Roller for Laminations
One of the handiest tools in my toolbox is a wallpaper seam roller. It's a hardwood roller about 3cm wide by 3cm in diameter, with a metal shank and a wooden handle. The whole thing is about 14 cm long. I use it anytime I have to laminate paper parts. It is especially handy for gluing large formers to heavy card stock. And it's small enough to fit inside the larger fuselage sections or hull sections. You can find one any place that sells paint & wallpaper. Mine cost a couple of bucks.
--David Sakrison, Ripon, Wisconsin USA

Gentle Handling
Supporting an airplane model while you're working on the underside of it can be a problem. You risk bending or damaging topside parts. You can rest the model upside down, supported by boxes or jelly jars but it's not very stable and you risk bending the wings.

MICROMARK offers a solution for model railroaders that works for paper models, too. Item #80784--"Soft-Touch" Foam Cradle-- is a 31 x 14 x 5 cm block of black foam rubber with two grooves cut in the top side to hold HO and N scale locomotives and rolling stock while you paint, decal, or detail them. It works just fine for gently supporting airplane paper models. I've used it to hold fuselage sections while I installed canopies or cockpit details and to cradle airplanes upside down while I installed landing gear or other underside details.

It doesn't slide around on my cutting mat. It's soft enough to protect all but the most delicate details, and it's light enough (1/2 an ounce?) that you can throw it at the cat without damaging anything. [Photo courtesy of Micro-Mark]
--David Sakrison , Ripon, Wisconsin USA

Submit your own paper modeling Hints & Tips to sakrison@dotnet.com. Try to keep them reasonably short. Include any photos or diagrams you need, and your name and location (city/state/country).

Hints & Tips Editor David Sakrison (sakrison@dotnet.com) is a paper modeler, model railroader, Private Pilot, and professional writer & editor. He lives near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA.