Papercraft Tropical Fish Perpetual Calendar

Time to start thinking about a new calendar! Canon Creative Park has dozens of free papercraft calendars available for download. One of  the most creative in their offering is this 3D tropical fish calendar. I like the fact it's a perpetual calendar and can be used for more than one year. It would make a great decoration in a Disney Finding Nemo themed kid's room.  Happy New Year!

Warhammer Necron Night Scythe Papercraft

Here's another fine Warhammer miniature gaming papercraft from Jim Bowen. This papercraft falls into the "2.5D" category of paper models as the ship is formed from flat printouts that are glued to black foam core then stacked. According to the Warhammer 40k Wiki, the Night Scythe is "capable of combat operations in both the void and within a planet's atmosphere. It serves the Necron forces in the interceptor, starship assault, and fighter-bomber roles." The template for the model is available here.

Pop-up Paper Galleon

Roger Pattenden is an professional designer of architectural paper models. This pop-up paper galleon is a free download from his website, Heritage Models. The model is described by Pattenden as follows:

 "The design is loosely based on drawings of 16th century carracks, trading ships with high fore and aft decks. They were the forerunners of the later galleons, which were highly armed warships."

The download for the ship includes both templates and detailed instructions with diagrams.

Chibi Disney Beauty and the Beast Papercraft

The 1991 animated film, Beauty and the Beast was a first for Disney in a couple of different ways. It was the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was also Disney's first film to be adapted into a Broadway musical. These chibi (i.e. small, cute) paper models of Beauty and the Beast's namesake characters were created by PaperMike. The Pepakura PDO template for the models may be downloaded here. Pepakura Viewer and 7-Zip are required to open the template from the download. Build photos by Sinsis.

Vintage 1912 Christmas Fireplace Papercraft

Here's a Christmas papercraft that is over 100 years old! Originally published in a 1912 issue of McCall's magazine, the piece depicts a fireplace decorated for Christmas.Stockings are hung with care. A letter is waiting for Santa on the mantel. The creator of the piece is Jeremiah Crowley, one of several artists who designed paper toys for McCall's in the early twentieth century. One of Crowley's specialties was paper toy animals. A scan of the fireplace template may be found here.

Sith Infiltrator Papercraft

In Star Wars: Episode I, Darth Maul traveled to Tatooine in a starship called The Scimitar. A more generic name for Maul's ship is the "Sith Infiltrator" as the ship was designed by Darth Tenebrous and subsequently owned by several generations of Sith. This relatively simple paper model of The Scimitar was created by a Polish Star Wars fan. The Pepakura PDO template may be downloaded here.

Doctor Who Siege Mode TARDIS Papercraft

My papercrafter friend Skele-kitty has created a Doctor Who papercraft! It is a model of a siege mode TARDIS. The siege mode TARDIS made its first appearance in the eighth Doctor Who TV series when Doctor Who "collapsed" his time machine down to a small cube to protect it from an oncoming train. The PDF template for the model is available here.

Godzilla 2014 Paper Model

Earlier this year, in conjunction with the release of the 2014 Godzilla movie, the Epson company added a fifth model to their series of Godzilla papercraft. The new model is patterned after Godzilla's updated appearance in the movie. The template for this model can only be obtained from Epson by printing directly from the Epson website to an Epson printer. Don't own an Epson printer? Fear not. A PDF version of the A4 sized template is available here.

Other Kaiju Papercraft:

Mothra
King Ghidorah
Mechagodzilla
Classic Godzilla
Female MUTO

Tiny Papercraft Nativity Scene

I have a thing for small sized paper models, but this tiny papercraft nativity scene is beyond the limits of what I would ever attempt to build. I am impressed! Intended for use in doll houses, the nativity was designed and built by Elizabeth Plain at the doll house blog, Open House Miniatures. A template and instructions for this papercraft may be found here. Have yourself a merry, little Christmas. :)

Dancing Baby Groot Papercraft

At the end of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy movie, a re-sprouting baby Groot is seen dancing when no one is looking. Designer Richenna King recreates the memorable scene with this baby Groot papercraft. As if the papercraft wasn't cool enough in and of itself, it is also an automata that actually dances! A PDF template, instructions, and a movie of the model in action may be found on King's Behance page. In the Marvel Comics universe, Groot is a member of a plant-based extraterrestrial race. One characteristic of the race is the ability to re-grow after being destroyed (as long as at least one sprig of their former body is recovered).

Frozen Paper Dolls

Since its release in 2013, Disney's Frozen continues to grow in popularity. This set of paper dolls is a fan art creation by Cory Jensen. Included in the set are one change of clothes for the gents, and several changes for the ladies. Olaf the snowman is also included, but sadly he does not get any additional clothes to wear. The complete collection may be viewed on Jensen's Facebook page here.

Papercraft Hexagrammic Christmas Tree

This papercraft Christmas tree is constructed with three nesting sections that allow for a battery operated tea light to be inserted at each level. The effect is lovely! The PDF template for the tree may be downloaded at the bottom of the page here. Also available on the same page are several different styles of Christmas trees, as well as a three dimensional papercraft star to go on top of the tannenbaums!

Vintage Arc de Triomphe Papercraft

This weekend I was in the mood to build an architecture paper model, but didn't want to spend a lot of time. This antique papercraft Arc de Triomphe filled the bill. Counting printing, cutting and gluing, it took me about 20 minutes to complete. The template for this model originally appeared in the Danish language magazine, Illustreret Familie-Journal, founded in 1877 by Carl Aller. Numerous scans of Familie-Journal model templates may be found at the Agence Eureka blog. The Arc de Triomphe template is located here on Agence Eureka's Flickr page.

Mini TARDIS Papercraft

There are plenty of paper models around of Doctor Who's TARDIS, but none quite as small as this. Papercraft designer Dave Winfield proves once again he is a master at creating detailed models whose templates fit on a single sheet of paper. The PDF template for the TARDIS may be found here. For the uninitiated, the TARDIS is a time machine that appears to be a British police call box.

Previously posted TARDIS papercraft:
Weetabix TARDIS
TARDIS Interiors
Cardboard TARDIS
TARDIS Greeting Card

Locust Battlemech Papercraft

This mech papercraft is based on the Locust light battlemech from the tabletop game Battletech. The Battletech wiki describes the Locust as "designed exclusively for reconn-aissance and quick strike missions, using its phenomenal speed to outrun most enemies." DeviantART member Scarecrovv is the designer of the model. A template download, complete with instructions and alternate textures, is available here. The finished model stand about 6" (15 cm) tall.

Easy Papercraft Nativity Scene

I like the cartoonish simplicity of this papercraft nativity scene. The fact that two cats and a mouse are included with the animals makes me smile. I also am impressed by the shear number of pieces the set contains. The templates for the scene may be downloaded individually, in groups (such as shepherds and wise men), or as an all-in-one 50mb RAR file. Kudos to Didier at My Little House blog for his labor of love in creating this set.

Batman Dark Knight Paper Toy

This Batman paper toy was created by Bamboogila in 2012 to celebrate the release of The Dark Knight Rises movie. Don't know how I missed this one the first time around. :) I am looking forward to a new wave of Batman papercraft when the Batman vs. Superman movie is released in 2016. The PDF template for this paper toy may be found here.

Papercraft Intersecting Cubes Gift Box

If you are looking for a unique gift box for the holiday season, look no further! This unusual box has the appearance of two cubes that have been fused together. It is just the right size for candy or a small present. The PDF template for the box was created by DeviantART member ikarusmedia. 

UPDATE 10/15/21: Sorry, this papercraft is no longer available. :(

Papercraft Advent Calendar Village

The first Advent calendars were used by German Lutherans in the 19th century as a way to anticipate the days leading up to Christmas. Advent calendars come in many forms. This particular calendar takes the form of a winter village. At the beginning of the Christmas season, treats are placed in each of the houses. Then once per day, according to the date on the roof, a house is opened to reveal the prize inside. Photo instructions on how to make your own custom Advent village may be found here.

