Paper City Helicopter

May 18, 2010
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36 comments

Yet another request for an addition to the Paper City. A helicopter! And what a great idea, too. I poked a hole and strung some thread through the top to fly it around with. Then I made a landing pad, so you can fly on missions and then return for a smooth landing on the circle. We had a great time putting the city people in places (like the fireplace mantel) and then rescuing them with the helicopter.

Print out the template and give it a “whirl!”

Template: Click on the image below, then print.  

When you print it out, you will see a tiny dot where you need to poke the hole for the thread.  I just used a small piece of tape underneath to stick the thread to the helicopter.  (See image above.)  Then I tied the other end to a button so you can hold onto it better.

36 Responses
  1. Lori Henriques

    cool design & function. and i really love the photo with the black background – quel dramatic presentation. :) i think wes anderson would approve!

  2. gretchen

    every time a coconut.. always the coolest ideas. keep on coming up with them! When's the book due? we want a copy.. Tell us where you get your inspiration from? Dr Seuss? Len Lye?

  3. neighbourhood.gal

    Really fabulous. I just stumbled across your blog from a link at Yum & Yuk. And you are in Portland! What could be better? (I grew up near there.)

    Very inspired.
    Sarah

  4. Joel Henriques

    Thanks all!

    gretchen – The book will be out fall 2011. Thanks! As for inspiration, I take in everything I see, and my mind is pretty much always thinking about design of some sort. I have many favorite artists. I'd be up half the night if I tried to list them all. ha.

    neighborhood.gal – glad you found the blog. yeah, Portland is a really great area. So many cool things about it!

  9. Vanessa/NessieNoodle

    oh man- just stumbled into your blog and I am loving everything I see out here- beautiful photography as well.
    thank you for sharing your creativity!

  10. Joel Henriques

    Thanks everybody!

    Oum_nawel – The city you made is spectacular! I love the colors, and it looks great printed out. I wondered if people were going to try adding colors in photoshop. You and your son did a great job! I really like the way you contained it in a nice little park block box, too. Very clever.

  11. Tanya

    well we've finally entered the paper city realm! The helicopter did it for me! My son loves it all! Thanks!

  12. Liz Needle

    Love the paper city. I'm going to try it at school with my class. Some of them are great little artists. Thanks for your great ideas.

  13. kate

    You could cut a small slit in the side of the helicopter to slip the people in when you rescue them and fly them home.

  16. Oum_nawel

    Hi Joel,
    to thank all the visitors of your site to visit my paper city article, I translated it in english (I hope it is comprehensible !!)
    Have a nice day !

  17. Joel Henriques

    Thanks!

    Oum_nawel – Thanks for translating, but now the link is broken. Can you post a new link?

  23. Liz M

    I just filled a whole summer afternoon making this village with my seven-year-old daughter (and now she's engrossed with playing in her two villages). Thanks a million for giving us something fun and productive to do! :)

  24. Anonymous

    If you too are having trouble printing, I had success by right clicking and saving into my pictures!

  25. andrea

    I love all of your art. It's just perfect & creative! My kids are going to love this. Thank you so much.

  27. Heather

    These are absolutely adorable!!! Thanks so much! Our traveling this summer will be so much fun!~
    Congratulations on your new baby…she is absolutely beautiful!

    bless you and your family!

  28. [DIY] Schlechtwetterprogramm: 2 « Summsebrumm

    […] Spätestens am dritten Regentag wird es den kleinen Hummeln schwer langweilig. Also mussteneulich ein absolut neues Schlechtwetterprogramm her. Malen und kneten können wir immer, alles Andere hatten wir auch schon. Also hab ich den Drucker angeschmissen und die Paper-City (Made by Joel) ausgedruckt. Die Kinder sind total begeistert und der absolute Renner sind die Hubschrauber. […]

  32. Mette Weber Johansen

    wow – I can´t get all YOUR ideas out of my head. thank you very much for sharing – can´t wait to show it to my boys.
    Isn´t the internet a great thing – sitting in Denmark and looking at you work. Do you know when your book will be in the stores in Denmark??

    In Denmark we have a “Shane Brox” maybe you have heard of him? “ferm living” is also a Danish design company that you might enjoy ( they have the coolest thing for babies )

    1. Joel

      Thanks everyone!

      Mette – Thanks for the kind note! My book is available to books stores in Denmark right now, but that doesn’t’ mean the all of the book stores will order it. You could ask them to order a copy though, or you could try looking online. Is there an amazon for Denmark?

      Thanks for the tip on Shane Brox. I just looked him up. Very cool dragons toys etc. Nice! I’ve heard of Ferm Living too. Very cool!

  33. melissa

    Really cool! I think it is really creative!

    Kelly, age 8

    (He has made all of the paper city creations. He has now started making his own creations and calls them “made by Kelly.” :) Thanks for inspiring him!)

    1. Joel

      So great! This is the ultimate goal! – Inspiring kids to get excited and proud to make their own toys and cultivate their creativity. Thanks so much for sharing this. And tell Kelly he’s awesome!

      p.s. if you want to share photos, I’d love to see them! either on https://www.facebook.com/madebyjoel or email me: joel (at) madebyjoel (dot) com