Papercraft Minecraft Rubik's Cube

Someone has actually created a DIY, functional Rubik's Cube out of paper! I am impressed! And if that wasn't enough, it comes in two versions: a regular version and Minecraft version. This masterpiece of paper engineering was created by Daniel Stabile. Printable templates and instructions may be found at Daniel's Instructibles.com page. Although invented in 1974, the Rubik's cube was not introduced to the US until 1980.

Other Minecraft Papercraft:

Enderman Statue
Mini Diorama
Ender Dragon
Large Treasure Chest
Halloween Pumpkin

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.

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.

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.

Origami Soma Cube Puzzle

A Soma cube is a 3D puzzle invented in 1933 by Danish scientist Piet Hein. Many of the pieces of the puzzle are the same shape as pieces in the Tetris video game. This origami Soma cube was created using Sonobe modules. Instructions to create your own origami Soma cube may be found here. Build photo by Shaya.

Printable Toy Alphabet Blocks

From Elli Blog: printable toy alphabet blocks! Says Elli:

"We used vintage typography and a wood texture to create a design that when printed and assembled, looks like real vintage wooden blocks."

The PDF template includes three different blocks and may be downloaded here. Uses for the papercraft blocks include gift boxes and decorations for baby related celebrations.

Skyrim Papercraft: Runed Lexicon Cube

After doing a papercraft Dwemer puzzle cube, I couldn't resist making another cube from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim video game. This time it's a runed lexicon cube. This papercraft is the appearance the lexicon takes after being inscribed with an elder scroll's knowledge in the "Discerning the Transmundane" quest. The template for the cube may be downloaded here. Once again, special thanks to Paperjon for providing the textures for the model.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Papercraft - Dwemer Puzzle Cube

Well I guess I am jumping on the Skyrim papercraft bandwagon. ^^ Given my fondness for decorated cubes, it is only fitting that my first Skyrim model is a Dwemer puzzle cube. In the Elder Scrolls video game series, the Dwemer are a lost race that lived underground. The Dwemer are referred to as "Dwarves" in some parts of the game. The simple one page template for the puzzle cube may be downloaded here. Special thanks to Paperjon at CFSG Papercraft for supplying the textures used in creating this paper model.

Third Anniversary!

"Remember remember the fifth of November.." Today marks the third anniversary of Tektonten Papercraft and for the first time it occurred to me that this date is also Guy Fawkes Day, that uniquely British holiday that figures so prominently in V for Vendetta. The photo above is a collection of some the papercraft cubes I have featured over the past three years.

It has been my tradition to share some stats on anniversary days, so here are the top ten most downloaded Tektonten papercraft designs of the last year:

1. Mjolnir, Thor's Hammer (Marvel Comics) - 7,120

2. Tron Bit - "No" Configuration (Original Tron movie) - 5,815

3. Kaonashi Mask (Spirited Away movie) - 5,654

4. Hal 9000 Interface (2001: A Space Odyssey movie) - 5,460

5. Glock 9mm Handgun (Half-Life 1 video game) - 5,458

6. Tron Bit - "Neutral" Configuration (Original Tron movie) - 5,342

7. Tron Bit - "Yes" Configuration (Original Tron movie) - 5,023

8. Sam's Identity Disc (Tron: Legacy movie) - 5,010

9. Spider-Man Mask (Marvel Comics) - 4,076

10. Full Size Tron Helmet (Tron 2.0 video game) - 3,913

In the coming year I hope to produce more Tron, Star Wars, and Kingdom Hearts/Disney paper models. I also hope to start doing some League of Legends papercraft. Thank you everyone for your continued support of my humble blog!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Papercraft - Jedi Holocron

A couple of months ago I mentioned I wanted to start designing some Star Wars papercraft. Last week I completed my first two designs! These simple 1:1 scale paper models are of the holocron and the Kyber memory crystal which the bounty hunter Cad Bane steals from the Jedi in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated television series. As the story line of the series reveals, the Kyber crystal contains information on every known Force-sensitive child in the Star Wars universe, but the information can only be accessed by inserting the crystal inside the holocron. The template for these two papercraft may be downloaded here.

Reborn! Anime Papercraft: Box Weapons & Rings

The Reborn! anime series follows the trials of an Italian mafia family by the name "Vongola". In the show, Tsuna, the last male heir of the Vongola family, is trained by an infant assassin so he may one day take his place as the boss of the family. The mafia assassins in the show make use of "box weapons" that may only be activated by using a corresponding ring. These papercraft versions of the weapons are the work of deviantART member "Desubunny". 

