Saturday, July 4, 2009

Studio Ghibli Papercraft: Flapter

This papercraft comes from the 1986 animated movie Castle in the Sky, the first official movie release from Studio Ghibli. The flapter is a machine that flies by means of four vibrating insect-like wings. In the movie two young characters, Pazu and Sheeta, make use of the flapter in their adventures which eventually lead them to a legendary flying castle in the clouds. This papercraft was designed by "Orca", Japan, 2005. The template may be found here, while instructions in Japanese are located here. The wings may be built with either cardstock or clear plastic (as is shown in the photos).