What architectural models are made of.

Most architectural models are cut from sheets 1–3 mm thick: greyboard for working and terrain models, white card for presentation, basswood for fine parts, kraft MDF for laser work, acrylic for glass. At 1:100 a 2 mm sheet reads as a 20 cm wall, so the thickness you choose is the wall you get.

Kraft MDF 2 · 3 mm
Corrugated board 3 · 5 mm
Red card 1 · 2 mm
Balsa 1 · 1.5 · 2 · 3 mm
Dark wood 1.5 · 3 mm
Terracotta 2 · 3 mm
Basswood 0.8 · 1.5 · 3 mm
Greyboard 1 · 1.5 · 2 mm
Acrylic 1 · 2 · 3 mm
White card 1 · 2 · 3 mm
White foam board 3 · 5 mm

Each sheet, up close.

Stepped plates and a standing corner, cut from every sheet the studio offers in a thickness it really comes in, under a low raking lamp. One camera, one lens, one scale for all eleven.

Eleven sheets on the shelf

These are the materials in the studio, with the numbers the knife and the laser work to. Each one keeps its own thicknesses, kerf and smallest part, so the studio can warn you before a cut fails.

Materials in Greyboard: thicknesses, knife passes, kerf, smallest part, laser speed
Material	Sheets	By knife	Kerf	Smallest part	Laser speed	Good for
Kraft MDF	2 · 3 mm	no, laser only	0.2 mm	1 mm	2 mm → 15 mm/s · 3 mm → 10 mm/s	the warm “model” look, laser work, base boards
Corrugated board	3 · 5 mm	3 mm → 2 passes · 5 mm → 2 passes	0.3 mm	5 mm	3 mm → 30 mm/s · 5 mm → 18 mm/s	terrain, bases, ribbed textures
Greyboard	1 · 1.5 · 2 mm	1 mm → 2 passes · 1.5 mm → 3 passes · 2 mm → 4 passes	0.2 mm	1 mm	1 mm → 20 mm/s · 1.5 mm → 13 mm/s · 2 mm → 10 mm/s	working and massing models, terrain
White card	1 · 2 · 3 mm	1 mm → 2 passes · 2 mm → 4 passes · 3 mm → 6 passes	0.15 mm	0.8 mm	1 mm → 30 mm/s · 2 mm → 15 mm/s · 3 mm → 10 mm/s	presentation models, the “white world”
Basswood	0.8 · 1.5 · 3 mm	0.8 mm → 1 pass · 1.5 mm → 2 passes · 3 mm → 3 passes	0.15 mm	1 mm	0.8 mm → 28 mm/s · 1.5 mm → 15 mm/s · 3 mm → 7 mm/s	fins, frames, fine details
Dark wood	1.5 · 3 mm	no, laser only	0.2 mm	1 mm	1.5 mm → 20 mm/s · 3 mm → 10 mm/s	contrast volumes, bases
Terracotta	2 · 3 mm	no, laser only	0.2 mm	1 mm	2 mm → 15 mm/s · 3 mm → 10 mm/s	warm accent volumes
Acrylic	1 · 2 · 3 mm	score and snap	0.15 mm	1.5 mm	1 mm → 24 mm/s · 2 mm → 12 mm/s · 3 mm → 8 mm/s	glass, water, lit volumes
Balsa	1 · 1.5 · 2 · 3 mm	1 mm → 1 pass · 1.5 mm → 2 passes · 2 mm → 2 passes · 3 mm → 3 passes	0.15 mm	1 mm	1 mm → 40 mm/s · 1.5 mm → 27 mm/s · 2 mm → 20 mm/s · 3 mm → 13 mm/s	warm timber: decks, cylinders, trees
White foam board	3 · 5 mm	3 mm → 2 passes · 5 mm → 3 passes	0.3 mm	3 mm	3 mm → 20 mm/s · 5 mm → 12 mm/s	a pure white context, quick volumes
Red card	1 · 2 mm	1 mm → 2 passes · 2 mm → 4 passes	0.15 mm	0.8 mm	1 mm → 30 mm/s · 2 mm → 15 mm/s	figures and small accents

Starting values for a 40–60 W CO2 laser with air assist and a fresh blade; test the kerf and speed on your own machine. The knife and laser columns read “thickness → passes” and “thickness → speed”.

How thick is the wall at each scale?

A model’s thickness is multiplied by the scale. Pick the sheet that matches the real wall, or accept a thicker wall as the price of a sturdy model.

Real thickness of a model sheet at common architectural scales
Sheet	1:50	1:100	1:200	1:500
1 mm	5 cm	10 cm	20 cm	50 cm
1.5 mm	7.5 cm	15 cm	30 cm	75 cm
2 mm	10 cm	20 cm	40 cm	1 m
3 mm	15 cm	30 cm	60 cm	1.5 m
5 mm	25 cm	50 cm	1 m	2.5 m

Example: a 30 cm brick wall is 3 mm at 1:100, or 6 mm at 1:50, which is two sheets of 3 mm glued together.

Which material for which model?

Massing and working models

Greyboard 1–2 mm. Cheap, quiet to cut, forgiving under the knife; grey keeps attention on form.
Presentation models

White card 1–2 mm, sometimes with basswood or acrylic accents. Photographs well in the White world preset.
Terrain and site models

Greyboard, corrugated board or kraft MDF; the sheet thickness sets the contour interval.
Glass and water

Acrylic 1–3 mm: scored and snapped by hand, cut cleanly by laser.

When the material says no

Real sheets have limits, and the studio keeps them: a bridge thinner than the smallest part tears, kraft MDF, dark wood and terracotta cannot be cut by hand, corrugated board bends only across its flutes.

It says so quietly, one pencil line beside the problem, the way an experienced model maker would. The line disappears once the part is fixed.

A little thin here: 0.6 mm. Greyboard holds its shape from 1 mm.

Questions about materials

What thickness of greyboard is best for architectural models?

1–2 mm. 1 mm for small parts and 1:200 massing, 1.5–2 mm for walls at 1:100 and for terrain layers; a 2 mm sheet takes about 4 knife passes.

What is kerf?

The width of material the laser burns away along a cut, about 0.15–0.3 mm for card and wood. Greyboard keeps the parts at least a kerf apart on the sheet and leaves the offset of the outline to your laser software, which knows your machine.

Can I cut MDF or plywood with a knife?

Not well, and not in Greyboard: kraft MDF, dark wood and terracotta are marked laser only. Card, basswood and corrugated board can be cut by hand.

How do I cut acrylic by hand?

Score it once along a steel rule and snap it over an edge. In Greyboard acrylic is cut that way by hand, or cleanly by laser.

Clear the table. Start a model.

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