One Sheet Wonders: A Few Single Page Paper Models for Beginners

[This is an update of a post that appeared in the earlier version of the Paper Hollywood Blog. I'll try to do more One Sheet Wonders post from time to time. There's nothing like a quick and easy model build.]

There are quite a few clever tricks and techniques used by paper modelers, but I believe the best way to for the beginner to get started is to simply start building. With practice you’ll quickly find the best methods that work for you. It’s nice to have a few finished successes on the shelf before tackling anything really complex. Remember one great advantage of printing your own models is that if you mess up you can always reprint the page and start over.

The purpose of this post is to guide you to a few models that look great, but can be completed by a beginner in a short time. Don’t be fooled by their size, though. Just because a model has few parts doesn’t mean there won’t be some challenges to assembly. Many experienced card modelers enjoy a one pager now and then for the quick satisfaction or simply because it’s a good looking model.

The very first paper model I ever downloaded and built was this Borg Cube available for download at Starship Modeler. While a cube might seem to be the simplest possible shape to build, it actually can be a bit tricky to make the folds such that all sides come out square and flat. I list multiple Borg Cubes in the main Paper Hollywood listing as well as lots (and lots) of other Trek models.

A good next one-page build for the Star Trek enthusiast might be this excellent version of the TOS Enterprise’s shuttle, Galileo by Dave’s Card Creations as part of his lengthy KoolWheelz collection. Dave rates this one as a “medium” difficult build. It will give you some experience a bit more
complex folding and tabbing. Note that on this page, Dave rates all his one pagers for difficulty and has several good for first timers.

If horror films interest you more than Star Trek, you might opt a Hellraiser Lament, the curious (and dangerous) puzzle box from the Hellraiser movies. Some people actually print this one with black ink on gold foil paper, but it doesn’t look at all bad printed with a good color printer. BTW, this paper version has no sharp objects inside like the one in the movie.

For a bit of beginner’s whimsy, you might want to build Mike Hungerford’s little Snoopy Doghouse model. Not nearly as easy a build as it seems, this little model has some tricky folds that will hone your beginner’s skills, but not take weeks before you’ve got something to show for it.

If, like me, you enjoy modeling an automobile now and then, try one of clearly laid-out Hummer designs at s t r e e t p a p e r . d e. The site features 7 different versions of the iconic off-roader. Like many free downloads, these models lack directions, but these are simply designed such that directions are not really necessary.


As shown above and at right and the top of this post, I love this vintage Eiffel Tower model originally printed for the 1889 Paris World’s Fair for which the tower was built. Be sure to check the many other great vintage models posted on her Flickr account by Patricia M. She has very much established herself as the web’s leading preserver of vintage French paper models and popular culture. As paper model fans we certainly owe her gratitude for her efforts.