UPDATE 2/6/24 - Sorry this papercraft is no longer available. :(

Platonic Solid Lanterns Papercraft

These geometric Christmas light covers are the work of the "playful.geometer" at Flickr. The five different covers are based on the five shapes of the Platonic Solids. The lovely patterns on each of the solids are "kaleidoscoped" fractal images. I like the paper lantern effect these have when they are lit up. Templates for each of the five are available here. If you are interested in creating your own decorative patterns, a educational math website has some blank Platonic Solid templates available here.

Star Wars Papercraft: RPG Holocron

Occasionally, people who play roleplaying games (RPG) like to create props to enhance their game play experience. Such was the case when Wizards of the Coast forum member Ironlightsaber created this papercraft Jedi holocron for a campaign he wrote for the Star War Miniatures RPG. This cube shaped holocron was designed to be put together without glue, but for the one I built I went ahead and glued it anyway so that the seams would be tighter. The template for the holocron may be downloaded here.

Related Posts
Jedi Holocron Papercraft

Papercraft RPG dice

Hellraiser Papercraft: Metallic Lament Configuration

I usually don't consider printing papercraft on anything other than white cardstock but, as you can see from these papercraft Lament Configurations, other materials can give you great results. The two smaller cubes on the left were printed on colored construction paper using a black and white template. However, the cube that interests me the most is the one on the right in which the same black and white template was printed on gold metallic paper. I can see lots of possibilities for using this technique, everything from Christmas ornaments to shiny metal weapons. These Hellraiser papercrafts are the work of Ulrich Schreitmueller of Germany. Information on how he built the puzzle boxes may be found here.

Related Posts
Arcane Cubes Papercraft
All Spark Cubes Papercraft
Jedi Holocron Papercraft

Star Wars Papercraft: Jedi Holocron

In the Stars Wars universe, holocrons are crystal-lattice devices into which both the Jedi and the Sith record their experiences and knowledge for future generations. Jedi holocrons come in a variety of geometric shapes, while Sith holocrons are typically pyramids. This cube shaped Jedi holocron papercraft is the work of "Exxos" who modeled it after a holocron which appears in the Tales of the Jedi series of comic books by Dark Horse Comics. A PDF template is available here, but be forewarned that (other than the above photograph) there are no instructions included.

Star Trek Papercraft - Borg Cube

As I mentioned in a earlier post, I have started working on some papercraft based on 3D models from the video game Star Trek Voyager Elite Force. Elite Force is based on the characters and settings of the Star Trek: Voyager television show. I am starting out simple and working my way toward more and more complex models. This Borg Cube papercraft is the first to be finished. The special stand with an indentation to hold the cube is my own design. The Cube is the typical starship of the Borg, a race of cybernetic beings whose goal is to "assimilate" all other races they encounter. Template information for the model is as follows:

Scale: approximately 1:53000
Finished Size: 3"(7.6 cm) high including base
Number of sheets: 2
Number of parts: 3
Difficulty: 1/5
Download: Here

Other Cube Papercraft:
Allspark Cube
Horadric Cube
Lament Configuration
Business Card Cubes

Transformers Papercraft - Allspark Cubes

These are two papercraft versions of the Allspark, the powerful technological object that is capable of giving life to inanimate machines in the 2007 Transformers movie. The template for the cube on the left was created by T. Birge in 2008 and may be found in his Flickr gallery here (be sure to check out his large collection of miniature papercraft Transformers toy boxes while you are there). The template for the cube on the right is my modification of a texture created by Cody2003 at the TFW2005 forum. A download of this template is available on my DeviantArt page here. If you like cubes, these two look nice sitting next to a couple of other cube papercraft I have posted. ;)

Iconic Video Game Cube Paper Toys

Recognize these? Each one of these paper toy characters is based on a different cube seen in video games. From left to right, we have the Question Box from Mario games, the Weighted Companion Cube from Portal and finally the Sascha Nein Mind from Psychonauts. These paper toys are the creation of art student Heinze Havinga, Netherlands, 2007 in celebration of the great outcome of his exams that year. The templates for the toys may be downloaded here.

Arcane Cube Papercrafts

Here are two identically sized (but unrelated) cube papercrafts. What these cubes have in common is that they are models of boxes with magical properties. On the left is a papercraft of the "Lament Configuration" from the Hellraiser movie series. The Lament Configuration is a puzzle box that when solved opens a portal to a Hell-like dimension. On the right is a "Horadric Cube" from the Diablo II video game. When certain items are placed inside the Horadric Cube they become transmuted into different items. The original creator of the Lament Configuration papercraft is unknown, but the original template plus several modified versions may be downloaded here. The Horadric Cube papercraft was created by DeviantART member "Supaslim", USA, 2009 and may be downloaded here.