Mark Crowel

Thank you for the compliments and encouragement, gentlemen.

After a series of uncompleted models, I finally finished one. (If I am unsatisfied with the way a model is turning out, and if I would have to almost rebuild it to make it right, I'll eventually scrap it; such is the freedom of cardboard.) Presented here is my 1/20th scale 1950 Nash Ambassador Airflyte. The center section and side pontoons are constructed of layers of corrugated cardboard cut to their profile shapes, and glued side by side, with lightweight cardboard over that, and finished with colored paper. The colors are authentic; the reference is a site called Auto Color Library, from which you can view any colors offered, for any year, of any brand of car you are ever likely to replicate. The wheels roll on nail axles. I draw my own plans, and make my own patterns and parts.

Just a notice that member HotRodaSaurus (John Taylor) is definitely worthy of your trust. I received, as promised, free of any cost, two Soviet Era postcards published in Russia and East Germany. These feature photos of Volga and Trabant automobiles. They arrived soon, and in good condition. Mark Crowel

John, The Lada was based on the 124, yes. They were sold in Canada, at least until 1989, the year of my Lada brochure. I don't know if they still are. From what litttle I've read, the limos were of good quality, and on a par with anything comparable from the West. They would have to have been good, as they were for party officials, KGB, visiting dignitaries, etc. The lower priced Russian cars are said to be underpowered. I don't know whether they were reliable, but they were designed to be easy to fix. Russia doesn't have many service garages, so owners often have to do their own repairs. Kyle Keeton, the founder of Russian Cars Forum, is an American living permanently in Moscow. His car was a 1987 Volga 24-10 sedan. (It was recently stolen and destroyed.) He claims it was the best car he's ever owned. He liked its ruggedness. He bought it a few years ago for $900, and since then, had put that much into it for repairs. Not bad for a twenty-two year old car.

John, Many Russian cars are derived from European or American cars. Their suspensions were strengthened and their road clearance increased, to cope with Russian roads. Also, modifications were made for use in extremely cold weather. The first Moskvich cars were derived from prewar Opel Kadettes. Second generation Moskviches (1956-1964) were probably of Russian origin, but copied Western European styling from the early '50s. These had four-stroke in-line four cylinder engines. Third generation Mossies were based on Fiats. The website has an article about an American who restored a 1958 Moskvich. He bought it from a California junkyard! The ZIM limousine (1950-1959) looks like a direct copy of the '49 Buick. The ZIS 110 limo (late '40's to 1958) was made directly from 1942 Packard dies. The GAZ-13 Chaika limo (1959-1981) primarily copied the 1956 Packard, with 1956 Lincoln influenced rear quarters. Ladas were derived from Fiats. Volgas seem to be the favorite Russian cars. For a three-part article on the Volga, please click the russiancars link in my signature. Trabants are from East Germany, with two-stroke engines, and plastic bodies made from resin- reinforced papermache and/or rag fibers! The bright blue tuner in Harry's post on this page is a Trabant. You can make a present-day Volga Siber from a 2001-2006 Chrysler Sebring or '01-'06 Dodge Stratus. Change the grille, the badges, beef up the suspension, and you have a Volga Siber-literally. GAZ (Gorky Automobile Factory, Gorky, Russia) bought the tooling for that generation of Sebring/Stratus: platform, engine, body, everything. There is an article on the website about this. It would be interesting to see someone do that conversion.

Harry, I believe that "bullet car" was an experimental car from GAZ (Gorky Automobile Factory) in the 1930's. Everyone: thanks for your responses.

Bernard, Ditto to leaving well enough alone. A lesson I've had to learn the hard way, and relearn, and re-relearn. Just haaad to do a little bit more to get it juuust right, then OH,****! It looks great as is, and definitely keep the whitewalls and flippers. That car of yours was meant to be retro. Mark

Please send a private message to ask for website link. Thank you, Mark Crowel

Here is the link for the complete build thread on this car: http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157283

This one will astound you. It's one of the best scratchbuilds of a modern SUV you are likely to see, and you probably won't believe it's paper. There are links within this thread to more pictures of this excellent car model. http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160690 Philipino Jeepney. http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160399 There will be links on this site to take you to the picasaweb hosting site for the build photos.

See the model car build threads in these links. And keep in mind, that the models you are about to see are not plastic, but paper. This car is known as a Zhiguli in Russia, but we know it as a Lada here in the West. http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/vehicle...hur-1-20-a.html This 1946-1955 car is a Pobeda in Russia, and a Warszawa in Poland. http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/vehicle...obeda-sssr.html 1979 Dodge Magnum (it shared the Cordoba body). This thread shows a simple way to design and build a replica. http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156577

There are modelers who can do compound curves in paper, but I'm not one of them. It involves thin strips of paper, each cut to a simple curve and joined in succession along their edges, to produce the compound curve. I've seen this done with motorcycle fenders, old car fenders, and ship hulls. The closest I've come is with this red 1950 bullet-nose Studebaker's hood (see attachment).

Thanks for all the compliments, and I'll try to answer all the questions. I started the switch from plastic car kits, to scratchbuilding with cardboard, back in 1980, so I could have models of the cars I like. Please see my entries on the members gallery here on Model Cars Magazine Forum. The spark plugs are cut from Q-tip swab sticks, and the colored paper is cardstock. Plastic transparency makers are the "glass". There are IPMA meets that now allow paper model entries. Paper modeling is growing in popularity, due to: lower costs; easy workability, especially for scratchbuilding; and an increasing variety of commercially produced paper kits (mostly available in downloadable format, or CD's, or mail order). There is a card modelers' forum on Zealot Hobby Forum, and an online club called Papermodelers.com I'm a member of both cardmodeler sites. They are very active, with a few thousand members each, mostly from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Thank you again for your interest and encouraging comments. Mark

I built this homemade cardboard and colored paper model for a friend in Maryland, who has the real thing. The orange color is authentic. Studebaker called it "Tangerine", and offered it for only part of 1956. Here are some of the build photos. The finished model is about 21 inches long. It is also my avatar.

Joel's Futureliner is a museum quality work of industrial art.

If Mario can find a nine inch tall person, he'll have a driver. That is incredibly fine machining going into this car.