Net Gives Paper New Dimension

Making models out of paper is a hobby with a long, long history. But thanks to computers and the Internet, it is becoming as popular today as during its heyday in Victorian times.

Paper was invented in China more than 2,000 years ago as a cheap alternative to silk, the primary writing medium of the time. But paper sculpting didn't appear until 1,500 years later.

Paper models first appeared in China, Korea and Japan, about 500 to 800 years ago, according to Michael LaFosse, an origami expert and the author of several books on paper sculpting. The models were used primarily for religious and ceremonial purposes; paper people and animals decorated altars.

Paper modeling reached the zenith of its popularity in Victorian times, when manufacturers learned how to mass-produce paper card and started producing goods such as paper shirt collars, valentine cards and packaging on an industrial scale. Paper dolls printed on card were especially popular, as were Christmas tree ornaments.

But by the 1920s, paper models had been superceded by modeling kits made of wood and metal, and later in the 1950s, plastic. In Eastern Europe, however, paper modeling continued to thrive because of a scarcity of plastic. The hobby is still extremely popular in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, as well as Asia, especially Japan.

"The Japanese make paper models out of everything they use in daily life," said Peter Visser, a model designer from the Netherlands. "Japan has always been playing with paper, first Origami and later with paper models."

Today, paper is still the material of choice for architectural models and prototypes of products. But it's also becoming a popular hobby again thanks to computers, inkjet printers and the Internet.

"The Internet has been great in breathing new life back into paper modeling," Black said. "Paper models begin as printed pages, and most personal computers are attached to a printer. What better way to send a three-dimensional image, product or promo?"

Mark Lardas, another modeling expert from Palestine, Texas, agreed. "Cheap color printers and graphics software allowed the technologically savvy to print their own cardstock models," he said. "And the Internet allowed card modelers to communicate with each other, even across the Atlantic."

Lardas said modelers use the Net to exchange models and tips. In 1997, four American modelers announced on a mailing list they had held a paper modeling 'world convention' in Centerville, Ohio. Lardas said the announcement was meant as a joke, but it spurred inquiries from all over the world. The following year, the convention was truly international, with modelers traveling from Germany, the Netherlands and Britain.

Companies that design and sell card models, such as Fiddlers Green, based in Chandler, Arizona, are increasingly turning to the Internet to sell their models. Many of Fiddlers Green's kits are sold as downloadable files that are printed out on the buyer's computer. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, Fiddlers Green offered a free model of the World Trade Center towers, which was downloaded 250,000 times.

Even the Canadian Prison System is looking into giving prisoners paper models printed from the Internet and CDs. "They have a view to getting (the prisoners) involved in something productive and meaningful," Lardas said. "Especially paper buildings evolving into towns."

Models of just about everything imaginable can be found on the Internet, from nuclear power stations to Swedish summer cottages.