How to Make a Papercraft 1990 LEGO Set 6592 Weekend Cottage in 7 Easy Steps Xop
Introduction: How to Make a Papercraft 1990 LEGO Set 6592 Weekend Cottage in 7 Easy Steps Xop
I made a lot of papercrafts before this, usually characters from video games or movies, but also quite a few LEGO minifigures already. This is the first time I made a complete LEGO set though.
Well half a complete LEGO set really; this is such a big project that I'm saving the little garden and barbecue for a later time. ;o)
In fact: it is SUCH a big papercraft project that I decided to use a cutting machine (Silhouette Cameo) to do the cutting for the first time! :o)
Step 1: Modelling the Bricks
I used an older version of SketchUp to model the Bricks I needed for this papercraft project. Most LEGO Bricks have pretty simple shapes that are very easy to make in SketchUp. I use a special plugin that works with the free version I have to export the Bricks to a *.dxf file because I want to clean up the Bricks a bit more before I unfold them to papercraft parts.
Step 2: Cleaning Up the Models in Metasequoia
You could unfold models directly from a SketchUp format, but sometimes you run into problems where you might have modelled some things in a way that Pepakura Designer (which I use to unfold the models) doesn't like.
That's why I use Metasequoia, which gives that bit more control that I want. It's a (relatively ;o) simple but quite powerful 3D program perfect for making models for papercrafts, and is perfectly compatible with Pepakura Designer (they even recommend it on their website! :o)
Step 3: Unfolding the 3D Bricks Into 2D Papercraft Parts
Now that the 3D Brick models are cleaned up in Metasequoia, I can be sure I will have no problems unfolding them into 2D papercraft parts using Pepakura Designer. It is very easy to use, but if you want to save your work you will have to buy a registration key.
For me that's totally worth it of course, but if you want you can try out the software for free and even print your papercraft creations - even into a PDF file so you can 'save' (an un-editable) version of it. ;o)
Step 4: Making Vector Sheets and Adding Layers and Colors in AutoCAD LT
Now this is a step I don't usually do to make my papercrafts (only once before when I made my papercraft Royal Netherlands Navy Walrus class submarine), but I needed a way to:
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Keep the papercraft parts as vector information
2. Add layers / colors to the papercraft parts
Since I have access to AutoCAD LT, that's what I used after exporting the papercraft parts to a *.dxf file format from Pepakura Designer. :o)
AutoCAD (even the LT version) is a very expensive software though, so you might want to look for a cheap/free alternative...!
Step 5: Creating PDF Files for Sharing
As you know, I like to share my papercraft works with others, so I 'printed' the templates I made in AutoCAD LT to PDF files, making sure they retained the layer information.
That way, even people that don't own a cutting machine can still print the paper Bricks and build them - but they will have to do *a lot* of cutting... And people that do have a cutting machine, can use the vector information from the PDF files.
Step 6: Importing the PDF File Into Silhouette Studio and Have It Cut the Parts! :o)
Well, at least... There is one big side note, though: I found that the free version of Silhouette Studio for the Silhouette Cameo cutting machine does not retain the layer information when you import a file with layers. In fact you can't even import PDF files in the Standard Edition...
Which is understandably quite a downer; I'm afraid I can't tell if it's the same for other cutting machines and their software like the Cricut or a Brother ScanNCut...?
This was critical for me though, so I paid for the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition. That way I could use the layer information very easily to assign the right cut settings to all the lines and have control of the cutting order:
* 01_MountainFold - blue lines; I gave the mountain folds and valley folds different colors so that if you can check with the PDF file which way you should fold the pieces. These lines should be scored, NOT cut all the way through the paper! 110