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Haunted Paper Toys

ravensblight.com

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Way back in the day there was a fantastic piece of software from Brøderbund (of Lode Runner fame, among others) called The Toy Shop [0] that let you print customized papercraft designs that you would then assemble into working toys. Some of them were quite impressive - a steam shovel, a balloon-powered dragster, a mechanical clockwork bank, even a model steam engine!

It is still one of the most unique and creative pieces of software I've ever seen. I guess maybe it didn't do that well, though, since there's unfortunately not a lot about it on the Internet now. There is a copy in the Internet Archive [1], though.

It would be an interesting project to resurrect this, or at least extract the models into a modern format.

0: https://www.macintoshrepository.org/3278-the-toy-shop

1: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Toy_Shop_The_1986

I seem to remember Microsoft Fine Artist having a lot of cool clip art you could print and fold into specific things

Claude and I wrote a python decoder for these https://github.com/ajryan/toyshop-decoder

Have not yet tried printing and folding one yet

I have cut and glued some of Peter Dennis' Paperboys for use in miniature wargames:

https://peterspaperboys.com/

He has some free sets to download.

Also his instruction videos taught me a lot about how to cut and glue paper miniatures. Using so much glue basically that you end up with something that feels more like plastic than paper.

Those look delightful! Eg for the next RPG session. On Google, the search term "papercraft" yields a lot of other results with easy to assemble models

If you want to create your own models, and you're on a Mac, checkout Unfolder for Mac.

https://www.unfolder.app/

This is great for RPG games; I made up a small cut-down RPG ruleset for my 6yo, and was going to try to 3d print some figurines, but...

This way, I can get my kid to make his own monsters; while he can't run blender to produce his own monsters, using these paper templates is sufficient for him.

Not sure if I've gone blind but there's some funky illusion/visual effect caused by the bright red text and underlined blue text. On the phone it looks like the red text is almost popping out the screen and the blue text is sunken in.

Especially strong on this page: http://ravensblight.com/GhostShip.html

That's the chromostereopsis effect, that is caused by how our eyes refract different wavelengths of light https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udpEnJXVWEk

Cool thanks! I can finally put a name to the phenomena I've been wondering about since I was a child.

Incredible

I knew about this kind of papercraft from paperhammer, that is, using models like this in Warhammer tabletop. This makes that hobby accessible if you don't have too much money to spend.

If you are interested in this also search for poorhammer. These kind of things are refreshing in a world of hobbies that are more concerned with buying stuff instead of using that stuff in the hobby.

Also, lovely 90s web design.

Create your own silly face by clicking around (make combo's of facial features), export the image, cut out, fold, glue.

https://helpalot.nl/silly/

Currently it folds 'into a brick', but am open to suggestions on how to make this more fun.

Does anyone have any glue recommendations for these types of project?

Glue gun. I've made probably a dozen paper masks in this style, patterns purchased from Etsy shops and printed on heavy bonded paper.

I like hot glue for this type of work because it gives you a _little_ bit of leeway to make mistakes while it's still warm, so you can slide the pieces around to get them just so. Then it cools and hardens quickly so you don't have to wait a long time before moving on to the next piece.

Nice, thank you!

Aleene's tacky glue (standard gold bottle) is basically the best there is for this kind of work. I used to build some very intricate and involved papercraft models, and at least for precise and detailed work, tacky glue (and in particular Aleene's!) has a lot of desirable properties. Very strong bonds once dried, quick drying time, but with plenty of time to adjust, easy to work with, and can be applied very tactically/precisely.

That last point is super important - basic approach is to make a small glob/reservoir of glue on some scrap paper, and keep a box of toothpicks handy to use as applicators to transfer the glue onto the the tabs. When the dried glue builds up on a toothpick end (making it bulky/less precise) just toss it and use a new one. If your goal is to build clean, tidy models with no trace glue or smudging, this is the way :)

The only other glue I occasionally use, and only then very sparingly, is some kind of cyanoacrylate adhesive. Typically "Krazy Glue", in the tubes with the fine/precision tips, though I'm sure any brand will do. I reserve this for bonding together joints of a model that bear a lot of weight (think like, long, freestanding structures attached to the core of the model at a single point; see [0] for an example with structures like this!)

[0]: https://imgur.com/a/papercraft-deep-striker-25kEi

Echoing this. I’ve used so many different glues for papercraft over the years and Aleene’s is the best currently available in North America that I’ve tried. There are several glues from the company but the gold label “acid-free tacky glue” is the most versatile.

Edit to add: Wow, that Deep Striker model is incredible!

These look awesome! I remember in college building the Dragon Illusion Papercraft [1] and it was always fun to move about the dorm room as it followed me. Might have to build one of those ships this summer for old times sake.

[1] https://www.instructables.com/Hollow-Face-Illusion-Dragon-Wi...

Reminds me of The High Keep of the Grand Chapter of the Order of St. Raphael, "Old Stoney" from _Dragon Magazine #86 (June 1984):

https://media.wizards.com/2020/dnd/dragon/31/DRA31_DRA86.pdf

I always enjoyed this one: https://www.gathering4gardner.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03...

What kind of paper should be used for these folding projects?

The page says

> I recommend printing these toys on HEAVY CARD STOCK.

Years ago I made a papercraft Daft Punk helmet, using standard printer paper, but glued it with super glue, and then treated it with the 'resin' from a home fibre glassing kit, to make it solid and ready for full fibre glassing (obviously not needed in this instance!)

Ooh! Were you happy with the results? If so would you be open to sharing the pattern you used?

Very happy with the results - and learnt so much making it - i.e. building my own vac forming table to make the visor.

Loads of sanding and spray painting, in-all I think it took me about 70 hours, but we wore the helmets loads for festivals and parties.

I no longer have the file sadly, but got it from a paper craft forum - where people posted them. Happy to share pics if of interest.

Wow how hard was it to make the vac forming table? Have you used it since? I'd love a link to a tutorial if you have one.

Sadly I can't find any pics of the basic table we made, but that was actually an easy thing to make once I thought it through.

I basically got a 2 sheets of MDF to the size I wanted (roughly the size of a baking tray for the oven, as I had to heat the plastic in my home oven) then drilled a hole every couple of cm in one of them, then made them into a shallow box - sealing all the places the wood connected with bathroom sealant on the inside and duct tape on the outside. I made a hole in one of the 'side' pieces that would fit my vacuum cleaner hose, and then added more duct tape to seal.

Then I made two wooden frames as big as the largest baking tray for my oven, then cut some heatable plastic to size, and clamped them in the two frames and put them in the oven.

This part had loads of trial and error - ie how long the plastic needed heating, how long to run the vacuum cleaner, how to make sure the plastic didn't end up behind the thing you were forming, how to make sure the think you were forming didn't deform while under pressure.

Email in bio if you want pics or more info.

i guess A4 lol just kidding

Great post! Me and my son just made THE STEEL JAW! Epic!

Any idea of scale? Could I use them as scenery when DMing?

Scale will be tied to the paper you print them on. For the 28mm standard miniatures that would probably be about two-four times larger than scale when printed with a standard 8.5x11 letter size.

But, for scaling up or down, should be easy. Find the model you want. Print on standard paper, then compare with your miniatures.

Make the needed adjustments in software on the images and then reprint on heavy card stock and assemble.

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