The Web & The Wire

Technology Column with Joe Granese

March 21, 2008

Paper projects that push the fun envelope

I remember when the Internet was fun. It was this morning, a few minutes before I began to write this column. I started my task a full three days earlier than usual because I had found a few online activities that I simply could not wait to share with my loyal Untangled Web readers.

Yes, the Internet still has its moments. It can be far more than inane chat shorthand, mailboxes full of spam or avaricious ISPs messing with the bandwidth for which you pay dearly. Today, dear friends, we will have some fun on the Internet without swapping files, without getting spammed, and best of all, without spending any money. The latter condition ignores the $50 or so per month many of us pay to the big red traffic shaper for connectivity.

Sliding the soap box back into the laundry room, I am reminded of a time before there was online chat or even ‘online’. I was still a geek, just a bit more on the analog side of normal. One of the geeky hobbies that really floated my 1/350 scale Tamiya boat was building models.

Looking back, I realize now that I spent far too many hours in poor light hunched over tiny plastic parts that I could not begin to see today, deftly wielding tweezers, razor knife, and glue. The product of these exercises, still lovingly displayed in my home, included great battleships like the USS New Jersey, historic carriers like my father’s old haunt, the USS Essex, and the TV version of the Batmobile.

Modeling remains great fun today and has grown with the virtual world. This week’s featured site will give you a chance to enjoy building an insanely detailed paper model for free. We’ll even have a go at a few crafty projects, with paper dolls thrown in to keep the whole family interested.

www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com

Philadelphia area artist Ray Keim is well known for his work as an animator, a CGI artist, and a multimedia developer. I suspect that in his off time, Ray is a bit of a model geek, too. My first hint was a visit to his website, where I downloaded plans to build my own paper model of Disney’s Haunted Mansion.

You can see the completed model here: www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index307.html, and you can have a look at the real thing here: www.grimghosts.com/wdw. The similarity is, well, haunting. If you have a little spare time and an inclination to create, I suggest you visit Keim’s site and begin construction immediately.

A pleasant virtual chat with Keim revealed that he had always been a fan of Disney’s Haunted Mansions. An extended illness brought with it the time to work on a 3D model of the mansion. From there, he transferred the concept to the paper model medium so that other Haunted Mansion devotees could build their own miniature, for free.

The whole site is a wonderland, but this model is truly the crown jewel. Fantastically detailed yet relatively easy to build, the entire set of plans is presented in a 10MB PDF file that anybody can download and enjoy. You will need a color printer for output, as well as a sharp modeling knife, a little Elmer’s Glue, some toothpicks, a tweezer and some high-grade matte printing paper. Check the directions for more details.

Parents will want to supervise the modeling activity of youngsters, and anyone using a modeling knife should wear eye protection at all times. It never hurts to be careful. Read over the directions a couple of times before you begin, and your end result will be better for it. Specifically when compared to my wad of bent paper and glue smudges. Still, building the model is great free fun, and www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com clearly deserves a 1/1 scale quintet of spiders for keeping the fun free and family friendly. Thanks, Ray.

www.ss42.com/toys.html

In my years as the Rainy Day Man, I was always on the lookout for family activities to keep the troops in line on one of those rare rainy days at the fabulous New Jersey seashore. The Space Station 42 website is just such a place. While you’ve got your modeling gear handy, surf over to their paper toys section and check out a few seasonally appropriate models.

I found the paper Easter Basket patterns to be particularly timely. Crafty computerists can print out the patterns on their color printer and construct their very own Easter Basket in mere minutes. Easily customized, the models can be developed into genuine works of art.

If your home is lacking a paper bust of Jules Verne, you will find the plans to rectify that problem right here. You can also put together a few tremendous flying toys, some Star Trek and Star Wars gear, and excruciatingly detailed paper models of railroad rolling stock. If you catch a page that is written in Japanese, you can run it through Yahoo’s free Babel Fish translator here: http://babelfish.yahoo.com .

Adults in the service of Thomas the Tank Engine fans will find plenty to keep them busy here, rain or shine. Celebrity guests like Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula are just waiting for you to download their plans and return them to the world of the living. For making that monstrous reunion possible, the gang at www.ss42.com/toys.html fold up a five-spider award.

www.janbrett.com  

Many of you are already familiar with Jan Brett, the world-famous author and illustrator of children’s books. Friends of Hedgie the Hedgehog and Jan will want to visit her website right away. Family-friendly and free, the site is one of the best resources on the Web for younger surfers under parental supervision.

Hedgie, naturally, is one of the site’s major presences, well represented throughout the 4,000 pages of fun. I found his paper doll and wardrobe section at www.janbrett.com/costumes_main_choice.htm. As always, paper doll play that requires cutting should be accomplished only under parental supervision, and while taking proper safety precautions.

If there is anything cuter than Hedgie, it could be Hedgie in his bunny costume with a similarly clad Hedga by his side. Kids can print out and color their favorite outfits, then attach them to their prickly pals simply by folding over a few paper tabs. The paper doll play that you enjoyed when you were a child is just as much fun today, and far more accessible, thanks to the Internet and generous creators like Jan Brett.

In addition to the paper doll section, you will be able to spend hours on end browsing the site. Treasures like the recipe for Hedgehog Cookies and Happy Spring Placemats can turn a rainy day into a family funfest with a couple of timely mouse clicks. Young readers can even share an adventure with Hedgie in the online book Hedgie Loves to Read. The fun never stops, leading me to suggest that the www.janbrett.com incorporate Hedgie and the Five Spiders into its online fun.

As March prepares to go out like a lamb, I would love to hear about your favorite activities. I am especially interested in seeing photos and scans of completed projects from this column. As always, reach me by email to granese@juno.com.