Paper Container Stacks

I post here now and then on my adventures with making structures from photos I find on the web. I decided to investigate what might be done with the paper container stacks that are available on this site, which has a section for Free printable stacks of 40 foot shipping containers. There are several cautions here. Like everything that's "free", this really isn't. The download is free, but I find these things eat ink fast, so the cost of ink, foamcore, glue, blades, and photo paper will probably be a couple bucks per stack once you're done.

Second, the scale of the drawings is a puzzle. The drawings are represented variously as N, HO, or other scales, but once you print them out, they aren't. You need to print out a drawing on plain paper and measure it against a scale rule. The container in the drawing may come out to something like 32 feet in HO. You then need to divide 40 by 32 to get the ratio to enlarge the drawing. I found 118% was right, but your printer and computer may vary. I opened the downloaded picture in MS Paint and resized it 118%, When I printed the image, the 40 foot container came out to HO 40 feet long.

I used glossy photo paper to print the models. I had it on hand, but new containers have glossy paint, and I like the slightly glossy look of the finished product. I cut the printed image out as shown below:

I scored the fold lines lightly on the backs of the images and folded them with the help of a metal rule. Then I cut pieces of foamcore slightly less than 40 x 16 scale feet to back up the roofs and form a floor. This helps maintain the structural integrity of the finished product, and the floor makes sure the bottoms of the sides are straight.

Then I added additional bracing from stripwood. In my case, I save used fireplace-barbecue matches for use as structural bracing.

I finish the basic box by adding the floor, with the bottom stripwood bracing serving as a ledge to mount it accurately. Then I add more stripwood braces at the edges of the sides to serve as stiffeners, as well as to provide a surface to glue the ends in place.

With the box turned right side up, the remaining task is to fold the ends down and glue them in place.

I used light rubber bands to hold the ends in place while the glue dried.

Here's a finished product.

One thing to keep in mind is that even if I work as carefully as I can, these things aren't going to come out perfectly. They're background models, probably with a good side to face the viewer and a less good side to face away, and they shouldn't be put near a mass-produced plastic container model. However, that said, they're cheap, a fun project, and good for filling a background spot. I'm turning to finishing up a harbor-waterftront scene on my layout, and at least for now, they have a place: