Lol!!!

The ones I have seen look

The ones I have seen look just like what they are,Printed paper glued to a cardboard box.Even cheap kits are better

...from another forum,   In

...from another forum,

check mindheim

Rather than argue I would suggest you take a look at Mindheim's article in MRH about using photographs to make buildings.  He uses a styrene base, I use postboard.  To me they look great.

I too am a big fan of printed buildings

To me they are more realistic than painted styrene kits. -- de gustibus non disputandum est.

Or...

нет рассуждения о вкусах

Card Stock Buildings.

Card Stock Buildings are very popular in Britain and are becoming popular here in the USA.

https://www.metcalfemodels.com/

http://www.clevermodels.net

They are leaps and bounds above the old cut out buildings of yesteryear.

This is a great example of

This is a great example of what I am trying to get at on my blog about realism.  Often you can find a radically different method leading to better results. 

-Doug Meyer

I'll second Lance's article

I'll second Lance's article referred to above. Even a first effort looks pretty good for my station (need to fix the first floor window to the right

Station is printed photo on foam board shell. Background buildings are traditional plastic kits.

Forced Perspective ?

Does anyone have any experience using these types of models/products for backdrop flats or forced perspective uses? I am looking to have a 18" deep shelf style layout and was looking for something to work for the back side buildings.

Have a Go...

Photo texture problems

Sue,

I agree to an extent that there are cardstock models that look more fake than plastic kits. You have to be careful about what you get. I find what happens is exactly what my camera does when I shoot a photo of a building. It gets it right, mostly, but sometimes the hue and saturation of color are off. If I tried to print it out it and use it as a photo texture it would be cartoonish in subtle ways but still cartoonish. I think that is what happens to some of the cardstock models you buy. They are good kits but the textures haven't been reworked properly and it hurts the look of the model. Scale Scenes is my favorite but they are mostly UK models. I have bought a lot of their textures from the scartchbuilder's section of the site and just do up my own base. The structure I have posted here is done from a photo someone took of the Hotel Meade in MT. I used GIMP to remove the perspective and do a line drawing. I used cereal box as the base and glued the texture sheet to it. I cut and wrapped the windows and made the door. it too is ceral board. Scriber and painted. The hinges and door knob are tiny bits of painted paper and the knob is the first 1/64 inch from the end of a tooth pick. The close up image shows where I was not precise enough in my wrapping of the door BUT, that image is using a macro lens from 2 inches from the model. You can't see the flaws at 6 inches or more away...the model will be further back than that on the layout. Another UK source is model railrway scenery A new-comer is team track models. I like their textures a great deal but you still have to pay attention and evaluate the look of any texture sheets. I have bought a couple of bad sheets. I write them off as unavoidable and really, the price of a handful of bad texture sheets is still well less than one bad plastic kit so I am fine with it. The windows are technically still cardstock. They are from Rusty Stumps. They are laser cut with a peel and stick back. At that size they are just darn fiddly and a challange to work with but they are very reasonably prices and really look great.

.  

Forced Perspective

This answer assumes you are scratchbuilding. It would be harder using a kit or the Evan's software but could still be done. The key is to isolate the piece you are after to force the perspective on. You can put the element to be forced into Gimp or Photoshop and use the perspective tool on it. I have to admit I am usually UNDOING that affect in order to have straight lines to template from but if you laid the item out as it should be scale wise you could then use the perspective and add some, or a lot, to the piece and everything should shrink and bend the way you want it to.

No need to go very far for

No need to go very far for scratch building plans.  Look at this: http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/16213

Gator Board

I just found a big foam board supply. It was scraps from a sign making shop.
Just like that gatorboard that is quite expensive.

And it had laid  outside thru a number of rainstorms, yet appeared to be NOT waterlogged in any way

Santa Fe train station

I would like to eventually 'create' this building in a 'gator board' with printed matter glued to its surfaces,....at least as a temporary model until my skills/time gets better. 

from another forum

Don't limit yourself to cardstock buidings

Don't limit yourself to cardstock buildings.

I have a couple hundred cardstock containers that look great, cost me next to nothing, are a broad representation of shipping lines, and I was even able to take a plain white container and overlay a translucent layer with my own art for my own railroad's containers, without having to have decals made. 

Since most of my container cars are the metal Walthers 5 unit Thrall cars, they don't need extra weight at all.  Double stick tape serves to "double stack" the containers.

I've had a lot of questions at show like "Where did you get that XXX container?" I tell them i found it in my printer...