Howl's Moving Castle Papercraft

Posted by Ron | Wednesday, March 08, 2006 | 62 comments »

One of my favorite movies from Hayao Miyazaki is finally on DVD, Howl's Moving Castle ( Hauru no ugoku shiro) was an Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature Film for 2005. This is probably one of the best free papercraft models in my collection and it took me four days to complete it. The model is highly detailed and has moving parts, particularly the wings, this is considered a paper craft model and at the same time a paper automata because it's got the mechanisms for movement. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend you see it, buy or rent it on DVD. This Howl's Moving Castle papercraft is hosted by Epson Japan and is available for both Windows and Mac users. The files come in two parts, a guide and the pattern itself and is really huge, the pattern is 54MB and the guide is 15MB for Windows users, it's even bigger for the MacOS crowd.
This Howl's Moving Castle papercraft was printed on A4 paper by a Canon Pixma iP3000, If your having a hard time understanding the instruction guide(Japanese), you can download an English translation for it below, courtesy of rose-rote. Check out some detailed photos I took of my model at my Flickr page.

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  1. Sara // March 15, 2006 11:44 PM  

    Wow!! Nice pics!! Congrats on the wonderful job with this castle :D I just found this model recently and I'm planning to do this during the summer when I will have more time. I can't wait!

  2. Ron // March 16, 2006 9:15 AM  

    Thank you Sara, I hope youll have fun building it.

  3. The Complimenting Commenter // March 17, 2006 2:28 PM  

    That is amazing. You are very skilled and I am dumbfounded at the ability that this shows. Well done.

  4. evelgal // March 17, 2006 8:17 PM  

    these paper dolls are so cute !!! Thanks

  5. Anonymous // April 04, 2006 3:38 AM  

    COOL MAN!!! er... though i dunno who you are.. but.. i got one from ghibli animation museum! gonna try out pretty soon!

  6. Anonymous // April 04, 2006 4:32 AM  

    may i know wut kind of paper did you use to print the whole thing out?

  7. Ron // April 04, 2006 7:55 AM  

    To help you out on the paper, you can check my posting for February or simply click on this link Paper Craft Tools

  8. 'Howling' Mödö // April 17, 2006 6:12 AM  

    Hey Ron! Thnx a Billion!!
    I tried so hard to buy the Cominica Resin Sophie castle online. But the model was sold out almost everywhere (tat offers international delivery)
    But tis is some piece of work u hv here!! =D
    U took 4 days to build it?
    Tis is my 1st attempt in paper craft. Do u recogn tis will take me 6 mths?!

  9. Ron // April 17, 2006 8:46 AM  

    Yup, and on those four days I worked from 8:00am to 11:00pm

  10. Mödö-Ghibli fanatic // April 17, 2006 8:11 PM  

    Great dedication to ur work Impressive!
    I'm planning to use photo paper instead of printouts. Perhaps tat will eliminate the sweaty hands problem. =)
    Of course the colour wouldn't be as vabrient because it isn't CMYK.
    Special thnx to ur translated guide.

  11. Mödö // April 18, 2006 6:32 AM  

    Hi Ron =>
    I print out the 1st & 2nd page today. The bases of the castle. It looks kinda small to me. Unlike the pic u post.
    May I ask did u print urs out in A4 or A3 size?

  12. Ron // April 18, 2006 1:31 PM  

    the castle on the picture is actually the second one I built using regular size paper, I finished my first castle using A4 and I decided to put varnish on it, a friend volunteered to do it for me and he accidentally ruined it.

  13. Mödö // April 19, 2006 12:32 AM  

    Ouch! Ur friend ruin ur 1st HMC? =P So putting on varnish actually helps to keep ur work more longlasting huh?
    I've problems sticking my photopaper with wood(white) glue. So I'm switching to UHU glue this morning, hope it held on better.

  14. ferdz // April 20, 2006 1:46 AM  

    Hi ron!
    Thank you for being so generous
    in sharing you collection of paper crafts. I'm new in this form of artwork and I notice there's a dearth of quality models that are free of charge to start with...until I bumped into your site! Thanks and more power!

  15. Dark Bubba // April 28, 2006 3:50 PM  

    oo, ghible rules. And I just started papercrafting, so I'm downloading it as I type. Thank you very much for for posting it. I love it already.
    Nice job btw, hope mine will go as nice :)

    keep up the papercrafting!!

    You can find some nice (anime related) papercraft on www.4chan.org btw

  16. Tristan // May 12, 2006 3:47 PM  

    Thanks for the English translation! I am almost finished with mine, and I couldn't have done it without the help of your guide!

