The first time we saw Yamaha papercraft models on The Kneeslider was way back in 2005. They were impressive then, but not new, these print, cut and assemble models had already been out since 1997. You can go to the website, download some pdf files and build yourself a motorcycle. As you might expect, in the intervening years, the models have become a bit more complex, … no, make that crazy complex, which I think is very cool. The models you can choose from have covered the range from the VMax, both versions, the R1, MT-01 and lots more, even some animals and dioramas, but the parts count is continually increasing and for their 20th anniversary model they’ll soon be introducing a model of the YA-1, Yamaha’s first motorcycle.
An example of the complexity is the R1 above. An earlier version, released in 1999 had 167 individual pieces, the one shown above has 914. These are not a one or two evening affair, these are a serious undertaking that require a lot of the same dedication, precision and perseverance you would need on a much larger project, but the finished model is something you can be proud of and it’s not something you buy, it’s free to download, you just have to put in some serious time and effort to put it all together.
There’s a big gallery of successful builds by people from all over the world and Yamaha encourages you to submit your model for inclusion.
If you are looking for a nice project for those cold weather days and evenings that are fast approaching, you might want to try one of these. It could be a great family project, too, if you have some younger who would benefit from time away from their phones while doing something literally constructive, it might even increase their attention span. Then again, you might want to do one of these yourself. Put it on display when you finish, your friends and family will be impressed and you’ll get a real feeling of accomplishment, but if you do one, be careful, you might get hooked.
Yamaha Papercraft. You should check it out.