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Card model Tudor House

Dave Graffam Tudor House Printable

I got a Dave Graffam paper model file recently and put it together.

The file comes in a PDF format and contains the outer skins of the building which you must print from a colour printer. The paper can be cut out and glued together to form a building but you get a more sturdy finish if you make a card shell and wrap it in the printed finish   

The fundamental of any building is square corners. The same is true of a card shell. I use a simple Lego corner and clamp my pieces to it while the glue dries.

Lego makes a great square corner

Then I re-enforce the corners with a small piece of right angle card....a couple per corner. this keeps the building square and provides rigidity once the building is complete. Once the card inner is fully dry, I glue on the printed paper outer skin. All the paper flaps are glued and folded over the card edges to cover the white edge with the printed finish. Note the two extra flaps....these form a floor of the upper storey where it overhangs the lower storey.

Lower Floor of the Tudor house wrapped in the printed paper.

The upper floor got the same treatment, a sturdy card inner form, covered with the printed paper skin.

Upper floor covered with printed finish

All inner corners were braced with a right angle piece of card.

Upper floor with all inner corners braced with a right angle piece of card

Since there is really no place for the two paper flaps from the lower floor to stick to, I added 2 fake bases -one at each end. This provides a stable surface to glue the flaps to and keeps everything square.

Fake base added at each end as gluing surface for lower floor flaps.

When viewed from underneath, it is now possible to see where the paper flaps from the ground floor will glue to the two new base points on the upper floor.

Ground floor paper flaps positioned to glue to upper floor.

A card base was added covered with a printed flagstone pattern.

House assembled onto base

Duct tape was added as lead flashing on the chimney and side window. The tape was washed in very diluted black acrylic paint. 

Right side and back of house

Balsa wood bracing was cut to size and stained brown to act as supports to the upper floor. 

Finished house from rear

Model eye view from front

Some items were printed a second time and glued to black card, cut out and stuck to the building to give a sense of 3D relief e.g. Door, window, brace supports. 

Finally a small bit of flock was added to disguise the joint between house and base. 

Model eye view from fronr right corner

All in all I am very happy with how this turned out.