print figures on. I've made paper figures before, but I've always had to print them on paper and glue them, instead of printing them on cardstock. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers!
-Wierdoom
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Post by kane on Dec 3, 2008 7:13:43 GMT -9
Matte photo paper is THE best thing to print on. Its a bit thinner than cardstock, but the picture quality is far FAR superior. I glue a piece of cardstock between the front and back and it gets plenty of support. Even without the cardstock, once its glued its fairly durable.
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Post by Slick on Dec 3, 2008 7:19:25 GMT -9
I know its not the best stuff but walmart sells 250 packs of 110lb cardstock for around $5.99. It is not the best stuff to use but The price is right for me. If it is a large model I hit up my local office supply store and get 80lb cover-stock from there print centers. This is thicker then the cardstock and holds up well if building 3d models. Personally anything 65lbs and over cardstock will work for doing them it just depends on how thick you want it. If you have a staples. office depot or office max around go in to there print centers and ask to buy several pages of each stock and build some models with each weight so that you can find one that you like. Each page should cost less then 20 cents so you can get a few different weights to try for very little.
I have used matte photo paper as kane suggested several times and the image quality is FAR superior to standard cardstock. The only disadvantage with this is a small jump in price but your models will look stellar!!
RX93FF
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Post by onemonkeybeau on Dec 3, 2008 8:53:09 GMT -9
Kane and rx93ff are absolutely correct. I have recently made the switch to matte photo paper and will never go back! I find the picture crisp and the colors bright. I can hardly look at my models printed on regular card stock now... As for glue I have found nothing better than UHU Liquid Glue Pens. But any scrapbooking glue will work... just don't use white glue we used in school... it's just too wet and takes forever to dry. www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=gc0328This glue is Acid-Free which is a must for paper models, goes on thin (which prevents warping), dries fast and stiffens up the model. onemonkeybeau
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Post by kane on Dec 3, 2008 9:08:35 GMT -9
I actually use Aleens Tacky Glue. It does take FOREVER to dry thouroughly, and sometimes their are some warps, but you can easily roll it the other way before it dries completely and get it flat AND it dries to a REALLY strong finish. My matte/cardstock figs are nearly as strong as sheet plastic.
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Post by godofrandomness on Dec 3, 2008 10:05:16 GMT -9
Ive been content with 110lb card stock. I try to do this on the cheap, but the collection of xacto knives I've bought suggests otherwise. As for glue, I'm still experimenting, but the best I've found so far is brush on krazy glue, though I haven't tried the other people's suggestions yet. I'm going to wait till I use up all my current glues before moving on to others.
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Post by hackbarth on Dec 4, 2008 3:44:21 GMT -9
I don't think anybody else uses my method: I print the figures on standard A4 paper 75g/m2. The difference is how I glue the figures.
Instead of using white glue, I use two-sided tape to join the two sides of the pieces. The paper-tape-paper sandwich is as strong as cardboard, doesn't warp and glues instantly.
I figure this method may be improved using matte photo paper, but until I get a better place to stock my miniatures and my kids grow to the the point that they don't bite them, cheap is the way to go.
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Post by wierdoom on Dec 4, 2008 5:36:52 GMT -9
Thanks guys! I'll see if I can get matte photo paper at Staples, and I'll experiment with the various glues you suggested. ;D
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Post by kane on Dec 4, 2008 7:12:02 GMT -9
I have used double sided tape for some WWG models and it actually works surprisingly well! I'm guessing it has something to do with the tension caused by the tape on the two surfaces. May have to try this with my matte photo-over-cardboard technique and see how it turns out.
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Post by onemonkeybeau on Dec 4, 2008 9:47:50 GMT -9
Interesting... let us know the outcome!
onemonkeybeau
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Post by magpiestear on Dec 10, 2008 3:08:14 GMT -9
I use double sided tape alot at work on junk models and stuff with kids, it never occurred to me to try it on card models/figures! I'll give it a go and see how it goes.
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Post by silentsquirrel on Dec 12, 2008 2:17:56 GMT -9
I've tried double-sized tape with matte photo paper and I think I'll stick with the UHU glue pens. The matte paper is thin, and the UHU glue strengthens the figure better than tape does.
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Post by Aestelon on Mar 23, 2009 18:02:48 GMT -9
I'm using 210 gsm white card from Staples, which is costing me £4.88 for 50 sheets. I looked at the matte photo paper in there today when I bought a new pack of card, but at over £16 for 20 sheets, I quickly dismissed that idea.