Adventure Time Papercraft

The Adventure Time papercraft blog got off to a flying start in 2013, but alas the effort lasted only a scant two months. Still, a collection of awesome paper models continue to be available for download at the site. Pictured is a sampling of my favorites out of the ten different models to be found there. Here's fingers crossed the blog comes to life again someday. The Adventure Time animated television series is currently in its sixth season.

Marvel Heroes Paper Toys

The Little Plastic Men blog has an ongoing series of paper toys called "FlatHeads". Series 3 just so happens to be Marvel heroes! There are five toys included in the series: Captain America, Wolverine, Hulk, Cyclops, and Namor (not pictured). The single page templates for the toys may be downloaded here.

Papercraft Spirited Away Dragon Ornament

Haku the dragon is one of my favorite characters from Studio Ghibli's animated movie, Spirited Away. Now, thanks to Otaku Craft, you can build your own Haku ornament to hang on your Christmas tree! The PDF template for the papercraft dragon may be downloaded here. In the movie, Haku is a river spirit that at will can take the shape of either a flying dragon or a young human male.

Dodge Power Wagon Paper Model

The original Dodge Power Wagons produced in the late 1940's were based on military trucks built by Dodge during World War II. The Power Wagon has the distinction of being the first 4x4 truck produced for civilian use. The PDF template for this papercraft Power Wagon may be downloaded here. Model design by Paper Cruiser.

Modular Origami Christmas Tree

The pattern for this modular origami Christmas tree was created by Francesco Guarnieri. To construct the tree, progressively smaller squares of paper are folded into the same octagonal shape, then stacked. Everything you need to know to construct a tree of your own may be found here.

Papercraft Agent P Christmas Ornament

In the Disney TV series, Phineas and Ferb, the Flynn-Fletcher family own a pet platypus named Perry. Unbeknownst to the family, Perry leads a double life as a spy known as Agent P! Time and again Agent P has stopped the evil plans of the bumbling Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. This 3D papercraft Christmas ornament of Agent P is available at the Disney Family website.

Arkham City Harley Quinn Papercraft

In the DC Comics universe, Harley Quinn is the right-hand woman of The Joker, Batman's archenemy. Once a psychiatric intern, Harley is now as insane as the criminals she once attempted to treat. This Harley Quinn papercraft is based on a 3D model from the Batman: Arkham City video game. The Pepakura PDO template for Harley is by Sheol Papercraft and may be downloaded here.  The finished model stands around 13.8" (35 cm) tall.

Papercraft Blade Runner Cars

In the 1982 movie, Blade Runner, the police use cars called Spinners. Spinners can both fly and move on the ground like a regular car.  These miniature papercraft Spinners were created by Dave Winfield. At his website (located here), Dave offers a wide selection of free paper models of vehicles seen in movies and TV shows.

Papercraft Avengers Magic Folding Cube

A magic folding cube is a cube with six photos on the sides that folds open to create a new cube with six different photos showing. In this case, the photos on the cube are of Marvel's Avengers! The twelve photos included on the cube are: Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Agent Coulson, Agent Hill, Dr. Selvig, Loki and the Avengers logo.  A copy of the template may be found here.

UPDATE 5/14/19: The original hi-res template is no longer available. :( The link above now points to a low-res copy. General instructions for this type of cube may be viewed here.

Papercraft Urban Buildings for Miniature Gaming

This collection of papercraft urban buildings was created for Dropzone Commander, a 10mm scale sci-fi tabletop wargame. Each of the buildings is nicely detailed with projecting balconies, roof top mechanical units, and parapets that are double sided. PDF templates for the buildings are available for download at the Hawk Wargames website. Also available are printable roads to place between the buildings.

Disney Cheshire Cat Fortune Teller

This printable Cheshire Cat "fortune teller" toy is the same shape as D12 dice used in RPG games. The toy works on the same principle as the "Magic 8 Ball" toy (only the die inside the Magic 8 Ball has 20 sides instead of just 12). Having only two pieces, the fortune teller is a quick and easy build. The papercraft template for the toy is available here.

