Poplocks Chimera C64

 

 

 

 

Here is a tribute to one of the earliest robot/spaceman characters in video games - the player character from the Commodore 64 version of "Chimera" by Shahid Ahmad. As the player, you explore a mysterious and threatening space ship, attempt to destroy it and escape.

Chimera was one of the first games to include digital voice samples, not just the typical bleeps and bloops of games of the mid-80s.

This paper toy version of the Chimera player character can hold a Wrench, the first tool to be collected in the game.

Shahid tells the riveting story about the development of this game, brimming with coffee, XORS, friendship, hardship, opportunity, and triumph. There are also detailed explanations and asides on how programming and logic turn computer code into a pulsing, exciting game that one can play.

Note: You will need to have a Twitter account to log in and read all 7 chapters.

Click to read "Code is Just"

 

Download the Poplocks version of the Chimera C64 character and you can print out a template on one page of card-stock, cut it out, fold and assemble your very own version of this paper bot!

Alternately, print out the 3 pages for the enlarged, 160% scale version.

Full-color instructions are included to help you cut out and assemble.

You can print the pattern on US Letter or A4 card stock paper. Make sure your program for printing PDF files is set to print at 100% scale with no set margins (Chrome Browser defaults to the "margins" setting, which will shrink the print out!). Printing works fine in Adobe Acrobat as well, naturally.

A 5/8" circle punch will help out as always, allowing you to quickly cut out clean circles for smooth rotation of all of the Poplocks joints.

For the 160% scale version, there are very few commercially available 1" circle hole punches with enough "reach" to cut out the hole, so you may have to remove each hole with a craft knife and scissors.

Click to download PDF instructions and template!

Javelin - Netroid

Netroids.net has been the place to go for original and fan art paper toys. James has transforming animalian robots, gigantic poseable action figures, and even a magical Netroids Miner model, which you can easily decorate with a classic Minecraft skin.

 

One of the latest toys is Javelin - two sheets of cardstock build into a menacing and quite large beast-o-bot!

You can grab the free-to-print black and white version or get the full-color version at the Netroids Paper Toys shop. You'll find many other papercraft models and even original origami designs.

Take a look!

Poplocks Sweet Robo

 

It's been a while, but here is a brand-new version of an older papertoy from this site.

Download the Poplocks version of Sweet Robo and you can print out a template on one page of card-stock, cut it out, fold and assemble your very own version of this re-imagined paper bot!

A lot of parts are jammed into one sheet of paper, so full-color instructions are included to help you cut out and assemble.

You can print the pattern on US Letter or A4 card stock paper. Make sure your program for printing PDF files is set to print at 100% scale with no set margins (such as with the Chrome Browser). Printing works fine in Adobe Acrobat as well, naturally.

A 5/8" circle punch will help out as always, allowing you to cut out clean circles for smooth rotation of all of the Poplocks joints; for the head, arms, and legs.

Click to download PDF instructions and template!

Q-BiT - Poplocks Paper Toy

A new Poplocks paper toy is available for download! Q-BiT, the cube-ly transport bot uses its long legs to step over traffic jams in cities.

This toy has an expressive face:

Eye - slide the eye left, right, up and down.
Eyelid - open, close and tilt the eyelid,
Antennae - Rotate the antennae like ears.

STORY -

Initially designed to move all sorts of cargo, it gained fame and renown from the "Pizza-Bot" company, which re-fitted Q-BiT units for mobile pizza oven/delivery, disrupting the entrenched pizza franchises in the market.

This Poplocks Paper Toy template can be downloaded right here:

Click to Download PDF Template!

And illustrated instructions are available here:

Click to Download PDF instructions!

 I recommend printing this template using two colors of 65 lb cardstock and you will also save time and effort by using a 5/8" circle hole punch to cut out the holes (both available at most craft stores like Michaels). A craft knifed is recommended for removing the large eye socket circle for the Face Front.

Q-BiT has a rather expressive face and antennae. Pose it for some funny views!

Make a Monster at Science Unwrapped

Fellow Poplocker, James Fritzler was able to host a Poplocks table at the Utah State University's "Science Unwrapped" event this past Friday, Jan 27th. The theme was "The Art and Science of Monster Creation".

This maker-movement-fueled display had all sorts of hands-on tech, perfect for demonstrating all sorts of scientific principles to children and adults alike. I've been privileged to attend several of these types of shows over the years and I'm glad that James himself has had a turn to show off the fun of Poplocks!

Many young builders came by, learning how to assemble the pieces for the first time, then going on to quickly discover their own building techniques. Parents are always surprised by the creativity which springs forth!

Here are some pictures shared by the university. You may also spot a sneak peek of a big, box-like robot on the table... an upcoming Paper Poseable Poplocks toy.

 

Interview with Durham TV Skywriter

I was interviewed by Patricia Murray for her show, TV Skywriter!! Pat is an amazing creative talent in Durham, North Carolina and one of the things she does is interview other creative people.

In the interview, I show off and talk about some toys that I've never released!

Pat wanted to find out more about the inspirations behind my love of paper toys and the impulses which gave birth to Poplocks. What do you think? Did I get deep enough into the story? Do you have more questions? I'll answer them!

Poplocks at Father Daughter Dance

I was proud to have Poplocks be a feature component of the activity table at a Father/Daughter Dance in Durham, NC on Friday, January 30th. Happy Mess Art made the art party happen and also offered every other art supply along with Poplocks. Fathers and Daughters created some amazing things, including custom photo frames, flower bracelets and crowns, and amazing figures.

Check out the photos at the Happy Mess Art Facebook page!

Thanks to Holly Phelan-Johnson for running the event!

Halloween Animation

Check this out!!!

James Fritzler and his children made this super-sweet animation using Pose Monsters, a Halloween paper doll-themed toy I've been slowly working on. This is a very small, retail-only experiment and has been local to Durham, NC, but I made sure that James got a special delivery. Seeing this video is amazing, and I hope you too are inspired to create easy stop-motion animation using any simple stop-motion animation-enabling program out there, like the one used for this video!

Poplocks Fun at Durham Arts and Student U

Halloween turns out to be a time for Poplocks fun, and thanks to the Durham Arts Council, I was able to host 4 creative art events using my new Pose Monsters paper dolls. Each monster is made from 2 sheets of laminated paper sourced from the Scrap Exchange here in Durham, NC.

Skeletons, Spiders and Pumpkin Scarecrows were assembled and decorated and here is the picture proof:

Popping perforated parts out of the page.

Monsters on TV!

Super cute monster transformations (made mostly from spiders!)

The horrifying Monster Tooth and the Pumpkin Thief

Thanks to Lauren at the DAC and Alex at Student U for allowing me to host such fun building events.

Godzilla Monsters

King Ghidorah

Splat Space is a great place for engineering builder types to meet up and show others what they have made. A good friend, William McIsaac, has been making a bunch of awesome Poplocks paper toys of his own design and with his own innovations.

Face-to-face-to-face-off!

Tonight, William brought by his latest Poplocks monstrosities, paper depictions of some of the giant beasts from the classic Godzilla movies. His designs use tons of cool, new custom shapes, depicting great details from each monster. King Ghidorah is made using modified parts from Snake-bot, using a bunch of body segments to make neck, arms and legs super poseable!

Clean-up crew, for after the big monster battles

Thanks for sharing, William! I can't wait to show off more of your work.