Paper Toys & Paper Cuts

Some of you may have noticed the recent and sudden flux in the creation and overall presence of paper, build-it-yourself toys in popular culture.  I know I have.  Not oragami per se.  The kinds I'm talking about are intelligently designed templates put on paper, where the user's only concern is to cut along the outer lines, bend along the instructed creases, fold along the dotted lines and glue when necessary.  Finally, after a relatively short amount of time and (sometimes) a frustrating amount of trial and error, you now have a fun, designer toy sitting on your desk.  Awesome.

I think Paper Toys have gained so much popularity for one simple, simple reason: they are cheap (if not free), they are excellently designed (for the most part) and, above all else, they make "do-it-yourself" entirely fun and ultimately rewarding.  And that's not all the good points, either.  When you've grown tired of your paper friend/object simply throw it away.  No guilt, no desire to toss it into yet another yard sale junk toy box.  What I personally enjoy about the concept is that they're available to everybody.  By downloading a Paper Toy design sheet, you can have a cool, designer toy without having to worry about being online at just the right time with enough money to purchase those limited run vinyls!  (I mean, let's be serious, those are really cool too and totally worth it, but this is an acceptable option in these trying economic times!)

Think about any cartoon character or video game character you've ever known and Google (Bing, Wiki, whatever) search it with "Paper Toy" tacked on.  There's a fairly good chance that somebody has designed a paper toy for it.  My personal favorites are characters designed fresh and not, in fact, based on previous creations.  But if that's not for you, there's a multitude - a veritable cornicopia - of options out there waiting for you to discover, download, cut and glue together!  From Ninja Turtles to Mario to President Obama riding the White House Robot, trust me: there's something for everyone.

A little while ago I built my robot buddy, "Rommy".  It was as I carefully cut and bent the pieces that I came to really appreciate the thought and serious calculation that must have been gathered to make even this palm-sized toy a reality.  I mean sure, some artist lent their talents to make it look cool, but to actually make it work?!  The perfect measurements, fitting just perfectly together to create a seemless paper construction that anybody can put together.  That's art.

So, naturally, in the name of our benifactor Mr. Rockets and for the good of the business and for all we stand for here at the Mr. Rockets Headquarters, I have begun work on... <drum roll><Booming Ultra-Masculine Voice><Fireworks>OPERATION INSPECTOR</drum roll></Booming Ultra-Masculine Voice></Fireworks>

My god is it hard.

You get some paper toys that fit easily on one page, they take all of four cuts and essentially turn out to be a cool looking cube.  Boys and girls... that is pre-school level design work (or quite possibly genius level).  Let me tell you, complexity ecan escalate to nearly college level proportions when it comes to designing a paper toy!  I mean, who knew that adding a removable flowing trenchcoat could cause so much grief?!  I mean, sure I could make it easier by losing the coat and ditching the idea of having the figure suspended above a paper platform, with the illusion that he is running at full tilt... but where, I ask you, is the fun - no, the adventure - in that?

By the way, though you may not have been formally introduced to him yet, my toy will be based around a character you've already been exposed to in one of our previous blog posts (see "Mr. Rockets Presents")  Let me assure you, this particular chimp is going to be something special!

I stand by a simple belief that a job should be done to the best of one's abilities.  With this as my credo I return to my desk with ruler, protractor, calculator and graph paper at the ready.  I will not rest until this paper primate - this constructed character built by my own paper-cut fingers - rises suspended in his glory above his paper base in eternal stride.  But that's really what we're all about some days...

Mr. Rockets: Building EPIC Toys, One Paper Cut at a Time!

Stay Tuned

-Dan