Intro to Card Models Pt. III: Shopping for Card Models

[ccoyle]

UPDATED 7/2024

 

This tutorial is based on a free kit. But supposing you wished to buy a paper model kit, where could you get one?

 

Let's start with The Big Question on everyone's mind: Who makes the 'best' kits? The first thing you must do is separate in your mind the concepts of best kit and best kit designer. They are not the same thing. Some designers publish their own models, but many don't. Their kits are printed by various publishing houses -- often more than one. This fact makes it difficult to generalize about this publisher versus that publisher. Your favorite designer might have his designs printed by multiple publishers.  The lesson here is that it pays to take note of who designed a particular kit you like. Then you look for that designer's work at various publishing houses.  Another thing to make note of is a kit's date of publication.  CAD designing did not become commonplace until about the turn of the new century. Prior to that, kits were hand drawn. Thus, the older a kit is, the more likely it is to be hand-drawn.  This doesn't mean that hand-drawn kits are necessarily bad. It just means that an older kit may not live up to the current standards detail, fit, and artwork.

 

With all that in mind, let's take a look at some of the major publishing firms.  This is by no means an exhaustive list. It's just to give you a sample of what's available. You can follow the embedded links to each publisher's website.

 

WAK: This is currently my favorite Polish publisher and shop, as they have the best shipping rates to the US.

 

GPM:  GPM are one of the largest card model publishers in Poland.  They have a large selection of ship models in many scales, both in their own line and from many other publishers as well.  They also have an extensive inventory of after-market accessories. 

 

Modelik:  Modelik carries only their own line of models, but as discussed previously, these are not all the work of one designer.  Modelik kits are generally well-regarded in the hobby. 

 

JSC:  JSC have an extensive line of ship models. They are one of the few Polish publishers to offer a large selection of models in scales other than the usual 1/200 favored in that country. JSC kits are normally either 1/250 or 1/400.  Many of JSC's kits are older, hand-drawn designs.

 

Kartonowy Arsenal (KA):  Better known as Halinski, KA offer highly detailed models.  KA kits are best suited for advanced modelers.

 

Orel:  This Ukrainian publisher is prolific.  They offer a large selection of Czarist-era warships, sailing vessels, and Civil War ironclads, mostly in 1/200 scale. 

 

HMV:  The Hamburger Modellbaubogen Verlag is probably the premier German ship model source.  Their kits are published in 1/250 scale, the scale preferred in Germany.  They have a wide selection of warships, passenger ships, and merchantmen.  They also offer an extensive line of after-market detail sets.

 

Moewe Verlag:  Also known as Wilhelmshavener, this publisher has an extensive line of warships, passenger ships, and merchantmen in 1/250.  Ordering from them can be kind of tricky, since many of their kits are older hand-drawn models, and this isn’t indicated in the product description.  MV kits tend to be less detailed than HMV kits, but they have a broader selection and somewhat lower prices.  They don’t offer after-market detail sets.

 

J F Schreiber:  Schreiber are the third major German publisher.  Their kits are, as a rule, less detailed than either HMV or Moewe, but they offer more kits of simpler subjects suited to beginning modelers.  They also offer more kits in 1/100 scale than other publishers.  Schreiber operates an on-line store.

 

Paper Shipwright:  Designer David Hathaway’s line of kits is unique in its extensive offering of monitors.  David also designs small passenger craft and working vessels.  These are generally very good kits and also reasonably priced, with a fair but not overwhelming amount of detail.  Paper Shipwright kits can be ordered directly from their website.

 

Shipyard: A publisher of sailing subjects in 1/72 and 1/96 scales. Shipyard kits are available in the US from Ages of Sail.

 

Seahorse: Sailing subjects in a variety of scales.

 

In addition to the publishers just listed, there are some e-commerce sites that sell card models in general. I'll list a few of them here.

 

Karton Modell Shop (Germany)

Marcle Models (UK)

E-Cardmodels (digital downloads only)

 

Have fun browsing!

 

Back to Part II: Start for FREE!     On to Pt. IV: Tools & Other Supplies

[mspringer]

I've been looking at some of the Shipyard (Poland) kits and have a question.  What is the difference between a "paper" kit and a "laser cardboard" kit?  Obviously, the cardboard kit looks to have a heavier stock and also a smaller product offering...I only see 6 ship kits listed on their site.  I'd suppose the paper kits are more of a heavy paper and also not precut with a laser?  It also looks like the laser cardboard kits come with brass, paint and rigging, more like a standard wood kit.  

[ccoyle]

With Shipyard, one gets a variety of choices: kit alone, frames alone, plans alone, kit plus frames, and 'complete kits', which include parts, paint, details, rigging, i.e., the works.  Kits labeled "laser cardboard" are complete kits -- everything is included.  Price goes up accordingly. 

[Richmond]

Not sure if this is the right place to post. I have recently found these card sellers - all have English language website options plus very tidy websites.

 

https://www.super-hobby.com/ 

https://www.kartonmodellbau.de (Fentens) - there is a Fentens in Australia as well but the stock is limited. Please note that Abadonna no longer exists so there is no longer a Shipyard 'ship' outlet in Australia although you can get their lighthouse kits from Modellers Central.

https://www.papel3d.com/en/

 

Of course Cornwall sell card models as well, and their PP, as most of you would know, is very reasonable

 

RICHMOND

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Richmond

[rcweir]

I just ordered two kits from Moewe Verlag and they were fulfilled - very promptly - by their US rep HB Precision Card Models (www.hbprecisioncard.com).   If you're in the US, going through HB Precision Card will simplify ordering and, since they have their own stock, it's a big boon for rapid gratification.