Jenova's Mask

Jenova's Mask
http://www.mediafire.com/?mimz52n3mqw
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E3XC0CMT

Remember the big crazy angel thing covering the Jenova tank at Nibelheim? The thing Sephiroth rips down and then you're like, "oh dear sweet lord, that woman has an eyeball in her bosom!"

Ahem...

Anyway, this is just the big suit thing edited down to the head. If you'd like to wear it as a mask (and scare the bejesus out of your FFVII playing friends), you can leave the eyes (or rather, lack thereof) out.

Potion
http://www.mediafire.com/?nnvjiyjqhno

While we're at it, I've had this lying around for a while, been waiting for a Crisis Core release to tag it on. PDO only, as with so many of the Crisis Core gimmick models.


Now if you'll excuse me, I have got a monstrous pile of scrap paper to clean up after the FFIX party marathon.


EDIT:

Oh hey, look at that. First release of 2010. Fancy.

Shinra Helictoper

Shinra Helicopter
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E2APMWZT
http://www.mediafire.com/?mzlxgnmkwyz

Another Crisis Core mini-release, akin to Genesis' Sword. If you've checked the project list recently, you'll know that this is only the first part of a larger plan to build a more detailed version of the same chopper. This is just one that someone with only a few hours to kill would want to build, not a full blown weekend project like the more detailed iteration will be.



Also posted this in the MediaFire folder and on DeviantArt a little while back. I mentioned the link in the shoutbox, but in case you missed it:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?d5wm4u2jt2o




Anyway, I've been getting plenty of layouts ready for build over the last few days (it's all been Ustream'd, so you can go back and skim through it if you like, or watch me as it happens next time), and this is the first of the stack to get tackled. I've also got the Kingdom Hearts Moogle in there, as well as Fargo and Lynx from Chrono Cross, and three more FFXI artifact helmets (Puppet Master, Scholar, and Dark Knight). I also finished the layout for Cecil's Dark Knight incarnation this morning (actually yesterday morning/early afternoon, as it's now about twoish in the "am"). I plan to build the stack over the next week, but even if I get them all done, I'm going to save the Dark Knight helmet for when I finish both Cecils and package them as one big release.

So in the meantime, stay tuned. It looks to be a good week of releases.

Crisis Core Moogle

Crisis Core Moogle
http://www.mediafire.com/?ywkz2ymtgnm
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L3ZIE9C3

It was brought to my attention while I was finishing the build (you may notice in the instructions that I change cutting mats a few photos from the end; I finished this at a friend's place) that I actually started the layout for this before classes ended last spring. It's been sitting around mostly done for over three months, so it was about time it got finalized. Went a lot smaller with the scale than I normally would for the following purpose:



Tomorrow (actually later today, in about...9 hours) I'll be attending Anime Fest with a few friends. The madman pictured below suggested I make something small enough to pin to my fedora so I can shamelessly advertise my wares whilst we muck about the convention. It's my first time witnessing a "con," so the experience should be interesting. If you're going (and happen to read this post between now and...9 hours from now...), you'll be able to spot me by the moogle on my hat. I'll probably be flanked by the crazy fellow, Ian, who has opted to sport my Warlock's Chapeau, and Yisu who may or may not decide to sacrifice her dignity by wearing a hat made out of paper.

Anyway, I need to get what sleep I can before I need to be up and wandering about Dallas.





...the eyes are what scare me the most...

Video 7: Crisis Core Process

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KONZG8CW

Probably could've knocked this one out a while back, but meh. It's not as long as I expected it to be, so you should consider watching the whole thing (possibly multiple times) before asking me questions I've already answered. I think I'm going to continue and do another video tonight, some tips and tricks on generic stuff. Dissidia will have to wait at least until Monday (depending on when I get my copy), possibly later, as I'd really like to do the whole process justice and show the making of Kefka. Might have to do the process on Ustream, just give a quick tutorial on MegaVideo.

Anyway, here are the links promised in the video:

USB SSS 1.00

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1008

UMDGen 4.0

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/948

FF7CC_Extractor

http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=7053.0

Mesh2RDM 1.81

http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=30

The sample .BAT's line of code

mesh2rdm FILE.raw FILE.smd -texpre FILE -rotate -90 0 0 -scale 1.0 -smdout -flipuv

(remember that FILE should be replaced with the name of the file in particular, and that you can swap the .SMD suffix with .OBJ, but remember to also change the "-smdout" function to "-objout")

Crisis Core model list

http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7:CC/Model_Formats

Until next time, happy crafting.

Drachen Armet

Drachen Armet
http://www.mediafire.com/?22ahznblyz2
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HV0JS1WK

Those of you who've had the misfortune of speaking to me over AIM, MSN, or whichever chat platform was the site of that horrible memory are well aware that I actually make a conscious effort to censor myself when posting here. On the blog, I try to keep it politically correct, family-friendly, and mostly profanity free, while in casual conversation my vocabulary is not so dissimilar from that of a syphilitic seaman (that is, I've got the mouth of a sailor). That being said, I can't help but convey to you a specific phrase which kept coming to mind while attempting to assemble this violet cranial accessory:

Horrible bitch-monster.

