Pepakura Viewer/Designer

[Ferrret]

I occasionally enjoy folding things into neat designs, generally through the art of Origami. While surfing around the internet I have come across this program known as Pepakura Designer. The Designer allows you to create your own paper models from a 3D design. It will take the 3D image, and flatten it out into a 2D working surface and you can print out the pages, then cut, fold and glue your design into place. The viewer simply allows you to take other people's designs and print them out to assemble.

As far as I have seen they have paper models for nearly everything if you look in the right places. People have taken the cute and neat paper models a step farther to create life sized costumes and props. This is where my interest comes in. I like costumes, props, and making things.

There is a project that has been in my mind for about 2 years but so far I don't have the time, money or knowledge to execute it the way I want to. I have toyed with the idea of making the designs entirely from scratch but that may not be necessary if the Pepakura Designer is a viable resource. It is a design that has been done before using Pepakura, but the finished product I want cannot be done with paper folding. The paper folding would serve as a faster means for me to make my design.
I am by no means in a rush to get it done, so time is not an issue, and if I do download Pepakura I may get distracted by other paper-y projects...

So I am curious if anyone here has used the Pepakura Designer or Viewer before?
How has it worked out for you?
Have you tried making anything life sized at all?
How much paper and ink can one expect to go through?
Is it worth while to download and have?

Here's a link for those that are interested : http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/

 

[Boyd]

i havent but i sure will now

 

[Ferrret]

Using this designer or viewer should be a good way to make a template for other materials, right?

What I mean is say you printed out a design, and after folding it into shape you find the unnecessary paper and remove it, then unfold it again.
Then you take that unfolded piece that is modified and use that as a stencil to mark out a section of a non printer friendly material.
After you make all the stenciled pieces you need, you cut out around the stencil and reshape the design into the new finished product.
That would work out fairly well right?

What I want to make, and more importantly what I want to make it out of, would not bode well for a printer. If that plan works, I can make one in paper as a prototype then make the finished product if everything fits right. The other method requires the use of fiberglass and resin and reinforcements and a lot of sanding and mess and waiting for things to cure... And is kind of a lot of hassle.

So... Any thoughts?