Way back in the day there was a fantastic piece of software from Brøderbund (of Lode Runner fame, among others) called The Toy Shop [0] that let you print customized papercraft designs that you would then assemble into working toys. Some of them were quite impressive - a steam shovel, a balloon-powered dragster, a mechanical clockwork bank, even a model steam engine!

It is still one of the most unique and creative pieces of software I've ever seen. I guess maybe it didn't do that well, though, since there's unfortunately not a lot about it on the Internet now. There is a copy in the Internet Archive [1], though.

It would be an interesting project to resurrect this, or at least extract the models into a modern format.

0: https://www.macintoshrepository.org/3278-the-toy-shop

1: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Toy_Shop_The_1986

If you want to create your own models, and you're on a Mac, checkout Unfolder for Mac.

https://www.unfolder.app/

I have cut and glued some of Peter Dennis' Paperboys for use in miniature wargames:

https://peterspaperboys.com/

He has some free sets to download.

Also his instruction videos taught me a lot about how to cut and glue paper miniatures. Using so much glue basically that you end up with something that feels more like plastic than paper.

Those look delightful! Eg for the next RPG session. On Google, the search term "papercraft" yields a lot of other results with easy to assemble models

Not sure if I've gone blind but there's some funky illusion/visual effect caused by the bright red text and underlined blue text. On the phone it looks like the red text is almost popping out the screen and the blue text is sunken in.

Especially strong on this page: http://ravensblight.com/GhostShip.html

This is great for RPG games; I made up a small cut-down RPG ruleset for my 6yo, and was going to try to 3d print some figurines, but...

This way, I can get my kid to make his own monsters; while he can't run blender to produce his own monsters, using these paper templates is sufficient for him.

Create your own silly face by clicking around (make combo's of facial features), export the image, cut out, fold, glue.

https://helpalot.nl/silly/

Currently it folds 'into a brick', but am open to suggestions on how to make this more fun.

I knew about this kind of papercraft from paperhammer, that is, using models like this in Warhammer tabletop. This makes that hobby accessible if you don't have too much money to spend.

If you are interested in this also search for poorhammer. These kind of things are refreshing in a world of hobbies that are more concerned with buying stuff instead of using that stuff in the hobby.

Also, lovely 90s web design.

These look awesome! I remember in college building the Dragon Illusion Papercraft [1] and it was always fun to move about the dorm room as it followed me. Might have to build one of those ships this summer for old times sake.

[1] https://www.instructables.com/Hollow-Face-Illusion-Dragon-Wi...

I always enjoyed this one: https://www.gathering4gardner.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03...