When I first took a look at this 4 ft high Freedom Gundam recreation, I really didn’t think it was made of paper. I mean the details are all there, coloration looks good, and even the weaponry looks well stylized. Of course as with many times before, I was wrong, and there’s even a video showing how this paper behemoth was created both from the original plastic format and the paper construction as well.
If you watch the video, it gives a good idea as to how much effort and time when into this Giant Gundam. The movie is mercifully short and features a time lapse effect so you’re not stuck watching him cut out each individually crafted piece from the printer into the awesome looking sculpture we see in the finished product. Even with the super speed time lapse going on, it still takes a number of minutes to go through the construction of various legs, arms, and weaponry, with the occasional friend plopping on the couch near it’s creator, Taras Lesko, to help out.
I always found papercraft to be a rather quirky hobby given it’s relative fragility and the deadly impact of water. On the other hand it’s hilarious to see how this paper gundam towers over the original model, and you can’t help but respect the 175 pages and about 500 parts that make up the bulk of it’s gundam goodness. The time lapse video makes it go by in about 3 minutes, but this freedom gundam took a whopping two months in total to put together. I think my wife just might tire of the not-so-finished paper sculpture that would languish on the coffee table for months at a time, and the whole thing could be easily destroyed by our grumpy old cat who has no appreciation for the creative process, but that’s why I’m not in the video, right? Plus you can hop on board the trend of giant mecha statues without the heavy equipment and thousands of dollars. Not a bad deal, if I do say so.
The artist also created the amazing 3ft Papercraft Viewtiful Joe we previously seen, and the results are just as impressive.
