Want To Keep The Kids Entertained This Summer? Try Papercraft!

When you ask someone what they use their printer for, the chances are you’re going to get a similar set of stock answers; printing typed documents, printing photos, etc, etc. What you probably won’t hear is printing off the pieces to build a life-size model of Link from The Legend of Zelda.

We love finding interesting ways to use your printer at Cartridge World so you can imagine our joy when we stumbled across the world of papercraft. And what a world it is; we’ve spent hours marvelling at the work some incredibly talented people have put together armed with only a printer, a crafting knife and some PVA glue (this post on video game character models is particularly mind-blowing). We do have to admit though; some of the printing costs involved did worry us slightly!

Okay, so modelling isn’t the coolest of hobbies but we’ve all dabbled in it at some point in our lives, be it a spot of Airfix action on a Sunday afternoon or painting miniature figurines from Lord of the Rings at the height of Middle Earth fever (don’t be ashamed, we all had it). If you need to keep the kids entertained over those seemingly endless summer holidays or you’ve got a few spare hours and fancy taking on a bit of a weekend project, why not indulge in a bit of papercraft?

Massively popular in the early 20th century, papercraft is similar to origami in that you use paper to create figures and models. Unlike origami, however, paper craft consists of printing out a sheet of pieces, cutting them out and then sticking them together with glue, giving a bit more leeway with what you can create. So sort of like a paper Lego, except it’s cheaper and you don’t run the risk of causing yourself serious damage by stepping on a rogue piece.

Paper models have become more popular over recent years due to the ease of sharing templates and designs over the internet. Another factor in its rise in popularity is the ever-decreasing costs of inkjet printers and the abundance of cheap ink cartridge solutions. Basically, printing your own paper templates is a lot cheaper than buying plastic model kits!

There are loads of template sites for you to get stuck into, and all you need is a crafting knife, some PVA glue, a printer and lots of paper. Paper-wise, go for something a bit sturdier than your average GSM or else you run the risk of your models collapsing under the weight of glue. Varnish is an optional extra too, some use it to keep their models together but it’s not essential. We’d recommend trying out some simple templates first, unless you’re particularly crafty and have a lot of free time on your hands!

If you really get into papercraft (you can thank us later), you may need to step up your efforts a little to keep up with the pros. Many top crafters use special software to render 3D character models from videogames into 2D templates before recreating them in paper – it’s all a bit technical but if you’ve got the know-how, time and money, the results can be stunning.