Keep in mind this article concerns free paper miniatures and models and such that can be printed out on paper or cardstock, cut out and folded and glued. Also quite popular are molded and otherwise non-paper things like board game pieces and wargame miniatures, coins, dice, as well as frugal improvised stand-ins such as children’s toys, plastic animals, etc. – but those things all cost money, from a fairly small amount to what some people consider absolutely ridiculously overpriced for tiny metal figurines – we are instead focusing on representations that are practically free, but for the cost of the preparation itself: paper, scissors, glue, crayons or markers, photocopies or computer and printer, etc. These are much like school crafts and can be something the whole family or group can join in on, allowing you to amass a large selection of usable paper pieces, possibly even with each person’s own unique characters and approaches.

Even if you’re a player or GM who doesn’t do a whole lot with tabletop figures, minis  and tactics and such, the world of free (and commercial) paper miniatures and models can be an incredible resource, whether used in game or simply studied and skimmed through to give you some sort of concrete visual  idea of what a “tavern” or “inn” looks like and how best to describe it, and inspire new ideas, etc. Also, although this article mainly addresses fairly standard fantasy game tropes, free (and commercial) minis and models are available for just about any genre: westerns, sci-fi, horror, modern, superhero, pulp, action, etc.

Paper miniatures are usually of people, animals, NPCs and monsters and other living creatures, and fairly simple vertical (standing up) ,flat (though sometimes triangular or pyrimidal) bits of strong cardstock or paper, decorated with pictures of adventurers, monsters, etc., sitting in a supporting base, usually also paper or cardstock though some people use other materials or objects for bases.

Minis are useful for representing player-characters and everyone and everything else they encounter, and can help keep track of where everyone is in relation to everyone and everything else, in a significant area or encounter or dungeon, combat being one of the most common situations where miniatures are brought out.

Depending on the level of  realism and rules used, minis may also be set on “battlemats” or other area maps marked with squares or hexes, with particular rules similar to those of board or wargames used for movement, natural and man-made obstacles and features, lne-of-sight and similar consderation and tactics, though some groups choose to instead use a simpler improvised method of arbitrating movement and such, by measuring distances between minis to some other object or location with a ruler, tape measure or string, and determining how many feet or yards or meters is represented by each inch or millimeter or other measurement equivelancy – still other groups “handwave” (fudge) most movement, not concerning themselves with it  unless it is vitally important to the encounter or activity, but using minis to just clarify in everybody’s minds where things and persons are in relation to one another.

Obviously, in most any of these cases, one very important thing to keep in mind is SCALE – having a 3 inch tall character and a half inch tall cow doesn’t help visualization and understanding of the scene very well.

Models tend to be representations of structures, fences, vehicles and sometimes large animals or other misceallaneous objects such as furniture, barrels, tents, campfires and such, all also being usually “stand up” similar to minis but often composed of patterns that are cut out and folded together and glued or taped to form a much more three-dimensional model, from simple cubes or rectangles to intricate designs with curves and windows and arcs, boxes with lids, some models looking similar to origami – they are definitely works of art, both in the actual ink art and the creativity that came up with the pattern that would be able to turn a simple piece of paper or cardstock into such impressively representative 3d models.

The same goes for “tiles”, flat 2D representations that minis and buildings and such sit on, so commonly the “floor” in RPGs, from dungeon stones to wilderness textures to interior building floors, which can simply provide interesting environmental scenery or ever represent particular movement penalties and obstacles, etc.

Again, the same goes for maps and floor plans, from individual buildings to dungeons to towns and up to entire nations or countries, and finally out to the whole game world, and I suppose if you wanted to take it further, the world’s location in space, as there some free star maps and rules for creating entire solar systems. Although most world and nation maps will be dependent upon the setting and campaign used in a game, and may require you to use those that are included in that particular game’s resources, dungeon, wilderness, building and some “generic” town maps can be universally inserted into any campaign or setting.

Below are some good resources for various free downloadable paper minis, models, maps and tiles.