  17. Ron // May 12, 2006 6:08 PM  

    no problem, tristan

  18. Mödö // June 09, 2006 11:29 AM  

    Hi Ron~
    remember me? I finished my HMC after 2mths. I just wanna say thnx again for sharing ur translated HMC guide. Wouldn'd make it without you. =) Its looks real bad, but tis was my only 2nd papercraft... my 1st papercraft was the pumkin frm Yamaha site.

    http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b115/ModoNoko/HMC-05leftfront.jpg

  19. Ron // June 09, 2006 11:04 PM  

    I do remember you, That HMC you made is very good, thanks for sharing the pic. and Im glad you find my guide helpful

  20. yorx // August 20, 2006 1:23 AM  

    hi ron...
    everybody says: ghibli rules... :)
    so i hav a problem... the link to epson is broken, the download is not possible for the moment and im not found the hmc at others sites... can u upload as the guide? ah, thx for the english trans... :)

  21. Ron // August 20, 2006 8:33 PM  

    you can go to Paperkraft.net 's Rapidshare folder to download the HMC paper craft.

    http://rapidshare.de/users/JUHG86

  22. yorx // August 21, 2006 10:53 PM  

    cool man!!!
    thx 4 the model... i expect this very long time ago... see u and thx very very much...

  23. Anonymous // September 25, 2006 5:34 PM  

    Good design!
    My homepage | Please visit

  24. Anonymous // October 18, 2006 7:29 PM  

    What glue do you think works the best for this kind of craft? White glue personally drives me nuts...

  25. Anonymous // December 22, 2006 6:37 PM  

    Thanks for posting the guide and the translation! This was an incredibly fun and challenging build!

    Rustin Allison

  26. Ty // January 13, 2007 12:01 PM  

    Ron, I found the HMC pdf and some english instructions on rose-rote.hp.infoseek.co.jp, but the english guide on rose-rote is a little hard to understand.

    could you tell me what the pulley is used for, and where the other end of the laundry string is supposed to attach to?

  27. Sean // February 11, 2007 5:46 PM  

    The download links don't seem to work anymore. Where can we find this model?

  28. Melodie // February 16, 2007 11:32 AM  

    I found the harder version of this castle at a forum, here's the download link:
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BYT6O0SY

  29. Anonymous // March 21, 2007 12:06 AM  

    im a bit late to this thread but all the links are down for this paper craft i have found the original and i have found a very poor translation in English but i was hoping you still had or knew where i could get the good english version i cant get past page 3 with the Japanese version cause i catn understand it message me please mrlowerfrenum@gmail.com

  30. Beads // May 31, 2007 9:01 AM  

    WOW! Cool castle!! Going to give it a try cheers. What gram paper is best as it looks quite big?

  31. I Love Sam // May 31, 2007 9:10 AM  

    >Beads

    Try this post for what kind of paper to use Papercraft Tools

  32. Anonymous // July 13, 2007 10:21 PM  

    OMG WOW!!

    This is gonna be so awesome except I've run out of coloured ink so is it going to look good in black and white?

  33. digger // July 13, 2007 10:48 PM  

    that will depend on your taste, i've done it in black and white and it looks good

  34. Anonymous // July 13, 2007 11:12 PM  

    ok thanks so much, digger, I'll give it a try

  35. Anonymous // September 09, 2007 8:09 AM  

    i want to open the epson page with the download, but it don't works! please help me! i need the english version of the howl's moving castle model!!!

  36. <a href="http://courses.cvcc.vccs.edu/ENG112_GROSS/_Chat_Room/000008fd.htm">Anonimous</a> // September 10, 2007 5:39 AM  

    Excellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will bookmark!

  37. Anonymous // December 31, 2007 2:26 PM  

    Happy 2008 peeps.
    I just downloaded the 50mb model, this is probally the most challenging papercraft models I will ever attempt. Thought Gen goro's Koopa (Browser) was made, it took me 2 days flat. I'm busy with several projects and have many papercraft models yet to be made. The paper I normally use is 135gsm or 120gsm sketching paper and Anita's Tacky glue or Hi Tack all purpose glue because it holds fast, dries strong. Just finished the Totoro and mine looks a different from the photos because I placed the whiskers different to closely match the one in the film. Thanks for providing the link because this model is one I wanted the most.
    The printer won't like me when if I eventually to give Howl's moving castle ago.
    You have there a great blog.

