Space Shuttle Paper Card Models

On Friday, July 8th, at about 11:30 am EST, the final NASA Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, featuring shuttle Atlantis, is scheduled for launch. And I'm gonna be there! I've never been to a launch, so I'm very excited. This will be historic! In searching for information on past flights, I came across this little gem of a website: AXM Paper Space Scale Models: The Site for Space Shuttle Card Modelers.

This highly detailed site contains International Space Station models, international satellites, capsule models from Russia, America, and other countries, and of course, space shuttle models, including reference documents to individual missions. Models include different external tank configurations, crawler transporter and mobile launch pads, and even the 747 jumbo jet carrier shown below.

This site is great for everyone interested the shuttle program, with bits about the crews, histories, mission goals, and payloads from various missions, from test flights from the '70s to present. When I get back, I'm planning to build a model to commemorate my trip. Man, this should be fun! I'll post about the experience when I get back. Have a great Independence Day!

Back to Work

Health issues have kept me away. For far too long. Longer than I care to think about. But I'm back at it, determined to make up the time I've missed. Here's what's cookin' on my workbench at the moment.

Click pic to enlarge

You may recognize one of them; I started the Ghost House over 2 years ago. There's also an 'N' scale train that I foolishly started about 3 months ago (more on that some other time). And a quick build HP PC Model from the back of Maximum PC Magazine. So I'm trying to catch up on old projects and finish what I started. I've also had some time to catch up on some Blog browsing. There's a lot more of you out there! Showcasing some great work, too. I'll point you to some of the more interesting projects I've seen lately; some are bound to familiar to you, but to me, they're brand new! So once again I ask you to bear with me. I really do have some neat things I'd like to try. So stay tuned!

Paper Modelling - Inexpensive and Fun

A couple of years ago, I was going through some health problems that preventing me from working for almost two years. During that time, I had much free time at my disposal. One way to keep my mind occupied was to revisit some hobbies I had as a child. I had always enjoyed building models, but my budget prevented me from spending any money on the wonderful, detailed plastic and vinyl models that are available everywhere today.
Well, I had a computer, a printer, and internet access. Turns out, I had everything I needed to rekindle my love of model building. There are many, many free and cheap models to be had on the internet; all available for downloading. Simply download the pattern, print, and build!
The subjects range incredibly from simple cubic cariactures to highly detailed scale replicas of everything from buildings to spacecraft, cars, boats, aircraft and more. Only the most basic of tools are required: some white glue, scissors, and maybe a hobby knife for finer cuts. Some can be built in a hour, some may require months to complete. I promise, there is something for every taste. Holiday decorations, moving models, scale models, replicas of famous buildings, even scientific models for education.
While I took on this hobby as a cure for boredom, I gained a lot more; including techinical skills, trivia, construction techniques, history lessons, not to mention exercises in dexterity, as well as brain exercises in problem solving and mathmatics. Modelling is a rewarding and fruitful hobby that exercises the mind, the most important muscle of all. I would urge anyone reading this article to explore the world of paper modelling and enjoy all of its benefits.