Woo Hoo!  We made it to Papercraft Friday #100!  And I mean “we” because as much as I love papercraft, I doubt I would have consistently blogged about it week after week if I hadn’t got such great interest and response from everyone.  So what did I choose for #100?  It had to be the God Phoenix from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.  Possibly more well known in the U.S. as just the Phoenix in the Americanized and heavily edited Battle of the Planets, which featured that added little robot that fans now love to hate.  So when Studio Time Ring posted it in Tamasoft’s Pepakura Gallery, I knew I had my #100.  Bird, Go!  Transmute!

I’m currently building this one and hoped to have it ready to go for today, but life got in the way and I still have a long way to go.  Papercraft Friday stops for no build though, so I’ll do a followup post of the build when it’s done.  Here’s a little preview:

In honor of Papercraft Friday #100, I figured I’d dig into the blog stats and see what the three most popular papercraft posts have been.  And they are…. *drumroll*

3rd Place -Papercraft Friday #8 – Dragon
This one surprised me.  I didn’t realize until I started analyzing the stats that this would come in third.  While you might think that this one just benefits from the fact that it was one of the early ones and it has time on its side, it’s consistently high, even as recent as the last 3 months of data.

2nd Place – Weighted Companion Cube
This isn’t even technically a Papercraft Friday post, but it could be know as the origin of the series.  It reinvigorated my interest in paper modelling, and after seeing it consistently attract interest months after the original post, I started to think that maybe I should do a regular segment on papercraft.  And so Papercraft Friday was born.

1st Place – Papercraft Friday #4 – Link and the King of Red Lions
I gave up counting how many weeks that this post has been the #1 viewed post since I blogged it in August 2008, even as the site traffic has risen consistently month after month.  Only one post on the entire blog has more unique page views.  It comes from Ninjatoes’ Papercraft Webpage, so it’s no surprise why I thought another great Link model from there deserved the runner-up spot last week.

The party’s only just begun as Papercraft Friday rolls on.  Thanks to the great modellers out there who provide us with these great models to build, and to everyone out there for following Papercraft Friday at ZarkSeven.

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

I’ll be posting Papercraft Friday #100 next week, and have been thinking long and hard as to what it should be, since #100 is something of a milestone.  The runner-up choice is this week’s model of Link and Epona from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  A model of Link seemed an appropriate candidate, given that my 3rd highest trafficked blog post and highest trafficked Papercraft Friday post is a Link model.  More on that next week.  But I came across a model I’d been looking for but had never found that fit well with the site and chose it for next week, so Link is my runner up.

This model of Link and Epona has always been one of my favorites, so I really don’t know why I haven’t featured it before.  Ninjatoes put it out over 2 years ago, but in my opinion it’s still one of the best.

Stay tuned next week for Papercraft Friday #100!

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

I picked a Lara Croft model for this week’s papercraft since the new Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light game will be released for Xbox Live Arcade in less than a week.  I can’t wait to see how it plays, though I do wish that the co-op play was available at release and not patched in a month and a half later.

Though there are numerous Lara Croft paper models around, I chose the Tomb Raider Legend version, as that game is my only complete 360 game (1000/1000 achievement points).  I did the same with Alan Wake, but then the DLC came out and added more points (damn you, DLC!!! *shakes fist*).  Enjoy the model, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light next week!

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

We have LEGO on the brain around here after last weekend’s fun at the Summer Tour, so I thought I’d see what I could find by way of LEGO papercraft.  I found what looks like a good model of the classic minifig, though there was no picture of a completed model.  There are no instructions either, for that matter.  I may just print this out myself and take my own completed photo.  If you beat me to it, send me a pic and I’ll add it to this post and credit you for it.  Download all 4 sheets of the model here.

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

Sheila Mertens has created some paper models with a definitely medieval slant.  Amidst the swords, trebuchets, etc I spied this nifty morningstar.  That’s one I haven’t seen before!  I’ve always imagined that I’d kill myself with one of those before I managed to hurt anyone else.  But they just look so cool.  Head on over to Sheila’s Papermodels and make one yourself.

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

From all reports, one of the better aspects of the new movie Despicable Me is the villain Gru’s adorable minions.  Look for them in their own show!  Paper Replika put out some paper models of the minions earlier this week, and they look just as cute as their animated counterparts.  They’re good beginner models in that there are not a tremendous amount of pieces, but there are a variety of shapes and curves.

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

If it’s still Friday where I’m at, it still counts as a Papercraft Friday post, right??    This one comes in just under the wire.  Did you build the excellent Super Smash Bros Brawl Mario from Papercraft Friday #79, but feel he was still missing something?  TouchFuzzyGetDizzy over at DeviantART, with the help of designer Ignatius, has done it again with a 3D model of Mario’s ever loyal brother Luigi.  He even got a Daily Deviation for it over there!  Grats!  As with Mario, there are no instructions and this model is not for the beginner, but for those who successfully tackled the Mario, this SSBB Luigi model will look great beside it.

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

Things are a bit slow around here while I’m on vacation, but Papercraft Friday continues!  In honor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa that’s dominated the sporting news lately, I picked this nice football money box bank from Canon Creative Park to keep you in the mood.  U.S.A. soccer fans may be disappointed, but the games roll on!

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

I recently listened to Doctor Who: Wreck of the Titan, which put me in the mood for some Jules Verne action.  The Disney Experience has a very nice model of the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which comes with an optional stand if you’d prefer not to hang it.  People who think Nemo is a fish need not apply.

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.

The hit of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year was the announcement of Nintendo’s upcoming handheld offering: the Nintendo 3DS.  While it looks very similar to the Nintendo DS, it sports an upper screen capable of displaying 3D images to the naked eye without the need for 3D glasses.  Gaming skeptics who saw it firsthand were won over by how good the effect is.  It also has two outward-facing cameras for taking 3D photos.

Paperkraft.net is all over it this week, releasing a paper model version of the Nintendo 3DS.  It might not power on and play games, but it’s definitely 3D.

Note: Modelers should not experience any optical or physical discomfort when building this 3D model.  If you do feel any eye or head aches, queasiness, or any other discomfort, you should cease building this model right away.  It may be too hardcore for you.

Not keen on this one?  Want more?  Check out other Papercraft Friday posts.