See, the Drachen Armet was one of the first AF helms I tried to build, and it's a lot of why I waited a year to try again (and waited another two weeks just recently to try and tackle it). The helmet is actually composed of four major parts, none of which actually connect to each other in a meaningful way in the digital model. When you build it, you basically have to add tabs to some spots that make sense, coat them in as much glue as you can, then sort of, cram them together in the way that seems most reasonable. The result is, needless to say, never very satisfying.



But it's done! I went a little larger on the scale than usual, and it still almost wasn't enough. This model has a lot of places to alter the arrangement to best suit the wearer, but that also means it has a lot of places wherein it can end up looking wholly retarded. I know it's a classic, and I know most people who want to build an AF helm at all want to build this one, but again, I caution you:

This model is a horrible bitch-monster.


Hooooo~
All that out of the way then? Good. So, Where did we leave off? Two weeks ago? Ah yes, I was going to the Distant Worlds show at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Short version: It was super-happy-funtime-fantastic. Well actually it was like going to a God damn anime convention (I've actually never been to a "con," and I know it was more tame than that, but there were cosplayers and a gigantic screen with Guitar Hero.) Ough... Anyway, the show was great. I'll spare you a full synopsis, but I will say this: Arnie Roth is a man of much excellence and Nobuo Uematsu is the most wonderful type of genius: the kind with a strong, non-sequitur sense of humor.

So I've got Tifa all laid out, ready to build, and work slowly continues on the two Cecils. My PC kind of ate itself recently (seriously, never underestimate the value of good virus protection and always wear your e-condoms when visiting the "Four-Chans"). I actually got back up to speed in a night, then it ate itself again. Some weird memory issues, I think I took some bad aci~...installed some bad drivers. Anyway, everything's back as it ought to be now. Also taking some time to do a bit of housekeeping (I've got roughly 4.5TB in hard drive space, and a disturbing amount of it is occupied), and some work with my playlists. I think I may actually be near 100% on Final Fantasy soundtrack material. I can't claim to have all the fan-made stuff, but I'm trying my hardest to acquire (have you checked out "Voices of the Lifestream?" It ain't bad).

Anyway, expect a release by the end of the week at the latest.



P.S. - Have a teapot.



http://www.mediafire.com/?zj5w42etmzg

Genesis' Sword

Genesis' Sword
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wd22x0ggtwm

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QVRQRPTC

This is another one of those models I kind of did on a whim. Took only a handful of hours to go from idea to finished model, so it's lacking a few things. Mostly just too lazy to give it full blown release treatment. It's (not quite) life size. The idea was to go 1:1, but I did the layout at 3 feet long, then checked my reference material and realized it should be about twice that. That's a bit too long to be feasible, so I'll leave it here. Also, apparently according to the Crisis Core Ultimania book, the sword is officially called "Rapier." That's a bit lazy on Square's part, and the validity of the claim is actually a bit sketchy, so I just decided to stick with "Genesis' Sword."

I'll spare you all the little extra details of what else is going on right now. Finals are over, and I don't have a job (yet), so I'm going to "kick it into overdrive." I've added a link on the sidebar, I'm calling it the "Kaizo Papercraft Sandbox." I'll use that to make all the little incremental posts I usually tack on as Edits to major releases. Check it regularly (maybe even hourly) if you want to stay on top of what I'm up to.

Expect a few more little gimmicky releases before I get around to something big (Glenn or Balthier).

EDIT:

Remember those gimmicks? Like so~



Shinra Supply Tin
http://www.mediafire.com/?jtimmmcnymg

Did this killing time waiting for 2 o'clock. It's a box!
Have fun.

>_>

Dissidia Enemy Icons

Updated, scroll down.




Dissidia Enemy Icons
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UR88QMO7
http://www.mediafire.com/?ozzwtmen0nz

This is maybe a half-release at best. Obviously the big news is Dissidia models are now on the menu. Anyone who's checked the "Official Request Policy" or "Working Project List" recently may already know this, as would anyone clever enough to recognize the images added as edits in my last post. Did these as kind of an introduction to Dissidia models. They're all small, page number-wise, only half a page in some cases. I've been playing Dissidia a lot lately, and this just seemed like a fun thing to do. Did some basic instructions and included PDFs and whatnot, just because there are a fair number of them. No fancy coverpage or anything though, these just aren't big enough for proper release treatment (also because there's no concept art of them, and I really didn't want to see a name as underwhelming as "Enemy Icons" on a coversheet).



Also made some simple stands, as I know plenty of you don't like going with the more awesome aerial display.




Perhaps equally important news: Crisis Core models unlocked. Did a good ol' Banora White as another "intro to a new game" sort of thing. This one I'm not even going to bother with a PDF. It's a single page, so I'm just going to stick the PDO in the shared Mediafire folder. It's approximately life-size to a real apple, and is simple enough that I don't think it needs any sort of instructions.