I'm using the traditional PVA glue method at the moment, but I'm definitely considering trying Hackbarth's trick of double-sided tape. Unfortunately, I think the only type I have around at the moment is the padded variety, so probably not much use.
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Post by onemonktrey on Jun 21, 2009 8:32:11 GMT -9
I'm a big fan of dry adhesive film (which is really a series of microdots) for mounting a color printout to cardstock, similar to mounting a photograph to foam display board or for scrapbooking. Since it can come in standard letter sizes (or larger), it makes it very easy to mount an entire page of figures to cardstock without worrying about warping, bubbles, or drying. Once the figure page is mounted and burnished to the cardstock, it's easy to rough cut, score, fold, glue-stick, and then cut out the fine details. My personal favorite is Letra-tac. I'm in Chicago so it's easy to stop by the local art store, but Blick Art Materials makes it easy to order online. I'm sure it can be found elsewhere, too. ;D I would post the url, but when I preview my post my url gets changed from Richard Blick's nickname to www.thingyblick.com, if you get what I'm saying. Just do a google search for Letra-tac and Blick Art Materials and you will find it, as well as other vendors.
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Post by godofrandomness on Jun 21, 2009 16:02:20 GMT -9
Thanks OMB, I gotta try that stuff. I changed my basing style a bit and am just glueing 2 sheets of black cardstock together and punching out with a craft hole punch, and that stuff would be perfect. It might also be good for mounting Empty Room Studios' tile printouts to foamcore once I get around to it.
I also just recieved Blick's catalogues in the mai a couple days ago, and I will see if it's listed there later. The catalogues are a good size, completely free, and I got mine in the mail pretty quickly, so they seem like they will be a good resource lying around.
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Post by emergencyoverride on Jun 21, 2009 18:17:22 GMT -9
When I picked up my Matte Photo paper the other day at Sam's club, they had 200 sheets for 19.99. It is double sided and good for inkjet or laser. I believe the brand was royal brite. ;D
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Post by onemonktrey on Jun 22, 2009 6:28:13 GMT -9
Thanks OMB, I gotta try that stuff. I changed my basing style a bit and am just glueing 2 sheets of black cardstock together and punching out with a craft hole punch, and that stuff would be perfect. It might also be good for mounting Empty Room Studios' tile printouts to foamcore once I get around to it. GodofRandomness, the Letra-tac works great for large tile mounting to foamcore. I did that recently with WWG Hinterlands - you get great covereage right up to the edge.
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Post by godofrandomness on Jul 16, 2009 9:32:45 GMT -9
Well since I have my new printer specially designed to print photo stuff, I tried using photo paper again... and I am loving it! The colors are so much richer. I've printed stuff with both gloss and ,atte paper and I kinda am liking the gloss finish a bit better, especially for bright colored stuff.
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Post by Slick on Jul 16, 2009 14:49:49 GMT -9
I agree I look back at the post I made in December and I have totally made the switch to photo paper for my miniatures. I still use the card stock for 3d models though.
Nate
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Post by ciabs on Jan 16, 2010 4:29:18 GMT -9
uhm... I'm looking for some better looking/feeling material to print minis on rather than plain 200g/m^2 cardstock, since I find that meanwhile cardstock is rather durable and strong, it's a pain in the ass to cut around small figures (I mainly print at 15mm scale) with the resulting thickness of two folded cardstock sheets, so I end up doing straight cuts that don't follow the miniatures' outlines so well; so I need something slightly thinner in order to be able tu cut bends and angles on small minis; on the other side though, I need that this material is sturdy enough to be stored into a small box with many other miniatures of the same material in it; I don't mean that the minis have to be stuffed and pushed hard into the box, just that they can lay inside the box without having to be placed singularly into a perfect-fit space; I also thought about transparencies, but leaving the cost aside (color laser printer transparencies cost A LOT), if I were to use them then I'd leave aside the whole cutting around borders step and just do a broad cut around the miniature; this last method would limit me with 2.5D possibilities I'd like to experiment on my minis though, so I'd leave the transparencies as a second choice... so, arriving to the point, is matte photo paper good for these objectives I have in mind to print paper minis onto..? sorry for the WoT, just bear with my OCD-like tendecies...
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Post by squirmydad on Jan 16, 2010 7:12:12 GMT -9
Matte photo paper is all I will ever use again. It's the equivalent of 65# paper, a little lighter than what your using, but prints perfectly. The smooth surface captures every detail with no bleeding. JIM
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Post by ciabs on Jan 16, 2010 7:37:33 GMT -9
I think I'll need to raid my local "stuff store" and get some, can't wait to see the results...
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