Today I'm tackling something that has been frequently asked by friends on Discord and Twitter: how do you make your paper soldiers? I'm starting a new army and figured this would be the perfect time to answer this question in a helpful step by step tutorial. Before we begin we'll need to acquire some materials: firstly some paper soldiers to print out, I highly recommend Peter Dennis' Paperboys as being especially suited for making large formations of troops quickly. His original Paperboys can be found here and come with enough troops to field the two main armies in the period depicted, some terrain for the battlefield, and some basic rules to get you started by the estimable Andy Callan; if going this route I highly recommend purchasing the books as PDFs to increase the ease of printing out the pages. His other outlet for figures is his website, here you will find some free sheets to try out for those of you unsure about your papercraft skills as well as individual sheets, army bundles, and terrain bundles in various sizes (28mm, 18mm, and 10mm). You will obviously also need a printer, I use an Epson 2850 Ink Tank printer, which keeps the cost of printing down versus buying printer cartridges.
The following figures (12 stands in total) were put together in two afternoons of work; an army can be put together in no time!
Basic Materials
1) Good Quality Paper (not Cardstock), at least 24 lb; I prefer Pen & Gear's 28 lb Copy Paper from Walmart
2) Scissors
3) Matte ModPodge, available almost anywhere
4) a small Flat Paintbrush (raid your children's art supplies)
5) Glue Sticks (Elmer's works just fine, I prefer the purple Elmer's sticks because they allow you to see what you've covered)
6) Contact Adhesive; I use Gorilla Glue's Clear Grip
7) Basing Material; I use Presentation Board from Hobby Lobby ($2.50 for a 15"x20" sheet)
8) Base Paper (available on Peter's website, or you could use a paint and flock method like with traditional miniatures)
9) Thick Heavy Books for pressing figures flat while the glue dries
10) Forks for holding the ranks upright while the contact adhesive dries
11) Paper Towels/Old Newspapers
Advanced Materials
1) Detail Scissors, I prefer Beaditive Detail Scissors
2) A Paper Cutter, either Guillotine or Sliding Type (makes cutting out the Base Paper much easier)
3) Craft Knife and Cutting Mat
4) Colored Pencils
Step 1: Print out the Pages
Self-explanatory, should look like this when done. Note: if you want to print the figures smaller than the advertised size, this is possible by dividing the required size by the normal size and using print scaling to print at the new size (i.e. want to scale down the 28mm figures to 15mm print the page at 54% of it's original size); this does not work well in reverse, detail will be lost as well as parts of the page when upscaling. Other Note: some Paperboys are completely Color-Your-Own and some have aspects of the drawing that need coloring (to keep Mr. Dennis from having to make endless variations on the same pose), before you cut out the tabs color the applicable parts if necessary with colored pencil.
Printed sheets for Ranks, Command, & Base Paper
Step 2: Cut out and Fold the Tabs
Cut out the rank tabs along the black lines, fold the tab in half along the black line at the top, the end result should look like these:
Cut out tabs of Ranks, Officers, Command Strips; note: some of the early Paperboys had bottom folds or side folds, newer ones are all top fold
Folded and ready for gluing.
Step 3: Glue and Press the Tabs
Apply glue to the inside of the tab, refold along the top line and press beneath some heavy books, the end result should look like these (let sit under the books for at least an hour):
Cover one half plus a bit to make sure the crease gets enough glue. 
Glued and pressed flat by hand ready to be sandwiched between 2 paper towels and left under some heavy books
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| Leave under some big heavy books for a few hours until the glue dries |
Step 4: Mod Podge the Tabs
Apply a thin even coat of Mod Podge to both the front and back of the tab and let dry (about 10 minutes or so); the Mod Podge not only gives the paper more strength but also allows it to bend without ripping, it also makes it harder to accidentally snip off thin bits like swords, rifles, & c. Note: Don't worry if the tab warps while applying the coats, it should lay mostly flat when dry, and if it doesn't dry flat you can always repress the tab under your heavy books. Also, don't worry if the corners or edges stick to the paper towel while drying, that part is about to get cut away in the next step.
The tabs should have a faint sheen when held at an angle in light.
Step 5: Snip out the Tab
Once the Mod Podge is totally dry, snip along the edges of the tab with the detail scissors, removing the white edges. Always cut with the front of the tab facing you, Mr. Dennis has made them so that the backs are colored a little bit outside the lines just in case your folding job isn't perfect. Note: for a very clean look snip in between the legs as well. Other Note: some figures, particularly Officers have multiple poses (usually additional arms), pick which one you want and snip away what you don't.
Officers with Multiple Poses
All Snipped and a pose selected for the Officer by cutting off one of his multiple arms 
Skirmishers are snipped out individually (some are made as a pair and can't easily be separated)
Step 6: Cut Base Paper and apply to Basing Material
Cut out the base paper (printed on regular copy paper) to the size required and glue to the bases, allow to dry at least 30 minutes (preferably under the weight of a heavy book), once dry cut out the bases from the sheet. Note: this is where a paper cutter really comes in handy.
The Infantry are recommended to be based on 40mmx20mm (1.5"x0.75"), the paper cutter makes this incredibly easy. 
The base paper is glued to the presentation board using a glue stick, left to dry under some heavy books
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| Cut out roughly from the presentation board. |
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| Trimming them precisely from the presentation board often pops the corners, this is easily fixed with a dab of Mod Podge and pressed back down. |
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| Ready for Paperboys! |
Steps 7-9: Attach your Ranks to the Bases
Run a thin bead of Contact Adhesive along the back half of the base, dip the feet of the rear rank in the Contact Adhesive and hold out of the Adhesive for 2 minutes; then place firmly in the Adhesive hold for another 15-30 seconds while the Contact Adhesive begins to set; then place the rank between the tines of a fork to let finish drying (should be totally stable in about 5 minutes or so, and completely set and cured within 24 hours); Repeat for the Front Rank and if applicable the Officers. Cavalry is done much the same as infantry, skirmishers are similar but cut out individually and based in clumps on the stand. Note: if you're building a whole unit of 6+ stands, by the time you are done setting the rear rank on the last stand the first stand should be more than ready for the front rank.
Run a thin bead of Contact Adhesive 
Dip the feet in the adhesive and hold out for about 2 minutes (I count slowly to 100) 
Place back firmly into the adhesive and let stand against the tines of a fork while the adhesive sets
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| After having done 4-6 rear ranks the first stand should be ready to run another bead for the front rank and repeat the process |
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| All done and ready to take the field! |
Artillery is tricky and comes in two varieties; 2.5D that are flat from the front with a 3D trail and fully 3D guns. Some sets also include other vehicles (carts, wagons, et c.); I'll cover these and more papercraft in future installments of this series.