6th Anniversary!

Today marks the 6th anniversary of Tektonten Papercraft! What a fun ride it has been so far! Here's a heartfelt "thank you" to everyone who has supported my efforts. Pictured are some of the paper models that have been featured on the blog over the years. Some are my own creations and some are the creations of others. From left to right we have:

• Kingdom Hearts Aladdin Treasure Chest (2011)
• Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Theater (2010)
• Star Wars Jedi Holocron (2009)
• League of Legends Sight Ward (2012)
• Kingdom Hearts Tron Bust (2012)
• Miniature Gaming Torii Gate (2010)
• Disney Genie Bottle (2010)
• KH Nightmare Before Christmas Skull (2011)

Happy Bat Papertoy

Over the years, designer Brian Ratliff has created a dozen different Halloween themed paper toys. My favorite of the bunch is this happy bat. Also included in his spooky collection are Dracula, a wolf man, a mummy, a witch and some irritable owls. Templates for each of the paper toys may be downloaded at Brian's blog, Chemical9.

Retro Papercraft Pumpkin Treat Box

These papercraft pumpkin treat boxes were modeled after cardboard Halloween decorations from the 1940's. The happy jack-o'-lanterns are just the right size for a handful of candy corn. The template for the pumpkin (found here) was created by Heidi Kenny at Mypapercrane.

Mummy Papertoy

Here's another paper toy for Halloween: a mummy! Looong before zombies ascended to the top of every one's top ten list of undead monsters, mummies were a fan favorite. In fact, the first movie to feature a mummy was the 1899 silent film Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb by George Méliès. This paper toy mummy was created by graphic designer Tougui. The template may be downloaded here.

Papercraft Skull No. 5: Wolfenstein

I have finished another skull in my papercraft skull series! This skull is based on a 3D model from the World War II themed video game, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. In the game, skulls like this can be found (among other places) in secret rooms inside Nazi strongholds. As with the other skulls in the series, this one is roughly 1:1 scale. The template for the Wolfenstein skull may be downloaded here.

Previous skulls in the series:
AvP Human Skull
Kingdom Hearts 2 Skull
League of Legends Skull
Half-Life 1 Skull

Grim Reaper Papertoy

This not-so-grim reaper paper toy was offered as a free Halloween printable a couple of years ago by the urban threads blog, StitchPunk. Officially named "Lil' Death", this printable is still available! The PDF template for the toy may be downloaded here. Assembly instructions are included in the download.

Other Halloween Papercraft:

Skeleton Hand
Coffin Treat Box

Retro Pumpkin Boxes
Witch's Cauldron
Halloween Skeleton Kitty

Sailor Moon Paper Model

The Sailor Moon anime aired on television in Japan for most of the 1990's. The series follows the exploits of a young girl named Usagi Tsukino who has the ability to transform into "a magical, pretty soldier in a sailor suit destined to save Earth from the forces of evil". The Pepakura PDO template for this nicely done paper model of Sailor Moon was created by Paper Mike and may be downloaded here. Build photos by Sinsis.

Cute Printable Paper Skeleton

Halloween is nearly upon us! If your tastes in Halloween decorations lean toward the cute side, then this printable paper skeleton is just the thing for you. Metal brads make the skeleton pose-able, but if brads are not to be found, the little fellow can be glued in whatever position you like. This papercraft was designed by Teresa Levy and may be downloaded here.

Papercraft Hummingbird

Johan Scherft is a master at creating realistic papercraft birds. His newest creation is this ruby-throated hummingbird model. The free PDF template for the hummingbird comes in two sizes: a large size for practice building and a smaller, life-size version (downloads available here).  Hummingbirds are among the smallest of birds in the world. Their native habitat is restricted to the Americas.

Ice Cube Paper Toy

Here's a cute ice cube paper toy by Jorg Liebig. The cube looks a little sad, perhaps because he is melting. :) I like that Jorg gave him an old school portable audio cassette player to listen to. The PDF template for this paper toy may be downloaded here.

