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.
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!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sara, I hope youll have fun building it.
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing. You are very skilled and I am dumbfounded at the ability that this shows. Well done.
ReplyDeletethese paper dolls are so cute !!! Thanks
ReplyDeleteCOOL MAN!!! er... though i dunno who you are.. but.. i got one from ghibli animation museum! gonna try out pretty soon!
ReplyDeletemay i know wut kind of paper did you use to print the whole thing out?
ReplyDeleteTo help you out on the paper, you can check my posting for February or simply click on this link Paper Craft Tools
ReplyDeleteHey Ron! Thnx a Billion!!
ReplyDeleteI 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?!
Yup, and on those four days I worked from 8:00am to 11:00pm
ReplyDeleteGreat dedication to ur work Impressive!
ReplyDeleteI'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.
Hi Ron =>
ReplyDeleteI 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?
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.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Ur friend ruin ur 1st HMC? =P So putting on varnish actually helps to keep ur work more longlasting huh?
ReplyDeleteI've problems sticking my photopaper with wood(white) glue. So I'm switching to UHU glue this morning, hope it held on better.
Hi ron!
ReplyDeleteThank 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!
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.
ReplyDeleteNice 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
Thanks for the English translation! I am almost finished with mine, and I couldn't have done it without the help of your guide!
ReplyDeleteno problem, tristan
ReplyDeleteHi Ron~
ReplyDeleteremember 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
I do remember you, That HMC you made is very good, thanks for sharing the pic. and Im glad you find my guide helpful
ReplyDeletehi ron...
ReplyDeleteeverybody 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... :)
you can go to Paperkraft.net 's Rapidshare folder to download the HMC paper craft.
ReplyDeletehttp://rapidshare.de/users/JUHG86
cool man!!!
ReplyDeletethx 4 the model... i expect this very long time ago... see u and thx very very much...
Good design!
ReplyDeleteMy homepage | Please visit
What glue do you think works the best for this kind of craft? White glue personally drives me nuts...
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the guide and the translation! This was an incredibly fun and challenging build!
ReplyDeleteRustin Allison
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.
ReplyDeletecould you tell me what the pulley is used for, and where the other end of the laundry string is supposed to attach to?
The download links don't seem to work anymore. Where can we find this model?
ReplyDeleteI found the harder version of this castle at a forum, here's the download link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.megaupload.com/?d=BYT6O0SY
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
ReplyDeleteWOW! Cool castle!! Going to give it a try cheers. What gram paper is best as it looks quite big?
ReplyDelete>Beads
ReplyDeleteTry this post for what kind of paper to use Papercraft Tools
OMG WOW!!
ReplyDeleteThis is gonna be so awesome except I've run out of coloured ink so is it going to look good in black and white?
that will depend on your taste, i've done it in black and white and it looks good
ReplyDeleteok thanks so much, digger, I'll give it a try
ReplyDeletei 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!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will bookmark!
ReplyDeleteHappy 2008 peeps.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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
ReplyDeletehi. 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. :)
ReplyDelete@yayix
ReplyDeleteno problem, that's a nice video, thanks.
can anyone tell me where i can get a download for some feet for howls casle
ReplyDeleteThanks
Paul H.
feet?
ReplyDeletesorry 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)
ReplyDeletePaul H.
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteIf 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.
ReplyDeleteWow! 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 =)
ReplyDeleteis there any chance anyone knows the password to the pdf ?
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to cut away the parts that are not needed to save some ink ...
long shot but anyway =]
That look like a lot of work but the end result is pure awesomeness!!
ReplyDeleteIs there any other source for this castle. If I download it it says the file is damaged and can't get opened.
ReplyDeleteI also am having trouble opening the pdf file as it's password protected. Is there anyone who knows the password?
ReplyDeleteIt's really not password protected. Works perfectly fine here..
ReplyDeleteI'm on wing #2 in this! Awesome project.
this is great. I'm almost done with this version- almost done with chimney 2.
ReplyDeleteI 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
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.
ReplyDeleteDang! That is the shiz. Thanks man!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favs movies!!
ReplyDeleteBut 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)
@Emy
ReplyDeleteThanks, you should really give it a try. Building it is really simple, just a lot of parts.
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?
ReplyDeleteThere is a Japanese instruction set for this one, I'm not sure if I still have a copy of it though.
ReplyDeleteHey 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??
ReplyDelete@Shagun
ReplyDeleteI used letter size cardstock
Hey guys, before you actually make/print this model, just be aware that there is a more accurate, difficult to find model out there somewhere. It is probably 120 pages or something and is a ton of work. The castle does take from a scene in the movie that is slightly darker than the posted one
ReplyDeleteI think the actual papercraft is less than 120 pages, but I don't remember. It's probably the version from the papercraft book, which is now out of print.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is so annoying to build without instructions, seeing as how the english ones don't help <_<. I will persevere though.
Hey Ron, I know that the Kodansha version wasn't free, but since it's been discontinued for quite a while, is it legal to post download links here for that version?
ReplyDeleteWe can't post that here, we are friends with Kodansha
ReplyDeleteAnd a look through Amazon or so will find you it. If you've got the money.
ReplyDeletewoow,that's amazing *_*! great job;]
ReplyDeleteYOU ARE THE BEST THAT I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteon the translated instructions, it says refer to guide 4. what does that mean? where is guide 4?
ReplyDelete@Sarah
ReplyDeleteIt's been a very long time since I've last seen this, i think the "guide 4" that you mentioned is on page 2 of the instructions.
the download link is not working anymore.. do you have a new one? that castle is awesome!
ReplyDelete@liisa
ReplyDeleteLink has now been updated.
hi ron! i'm attempting to make this since the flapping wings look awesome :3 unfortunately i have a little problem with page 3, which concernes part of the flapping mechanism. -- it says glue to the bottom (the big brown piece on p3) but.... where on the bottom? hope you can help me out, working on the cosmetic outer bits for now :D
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while, can you send me a pic via email so I can easily help with the problem
ReplyDeleteGreat papercraft that you made! I just finished making another version of it too! Feel free to check it out here ^^
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/54392588@N00/sets/72157623844679866
That is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWOW.. amazing result.. i want to make one too to placed at my work desk, everyone will drop their jaw lol
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing. I don't know if I have the skills yet to do this. But I'm downloading it anyway to set it up as a goal. Currently, the only papercraft I've done is the Millennium Falcon. I hope, by this summer, I know enough to be able to do this well.
ReplyDeleteI have completed the model. Thanks for the links. I am working on detailed instructions. You can find them here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/3rdfoundation/5336285015/
I also created a time lapse video of its creation:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3rdfoundation/5338309012/
pleeeease, I want to do it, but the link not found!
ReplyDelete0_0 Holy crap. That is one awesome papercraft. Thanks so much for making this. I love the movie and manga. New to papercraft. I've attempted 2 but didn't finish them. What grade paper should I use? About how much USD does the paper cost?
ReplyDeleteWow. That's amazing. Bravo.
ReplyDelete