One Monk: http://onemonk.com/Home.html (commercial and free)

Warrenton Area Game Club Showcase: http://home.earthlink.net/~wagc/paper.htm

Junior General: http://www.juniorgeneral.org

Tampa Bay Gaming Assoc:  http://www.angelfire.com/games4/tbga/freegames.html

SS42: http://www.ss42.com/toys.html

100 Exceptional Free Paper Models: http://www.creativecloseup.com/100-exceptional-free-paper-models-and-toys (amazing)

Lower Hudson Valley Paper Model E-Gift Shop: http://jleslie48.com/gallery_models.html

Papercraft World: http://papercraft-world.blogspot.com/

Currell Graphics Card Models: http://www.currell.net/models/mod_free.htm

Free Paper Model Kits: http://www.buildyourownchicago.com/free.html

Wrigley Field Paper Model: http://www.papertoys.com/wrigley-field.htm

FreePaperToys.Com: http://www.freepapertoys.com/

Incredible-Adventures.Com: http://www.incredible-adventures.com/paperplanes.html

Wikipedia Article on Paper Models: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercraft

My Paper Model: http://www.mypapermodel.com/

Paper Replika: http://paper-replika.com/index.php/Instructions/

PaperToys.Com: http://www.papertoys.com/

PaperModelz.Info: http://www.papermodelz.info/

Dewantoro.Net: http://www.dewantoro.net/2009/01/02/various-furniture-collection-3d-model/

CardModelers.Org: http://www.cardmodelers.org/download.html

Frankenpaper.Com: http://www.frankenpaper.com/

Free Paper Model Ships: http://www.modelshipsadvice.com/ar/free-paper-model-ships.php

Paper Model Webring: http://i.webring.com/hub?ring=papermodelwebrin

BigShotToyWorks.Com: http://www.bigshottoyworks.com/2007/07/19/free-paper-model-of-all-city-style-blank-nyc-subway-car/

Artists Helping Children – Paper Folding Models: http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/paperfoldingmodelskidsartscraftsideas.html

PaperInside.Com: http://paperinside.com/munster-koach/

SpaceCraftKits: http://spacecraftkits.com/free.html

MWG’s Free Paper Models: http://www.miniaturewargaming.com/index.php/forums/viewforum/48/

Haunted Dimensions: http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index301.html

NASA Paper Models: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/papermodels.cfm

Airplane Collectible: http://www.airplane-collectible-best-net-resource.com/paper-airplane-model.html

Blogflux: http://topsites.blogflux.com/tag/paper+model (index of more paper model sites)

Papercraft Models: http://www.artofprogramming.net/resources/paper_craft.html

WordPress Free Paper Models: http://en.wordpress.com/tag/free-paper-models/

JazJaz: http://www.jazjaz.net/2008/02/100-free-paper-models-and-toy-designs.html

Associated Content Free Printable Paper Model Cars: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1524296/free_printable_paper_model_cars.html?cat=24

Demo.Com: http://www.demo.com.hk/papermodel.htm

Wikipedia Cardboard Engineering: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardboard_engineering

Canon Papercraft: http://cp.c-ij.com/en/

Yamaha Papercrafts: http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/entertainment/papercraft/index.html

Paperkraft.Net: http://paperkraft.blogspot.com/

Nintendo Papercraft: http://www.nintendopapercraft.com/

Google Search for Paper Models, the rest: http://www.google.com/#q=%2Bfree+%22paper+MODEL%22&hl=en&start=50&sa=N&fp=JJ2lHziMUzc

Besides these, there are many companies that make quality paper minis and sell them over the internet, usually  through RPG online stores like RPGNow and DriveThruRPG, or in the case of an RPG company, from their own websites. You’ll find the occasional few free minis at such places but when you get into this level of quality and effort, you’ll find the majority will have to be purchased.

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Tags: rpg

This entry was posted by J P on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 5:04 pm and is filed under General RPG. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.