  38. Anonymous // January 04, 2008 8:01 PM  

    OMG!!! finally there is a link that works!! now to save it on my computer and wait til the start of school here n australia so i can print it off at school because im running out of ink. best to wait a while though or else the teachers will wonder why im 2.60 sort

  39. yayix // March 02, 2008 10:14 PM  

    hi. there's a neat time lapse video by Ben Millet on Vimeo.. and i hope you don't mind - i posted a link to your site in my blog post. :)

  40. Ron // March 03, 2008 7:01 AM  

    @yayix

    no problem, that's a nice video, thanks.

  41. Anonymous // April 27, 2008 3:18 AM  

    can anyone tell me where i can get a download for some feet for howls casle
    Thanks
    Paul H.

  42. Ron // April 27, 2008 7:13 AM  

    feet?

  43. Anonymous // April 27, 2008 12:20 PM  

    sorry if this is a bit sad but i have seen a set of prictures of a model of howl's castle with feet. (there look like bird's feet in the photo)

    Paul H.

  44. Ron // April 27, 2008 1:23 PM  

    Oh, I see what your trying to ask me. That particular model is for the Howl's Moving Castle - Kodansha Version, unfortunately I don't have that one available. The only thing I have is the one posted here on my site which is the Epson version.

  45. Anonymous // May 05, 2008 2:40 PM  

    I can't get the English Translation file to download. Whenever I click on it, it says it downloaded some tiny fraction and then nothing happens. I am hoping to get this all printed up for my wife's birthday. Is the instruction file still working? Any ideas? I appreciate any assistance, I think this would be a really cool little gift.

  46. Ron // May 05, 2008 7:28 PM  

    I checked the file and everything seems to be ok, you can use the contact form to request it privately or you can post your e-mail here and I'll send you a copy.

  47. Anonymous // May 06, 2008 10:25 PM  

    If you could email it to me at jdd@drexel.edu, that would be fantastic. I can't seem to get it to download no matter what I do.

  48. Ria // July 05, 2008 11:44 AM  

    Wow! Awesome work! My daughter and I are such a big fan of Howl's Moving Castle and to see a paper craft of it is simple divine! Thanks for sharing the photos. Great job =)

  49. Anonymous // August 18, 2008 7:50 AM  

    is there any chance anyone knows the password to the pdf ?

    I'm trying to cut away the parts that are not needed to save some ink ...

    long shot but anyway =]

  50. LEon // September 05, 2008 1:47 AM  

    That look like a lot of work but the end result is pure awesomeness!!

  51. Ada // September 17, 2008 2:31 AM  

    Is there any other source for this castle. If I download it it says the file is damaged and can't get opened.

  52. Lanie // September 20, 2008 1:35 AM  

    I also am having trouble opening the pdf file as it's password protected. Is there anyone who knows the password?

  53. postlogic // January 27, 2009 4:02 PM  

    It's really not password protected. Works perfectly fine here..

    I'm on wing #2 in this! Awesome project.

  54. Anonymous // February 22, 2009 1:50 AM  

    this is great. I'm almost done with this version- almost done with chimney 2.

    I was wondering if you guys might want to dig up the pdf for the HMC papercraft ground version. Its hard to find but I'm sure you've seen it.
    thankks

  55. Ron // February 22, 2009 3:10 PM  

    I can't remember seeing a papercraft for the ground version, if you've got a photo can you send it to me so I can check.

  56. McTO // March 19, 2009 12:52 PM  

    Dang! That is the shiz. Thanks man!

  57. Emy // March 23, 2009 4:10 PM  

    One of my favs movies!!

    But it seems so hard to make this one =\ It's so beautiful that I think I'll try ;)
    Ps: I just LOVE your blog x)

  58. Ron // March 23, 2009 5:41 PM  

    @Emy

    Thanks, you should really give it a try. Building it is really simple, just a lot of parts.

  59. Magedark // April 27, 2009 8:24 PM  

    While I am working on this, I wonder if there exists the Japanese instructions to look at? The english somewhat bogs me down and is a bit small. Unless the Japanese one is like that?

  60. Ron // April 27, 2009 9:12 PM  

    There is a Japanese instruction set for this one, I'm not sure if I still have a copy of it though.

  61. Shagun // June 28, 2009 5:01 PM  

    Hey Ron, okay so my friends and I want to complete this as a summer project! We're gonna print the pdf off at Office Max (49 cents per page!) and on card stock paper. I have a question though... did you use letter size or legal size??

  62. Ron // June 28, 2009 9:16 PM  

    @Shagun

    I used letter size cardstock

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