best method to form cylinder for space ship/rocket

luxair_ca

New Member
hello everybody

i retook paper modelling after several years of passive modelling only (buying and collecting kits only) and i am now starting again with building them...

as i want to build some gemini and apollo spacecrafts for my shelf, i d like to know what is the easiest way of getting a nice round shape of the body of these capsules ? most of the time , i am getting oval forms, instead of real round...

what could i do to improve my skills here?

Marc
 

legion

New Member
Add a round former or end caps to both ends. For long tubes, you'll need a bit more formers though.
Easy way to make the former sit where it is supposed to (or where you want it) is to glue a small strip of paper on the inside of your part so that you create a ledge when you roll the part. Place the former on this ledge.

Just make sure those formers are circles!
 
P

Paper Kosmonaut

Hi Marc, Another good method is to use tubes to roll the cylinder around. For big ones you can use mail-tubes for things like posters, smaller ones might be rods of any kind up to as small as a knitting needle. Use the one smaller but closest to the size you need.
Roll the cylinder around the to get it into a curved shape, glue the ends together while around the tube and roll your cylinder around the rod or tube on a flat surface. Make sure to do it all the way around to prevent shaping it into an oval.
Next important thing is to use a kind of paper which is a bit thicker than regular copier paper. Thinner paper easier tends to get misshapen.
For the rest, like Legion says, you can always use round formers inside the cylinders. Most designers have those included in the kit.
If you want to make them yourself, use a compass cutter or something like this thing here, a hollow punch.
5700.jpg

I have all sizes from 2 millimeters to 15 mm. They're meant to punch out holes in leather. With paper models, use them with a piece of cardboard. you just push them gently into the paper and carefully twist them round. The circles you can punch out with them are very good to use. and they're perfectly round!
Good luck and please show us your results when it's there!
 
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