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Btw, there's a pretty well known origami version of the SR-71 by Toshikazu Kawasaki. One square, no cuts, the usual. I folded it as a kid from diagrams in "Origami for the Connoisseur". It's not as detailed as the papercraft version, but I think it symbolizes the real airplane very well.

Oh wow, this brought me back! I used to be obsessed with papercraft back in the day as a kid, specifically “pepakura”. I used to print out halo 3 helmets and build them and wear them. It was like a puzzle on steroids in the cool department!

There used to be an entire finishing process with this yellow and blue bottled smooth-cast resin and sanding before painting, but they always stayed paper for me.

Was a cheap way for me to have fun, and definitely holds a special place in my heart forever. Great share and thank you for posting! Brought me through memory lane.

I always wonder what the Elements would have looked like had Euclid had included paper folding as a primitive.

Folds are powerful. One can trisect or n-sect any angle for finite n. One still needs the compass though for circle.

    Straight edge
    Compass
    Nuesis
    Paper folding

Makes for a very powerful tool set.

As a person who wonders where the paper X-15 model he had vanished to after he joined the service, this resonates with me.

While there are a lot of models available for purchase/download, the classic tool for this sort of thing is

https://pepakura.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura_designer/

as noted by coldfoundry --- that said, an unlikely tool which has this is PythonSCAD:

https://pythonscad.org/

which allows one to use OpenSCAD or Python to create a 3D model and export it in a number of formats, including "Foldable PS" which automates this process.

If anyone's a fan of papercraft models and the game Homeworld, you might enjoy this collection of models from the games. I remember my sister put together several of these back in the early/mid 2000s.

https://www.homeworldaccess.net/infusions/downloads/download...

I remember paper models being very widespread when I was a kid in the Czech Republic, they were always included in a popular magazine for kids, no idea whether it has changed. Per ChatGPT this is unique for this region - Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia.

Semi-related, but Canon has a great papercraft site, with varying difficulties. My kid especially loves the moving models.

https://creativepark.canon/en/categories/CAT-ST01-0071/top.h...

You could have replaced a bunch of faces with larger cylindrical/conical faces (aka 3D developable surfaces) to get a more realistic look. Paper can bend!

I wonder if there are algorithms for approximating arbitrary geometries with a combination of planar, cylindrical and conical faces? Sheet metal fabrication should be facing the same constraints.

It is/was quite popular in Poland. 35 years ago, as a kid, I was assembling paper models. Planes were the easiest, usually it took about 2 days to do one. Couple of years ago I wanted to get back to it, so I bought a plane. Well, it turned out that fashion for paper models had changed and now 'reductionist' models are in full swing - being as close as possible to original. That plane has 160 pieces (a lot of them also subdivided), and every part that has size about 10cm in real life, has been modelled. In two weeks I was still in cockpit. Here is paper model of SR-71: https://www.sklep.model-kom.pl/sr-71-model-samolotu-rozpozna... From drawings it looks like it is more than 167+, not including subparts.

"3D Rendering with Paper" might have been a more accurate title. The modelling process is very similar to regular 3D modelling. In theory, with perfect paper and cutting and gluing skills you could print any UV map and cut, fold and glue it into a paper model using this method.

Given that the article's author used Blender to create their model, I'm surprised they didn't use it's built-in paper model exporter.

https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/4.1//addons/import_export...

Very cool. Would probably get even more attention with the title "3D Modeling the SR-71 Blackbird with Paper".

I love this!

I do some cardboard / papercraft, but mine is completely unplanned and without this high level of precision. So mine is not suitable for accurate scale model building, but rather for building random houses / castles / vehicles.

This is super cool. In theory, a lot of this could have been automated. Quad remesher would probably get you close enough to import to the paper software and Cricut like machine for the cutting and scoring(?).

The final build looks great, I thought I was looking at a 3D render.

I used to have books of models like these. Space stations, trains, wild west diorama sets, cars, etc. I wish I could find copies of the older ones.

Interesting.

Optimization idea: Make your 3D modellers make their models first out of paper. Bet they'll be more cognizant about extra triangles!

Doesn't a paper cutter like the Cricut generate these parts out of the box?

I like software: open source and only for linux

This is ridiculous. I’ll tell you why. Here I quote:

“All parts in the assembled model must be made of paper. Each part must be a single, solid color. The parts must not use any printed textures or designs. The model must be represented as a simple polyhedron.”

Must. Must. Must. This is a game. Or an art school exercise.

Modeling is concerned only with attaining the necessary accuracy. Not conforming to a methodology.