Home » Archives for December 2009
The first papercraft I posted in 2009 was a Tron papercraft, so I suppose it is fitting that I end the year with another Tron model. Anyone remember my WIP post for this? I started working on the template for this lightcyclist bust mid-year sometime, started building the model in September and have only finished just now. Except for the eyes and some portions of the hair, the build process is relatively simple. Lightcyclists such as this one appear only briefly in the Tron 2.0 video game and come in several different colors such as red, blue, green and yellow. The template information is as follows:
Scale: 1:1 estimated
Finished Size: 24"(61 cm) width x 13"(33 cm) depth x 15"(38 cm) height
Number of sheets: 24
Number of parts: 96
Difficulty: 4/5
Download (includes lined & unlined PDF's and a PDO)
I am not including any instructions with this model other than numbered tabs and the PDO file. I figure if you are interested in tackling a papercraft this complex you probably know what you are doing. ^^
Previous Tron 2.0 papercraft:
Alan Bradley's Helmet
Despite the detailed appearance of this papercraft Lamborghini Countach LP400, it is actually a fairly simple build with only 26 parts. My favorite part of the model is that the template gives the option of having the headlights in either an open or closed position. Another nice touch is that there are three body color options: red, yellow and white. Created way back in 2000 by Japanese designer, Yasu Tanaka, the template for this 1:30 scale model is available for download here.
One of my favorite science fiction movies is The Fifth Element, but papercraft models based on the film are virtually non-existent. This paper toy is one of the few examples I have come across. Now the face of this "Lila" Russian paper toy doesn't look much like Milla Jojovich in my opinion, but the costume and the orange hair are give aways that it is meant to be the character "Leeloo" from The Fifth Element. From the front, the oddly distorted body of the paper toy makes it look somewhat like an Egyptian sphinx. The easy one piece template may be found here.
Everyone loves sock monkeys. A unique North American craft item, the first sock monkeys are thought to have been created sometime in the early 20th Century. Sock monkeys are crafted from the signature red heeled socks manufactured by the Nelson Knitting Mills (now Fox River Mills). The stuffed monkeys had become popular enough by 1920 that the Nelson Knitting Mills began including instructions on how to build them with every pair of red heeled socks they sold. This simple papercraft sock monkey was created by Tyler Tinsley in 2008 and may be downloaded here.
I have begun experimenting with a method of creating papercraft that involves using digital photos. For my first attempt, I grabbed a Campbell's soup can from the pantry and took a few photos from which I created a 1:1 scale papercraft model. I intentionally chose a Campbell's soup can because I think it brings up some interesting questions. Is papercraft art? Most people would say that urban paper toys created by professional graphic designers are art, but what about papercraft created from 3D models ripped from video games? What about my soup can which is a life size paper replica of a real world object? I would like to believe that if Andy Warhol were still around he would say all these things are indeed art. In 2008, Warhol's 1:1 scale reproductions of a Brillo box, a Campbell's tomato juice box, a Del Monte peach halves box, and a Heinz tomato ketchup box together as a group sold for $4,750,000 at a Sotheby's auction. If only my papercraft tomato soup can would do as well. :) A download of the template is here.
Both the 2005 and 2006 Christmas specials of the Doctor Who television show feature robot Santas. The robot Santas are villains who arm themselves with musical instruments that double as weapons. Their trombones fire mortar shells, their trumpets fire bullets and their tubas are capable of being used as flamethrowers! This 2D printable paper mask is by Peter McKinstry and is based on the robot Santas as they appeared in the 2006 special which is titled "The Runaway Bride". A download of the mask is available from the BBC website here.
Related PostsCybershade MaskK9 Robot
It amazes me sometimes all that you can build with cardstock. Such is the case with this working papercraft camera. The template for this camera originally appeared in a 1979 issue of the Czech magazine ABC which is known for its excellent papercraft models. Using the same principle as pinhole cameras, this papercraft camera takes real photographs using 35mm film. A download of a scan of the template is available here at pinhole.cz, a website run by Czech graphic designer and pinhole camera enthusiast, David Balihar.
Ah, it's the time of the year for Christmas papercraft. This quaint little snow covered cottage is the work of designer Joshua Humphreys. I think he did a pretty good job on the textures. Since there are no instructions, building this becomes more of a Christmas cottage puzzle, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. ^^ The template for the cottage is located on Humphreys' deviantART page here.
One of my favorite board games of all time is Heroscape. Heroscape is a customizable miniature gaming system that lets you build your own battlefields and create custom armies from a wide assortment of characters such as dragons, secret agents, robots, samurai, vikings, aliens, cowboys and orcs. You can imagine my delight when I found something that combines two of my favorite things: papercraft and Heroscape. This papercraft dice tower was created by a Heroscape enthusiast for use with the game and contains nice touches such as some surprise images on the baffles inside the tower that can be seen when looking down though the hole in the top. The template for the tower may be downloaded from the Heroscapers forum here.
The Victoria & Albert Museums of England are offering an antique toy circus papercraft on their website. The original template for the circus was created by a French company around 1930. The best part of this papercraft is that it is an automata of sorts. Twirl the flag on top and the performers spin around like a merry-go-round. In addition to the usual cardstock, a piece of cork and a barbecue skewer are also required to build the circus. The template for this papercraft may be found here.
The Dodge M37 is a three-quarter ton four-wheel drive truck that was used extensively by the US Army during the Korean War. I don't know for sure, but I think versions of this truck probably appeared in the M*A*S*H television show which was set during the Korean War. This papercraft is offered by a member of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association who owns a real life M37 which he restored himself. A PDF template of the truck is available here.
It looks like I am not the only one interested in making papercraft of grainy textured 3D models from late 90's video games. :) A reader requested that I do some papercraft of models from the Half-Life video game and I was happy to oblige. This papercraft is of the Glock 9mm handgun that appears in the game. I did some research to insure that the finished model is as close as possible the size of an actual Glock. Look for more Half-Life papercraft in the future as I find time. The template information for this model is as follows:
Scale: 1:1
Finished Size: 7" (17.8 cm) x 5" (12.7 cm) x 1.25" (3.2 cm)
Number of sheets: 2
Number of parts: 6
Difficulty: 2/5
Download
The first papercraft I posted in 2009 was a Tron papercraft, so I suppose it is fitting that I end the year with another Tron model. Anyone remember my WIP post for this? I started working on the template for this lightcyclist bust mid-year sometime, started building the model in September and have only finished just now. Except for the eyes and some portions of the hair, the build process is relatively simple. Lightcyclists such as this one appear only briefly in the Tron 2.0 video game and come in several different colors such as red, blue, green and yellow. The template information is as follows:
