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Check out the pictures here.

Paper, plastic or die cast - Optimus still owns you. On Digg.com I saw a link to some paper craft plans for Optimus Prime and thought, “self, one day when you are bored you should build one.” I don’t have tons of free time, but recently found myself bored and unmotivated. Perfect time for paper Optimus.

I’ve never done any paper models before, so I grabbed a good pair of scissors (read: not broken or dull), a hot glue gun and my son. We found two different models. I chose the static Optimus and my son chose the actual transforming model. We’ll post his some other time (if he ever finishes it!), but for now, here’s my story.

I figured since paper is thin and I imagined it would be hard to manipulate, I would use something thicker. I rooted around and found some 61lb. double sided matte photo paper. Perfect choice. Not too thick to fold and not as weak as inkjet paper.

So after some trial and error, I figured out the best way to fold the many pieces and start building the model. My hands cramped terribly - whether it was from the cutting, folding or gluing I don’t know. They hurt though. I found that quick dabs of hot glue worked the best for the assembly but you have to work quick to make sure it doesn’t dry before you get the piece assembled. Now I have a great paper Optimus standing guard over my monitor. It’s definitely a fun project. Grab the .PDF below and try it out. You can check out the entire set at my PicasaWeb.

Paper Optimus Prime .pdf