WAK 1/33 P-40C paper model & laser cut frames
Reviewed by Brad Hagen

WAK is a Polish company that makes detailed paper models on a variety of subjects. This review will focus on their P-40C in British Desert markings as well as their supplemental laser cut frames.

1/33 P-40C

The model comes in book form with a beautiful artwork of the aircraft in flight. The text on the inside of the cover is in Polish so I'm not sure what it says, I would assume a history of the aircraft as well as some instructions.

There are 4 pages of artwork on construction of the frames, the interior, the wings, tail, and the rest of the aircraft. Even if you can't read Polish, it is very easy to follow along as the parts are clearly numbered and the drawings show where everything goes.

There are 6 pages of literally hundreds of parts that make up the model, some of the pages are ordinary paper, while some of the pages are very heavy card stock. Some of the parts on the thin paper are plain white with a black outline, they are meant glued to the specified card stock, in this model's case, the card is 1 mm and then they are cut out to make the framework. Other parts on the thin paper are colored and meant to be glued to the framework. The parts that are printed on the heavier card stock comprised the interior parts, wheel wells, as well as the exterior skins and the rest of the aircraft.

The printing on this model is well done and completely in register with subtle weathering and paint chipping. As with any model, additional weathering such as exhaust stains and oil streaking helps add to the realism. These models are designed to be built without the need for painting, but the edges of the paper need to be colored the same color of the printing to hide the white edges. Modelers use a variety of techniques including paint, markers, and chalk.

While these models are designed so they can be built without any painting other than coloring the edges, I have seen them built where the paper was sealed and then they were painted like you would a plastic or resin model, and you couldn't tell the difference between them.

Laser cut frames

WAK offers laser cut frames for some of their models, and they are a huge timesaver as the heavier card stock can be tiresome to cut through, especially the parts that are rounded, the laser cut frames ensures that those parts are accurate, any deformity in the frames will show up on the model. The laser cutting was very crisp and thin with virtually no scorching of the paper.

Conclusion

Paper modeling is something that many of us modelers are not used to and some even look at it as a black art and are amazed at some of the shapes paper modelers can get. As with anything, it takes practice and can be a nice challenge for a modeler that is looking for a change of pace or wanting to do an unusual subject as there are lots of very obscure subjects available in paper.

Some of the models have canopies available separately, unfortunately, not all of them do which can be a challenge, either you would have to try to fit or convert an aftermarket 1/32 canopy if it would fit, or make a plug and pull your own canopy. Other aftermarket parts in the 1/32 range can also be used.

A couple of pluses for these models, they are very inexpensive compared to plastic or resin models, my P-40C cost $10.49 US and the laser cut frames cost $8.49 US. You can also scan in the parts, so if you make a mistake, you can print out the parts as often as you need.

Here is a picture of this model with some additional weathering.

This is the build of that model with lots of photos showing the progress.

Here is a detailed build of a P-39 from a different company that is a pretty good primer on building a paper model.

WAK's web site