Enjoy your gift of the Goddess.

http://www.mediafire.com/?miztjmrkkzx


In other news, you may have noticed the fancy new banner. I've been wanting to make a banner for quite some time, but due to a complete lack of proficiency with the Photoshops, I never really got anywhere with it. Thankfully, a reader by the name of Chenille was willing to help me, and produced something of the highest caliber.



Asked her to inclued a PSD with just the title layer (with Usagi holding the P in Papercraft, how freaking awesome is that?), on a simple gradient (same gradient as my Pepakura Designer background, if you hadn't noticed, also awesome), for use as a link icon. So, if you're a reader and also a Blogger of some kind, and want to link to me (thank you for that), and want to use an image for said purpose, go ahead and use the above, scaled to whatever size you like. I think there were too many conjunctions in that sentence...

Anyway,

So Chenille offers to make me a banner as an act of charity. Little does she know, I pay back my debts. In return, she got a release of her choosing, and I said I wouldn't take no for an answer, so...



First proper Dissidia release will be Terra (or Tina, if you like). She was quite adamant about using the green haired version, so I'll be building in that (also because I prefer it as well), but the difference is just texture, so as usual I'll include the alternate for those of you who prefer blond.

(Larsa will get done eventually, it's just I can't get my hands on any new FFXII models at the moment. To the person to whom this is addressed: you know who you are.)



After Terra, I'll start working on my own character of choice: Cecil. At the moment, I'm using the pre-posed stuff that you see on the battlefield alongside the enemy icons, but to make the Paladin complement, I'll need to get into some other stuff. Don't worry, a Cecil release can never be just one model.



I've also jumped ahead of schedule with the order of my Chrono Cross models, and am nearly done with Glenn. This one's another request, for a friend who asks me if I've done it yet about every other weekend. So to get her off my back, and because it took all of about 2 hours to get him into Pepakura (honestly, if I was getting paid for this stuff, didn't have to worry about doing anything else all day? I could churn out models faster than you could believe), he'll be making an appearance fairly soon. If you're curious: the sword he's holding isn't anything from Chrono Cross. The model extraction method is still fairly experimental, so weapons are out of the question. I just did a custom texture for an Ancient Sword from FFXI. I figure it looks decent, the requester approved, so that'll be his accessory. I know nothing short of the Einlanzer is appropriate, but I just can't pull it off. If anyone out there is working on an Einlanzer from scratch, let me know, because that would be pretty God damn awesome.



And of course, Balthier is sitting at about the same level of doneness. This week is the last before final exams, and I've yet to find a job, so rest assured, he'll get done soon. I've just got a gauntlet to run first...

I'll try to get as many models done as possible before I find some employment. Give it about two weeks, and I'll make up for this dryspell. Promise.


In related news (related to school work, not papercraft): a few friends and I made fools of ourselves in public for an assignment in Japanese. I'll let you guess which one I am, for two reasons. One: if you're bored enough to watch it, you've also probably been bored enough in the past to watch videos I've posted here, and can probably recognize me by voice alone; and Two: if you don't recognize me, I'll be spared some shred of what remains of my dignity.

Enjoy
(video won't be up until this weekend, but I figured I'd get this all typed out now. Check back if you really want to see me make an ass of myself...)

Ahh college, this is money well spent.


EDIT:

Did these layouts while procrastinating about writing my papers. Built them after I finished the last paper today. Just some one-pagers thought you might enjoy.
(Oh who am I kidding, I did them because I'm nerdy enough to enjoy them.)



Zack's Phone
http://www.mediafire.com/?ymrmzm2fn2y

Texture's really low resolution, so it looks pretty blurry, but whatever. It's a gimmick model that takes all of 10 minutes to build. Decide how you want to glue it (open or closed). You may want to utilize my wire method, from the Treasure Chest instructions to make it a proper flip phone. It's roughly life size to a real phone.



Banora Juice
http://www.mediafire.com/?yznorhloxyz

Genesis' claim to fame. Sorry I couldn't make it closer to "life size" The volume/surface area ratio for cylinders isn't great when you want to keep the top and bottom part of the same piece. Again, it's just another silly gimmick, takes maybe 5 minutes to build, and that's if you're being really careful.



Buster Sword
http://www.mediafire.com/?mujzjn2u1ky

The Crisis Core version of the Buster Sword, another one-pager. Don't think it really needs explanation. I'll try to follow this one up with a two-pager of Genesis' sword later. I could probably try to make a life size version a bit later.

Stay tuned, I've been watching Doctor Who again, and I know a real simple build that would be kind of funny.


EDIT AGAIN:

Added a new page on the sidebar, calling it the Kaizo Papercraft Sandbox. I'll be using it as a regular updates page, just to give you a glimpse on what I'm working on. I'd rather not have to keep making edits like this, so I'll just use the sandbox as an intermediary between major posts.