If you’ve never built a paper model before, here’s an example of one that was recently completed by one of our customers. This is the 1/96-scale model of the British Navy cutter HMS Alert, built from a kit by Shipyard of Poland.

This model began as any other paper model kit. Everything is paper except the cannon barrels and the sails and spars. The sails are cloth, the cannon barrels are aftermarket brass cannons painted black, the masts and spars are wood. There are also some small improvised details, like wire handles for the windlass handles and a piece of window screen mesh used for the skylight frame.

The photos below show the laser-cut framework and the similarities between this company’s kits and wooden ship model kits.

One of the biggest advantages of the Shipyard paper kits is that the line of Paper Model kits is very inexpensive in comparison to wooden ship model kits. These kits require a lot of cutting and gluing, but the visible parts are pre-printed in color. You just have to supply your own dowels for the masts and yards. And, if you choose to add sails, you will have to provide your own cloth, etc.

Meanwhile, the line of Laser Cardboard kits are boxed edition kits that contain everything you need to build them including pre-cut, pre-printed sails, dowels for masts and spars, turned brass cannons, and cast resin figurehead. The parts are all laser cut from plain white card stock. Paints and paint brush are also included.

Try one out today! For younger builders, check out the lighthouse kits. They’re a lot simpler to build than a sailing ship, and make nice, fun projects.