Papercraft 1:1 model of a 1969 Mustang, accurate to the smallest component

Artist Jonathan Brand is working his way through a papercraft 1:1 model of a 1969 Mustang coupe, beginning with the engine, and (eventually), making his way through the rest of it. It's fabulous all in one piece, as shown here, but even more impressive considered as a series of components, each tiny piece carefully handmade and assembled in gleeful, obsessive detail.

This is a project that I'm currently working on. When finished every part of the 1969 Mustang coupe that i restored and sold to purchase a diamond engagement ring will be recreated out of paper in 1:1 scale.

This is a continuation of the diamond series and an earlier show titled "one for another." It is made entirely of archival inkjet prints on paper. The process began with creating a 3D computer replica which is then unfolded flat and printed on an inkjet printer. Each piece is then cut out and glued together to form a 3D replica of the original.

motor (paper car), 2011 (via Oh Gizmo)

• [satn]

  That bad boy is going to need a papercraft engine hoist, just too much wieght to handle with fleshy arms.

• [beerwhisperer]

• [gwailo_joe]

  He must really Really love her…

  sweet car, fun (if slightly mad) project…good luck!  

• [Donald Petersen]

  Wow… and the ’69 coupe is my favorite body style, too.  Hard to imagine anyone selling one of those for a shiny lump of carbon… but what the hell, it’s not like there aren’t more of them out there.

  And now we get to see the papercraft  re-creation!  That’s gonna be fun… but part of me thinks the new bride is gonna wish he’d hung on to the real car, if only because I suspect the paper one might be an even bigger time-suck.

  Can’t wait to see this project’s progress! A quick glance at the website leads me to suspect he’s not going all out “to the smallest component.” As far as I can tell, there’s no rotating assembly (pistons, crank, rods, bearings, cam, lifters, pushrods, timing set, etc.) within the engine block… but if there were, that truly would be madness!

• [mccrum]

  Isn’t the papercraft car going to take up just as much space in the garage?  I think he should have kept the real car and gotten a smaller ring…

• [Shawn Wolfe]

  Life During Wartime

• [Franklin]

  this strikes me as one of the saddest projects I’ve ever heard about. So to escape a marriage he obviously doesnt care about, he’s going to spend hundreds of hours recreating the one thing that made him happy, that he sold to buy a diamond so he could get married?

  And said object is so delicate a small spark or excessive dampness could destroy it.

  wow. now I’m never getting married.

  • [mccrum]

    Wow, talk about putting your issues into someone else’s life.  He may work on this project when she’s at her day job.  He may not have actually been that happy with the car (it sounds like he restored it just to sell it to buy a ring).  The partner may actually make him happier than the car (I know, it’s shocking).

    With a cynical nature such as yours I wouldn’t worry about getting hitched anytime soon.

    • [Franklin]

      not planning on it. although my girlfriend has been dropping hints…

• [sigismund]

  But… Is the Steve Mcqueen model included ?

• [pjcamp]

  If he uses playing cards, it can be a little deuce coupe.

  I’m here all night, folks.

• [Jonathan Brand]

  Thanks for the comments and post! The car is finished and I’m currently installing it at Hosfelt Gallery in NYC. The show is open 20 September – 29 October 2011 http://www.hosfeltgallery.com/index.php?p=exhibitions&id=263 

  • [LogrusZed]

    What powerplant is that? The Windsor or the 490?

• [Jeremy Wilson]

  As the owner of a ’69 Torino which has the same engine in it, I can tell you that engine isn’t that accurate.  I mean, it *looks similar* but it’s not *accurate*.