Papercraft Hellraiser Lemarchand Puzzle Cube

In the Hellraiser movies, the Lament Configuration is a puzzle cube that when solved opens a gateway to a hell-like dimension. Philip Lemarchand is the fictional creator of the cube. There have been other papercraft Hellraiser cubes, but this the first I know of that has pieces that can be rearranged. The template for the cube was created by Destro2k and may be downloaded here. If you are in the mood to build something easier, there is a simple six sided version of the cube included in the download.

Disney's Frozen Papercraft: Elsa

In 2013 Disney achieved commercial and critical success with its 3D animated film Frozen. Frozen's lead character is the ever popular Elsa, the snow queen. This paper model of Elsa by Juke measures 18" (46 cm) tall. The template for the model is available in Pepakura PDO format only and may be downloaded here. Build photo is by Sinsis.

Robby the Robot Papertoy

Robby the Robot is one of most recognizable robots in the history of science fiction movies. Robby first appeared in the the 1956 film, Forbidden Planet. This papertoy likeness of Robby is a free promotional item offered by So/Cult, a company that specializes in "Storytelling & Brand Culture". The PDF template for the toy may be downloaded here.

Star Wars Papercraft: Versafunction88 Datapad

I am happy to be able to release another model in my collection of Star Wars papercraft!  This paper model is a 1:1 scale Versafunction88 datapad. The Versafunction88 has made appearances in numerous Star Wars properties, everything from the Episode 1 movie to the Tiny Death Star video game. This papercraft is based on a 3D model from the Jedi Academy video game.The download (located here) includes a locked Pepakura PDO file for reference, along with lined and unlined PDF templates in both A4 and Letter sizes.

Previous Star Wars papercraft by Tektonten:

Comlink
Clone Wars Holocron
Electrobinoculars
Training Remote

Star Dodecahedron Origami

A dodecahedron is a geometric solid with twelve pentagonal sides. This modular origami piece designed by Francesco Mancini "carves" away the faces and interior of the solid to give the look of star shapes on every side. An excellent instructional video may be found here. Build photo by Evan Zodl.

Papercraft Adventure Time Characters

Illustrator Emily McLain has an ongoing personal project creating paper models of Adventure Time characters. Lucky for us, Emily decided to share her creations! So far, her collection includes Finn, Jake, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and my favorite of the group, Marceline the Vampire Queen. Emily says one of her goals when she designs papercraft is to make the models easy to build. Yes! The PDF templates for the papercraft characters may be downloaded here.

Poseable Robot Parrot Papercraft

James at Netroid Universe has added another to his growing collection of glue-less robotic papercraft: the robot parrot Mach-Kaw! Mach-Kaw's introduction says, "Man the aerial battle stations!!! The first zygodactyl Netroid has blasted through the radar!!!" The double sided PDF template for Mach-Kaw may be downloaded here.

Vintage Snow White Paper Dolls

Disney's Snow White was released in 1937, however merchandise related to the movie continued to be released in the years following. These paper dolls were published by the Whitman Company in the mid-1960's. The set includes Snow White, the Prince, the Evil Queen, and all seven of the dwarfs. A scan of the dolls and their clothes may be viewed at Bonecas de Papel.

Doctor Who Sontaran Rifle Papercraft

In the Doctor Who universe, Sontarans are a militaristic alien race from the planet Sontar. As Sontarans have only three stubby fingers on each hand, their guns are designed with large holes to accommodate grasping the weapons. This papercraft Sontaran laser rifle is based on a model from the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games video game. The Pepakura PDO template for the rifle was created by Movieman and may be downloaded here.

Printable Marvel Jumping Jack Toys

A jumping jack is a jointed paper toy character attached to a string such that when the string is pulled the character appears to be jumping. M. Gulan has created a whole slew of Marvel Comics jumping jacks including Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Spider-Man, and Wolverine (not pictured). PDF templates for each of the heroes may be downloaded here. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but Black Widow and Spidey look like they could use a few jumping jacks. They may have put on a little extra weight since the last time I saw them. ;)