Scale Model of Boeing 777-300ER, Made from Manila Folders

The detail on this thing is just insane. The amount of time and effort put in is comparable to what it takes to build an actual aircraft.<p>[UPDATE] Just to clarify: building an actual jetliner is obviously orders of magnitude harder than building this model. But I think building this model is probably comparable to building a light aircraft like this one: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.vansaircraft.com&#x2F;rv-14&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.vansaircraft.com&#x2F;rv-14&#x2F;</a>

Someone made a comment here regarding magic recently that this reminded me of.<p>Sometimes you can make something appear magical by spending far more time on the effect than anyone would ever think to do.<p>Stunning work. I admire and envy the focus.

To restore balance we need someone to make Manila folders out of a 777.

(2014)<p>I remember seeing this when it was first making the rounds (though I thought it was earlier than ‘14, but that’s what all the press links date to). Incredible.

At first I was confused by this &quot;Made from Manila folders&quot; which I didn’t know; I thought these folders were some kind of information from something that happened in Manila, and that the author did the scale model based on what he had found in them

This is wonderful. The loving dedication to getting the details right reminds me of the engineer hobbyist that built a functional scale model of a Ferrari 312PB race car as shown on this classic Top Gear episode: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=SeUMDY01uUA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=SeUMDY01uUA</a>

There&#x27;s obviously a high level of skill involved... However, if you want to experince the late 80&#x27;s, change the playback speed of the landing gear video to 0.75 :D<p>I&#x27;m assuming the guy doesn&#x27;t have kids or cats, I can&#x27;t even make a cup of coffee most days without one being in the way!<p>I used to love to make things when I was younger but I was never this dedicated. I stopped at radio controlled models. I&#x27;m glad my mum bought me a TI99&#x2F;4A when I was a a kid, so my hobby turned into my career.

For something vaguely similar, as in a meticulous way of making a 3D object out of 2D materials with fine details, I recommend the Metal Earth products (puzzles?) as I find them to be quite rewarding. The complexity is probably two orders of magnitude less--think 10-20 hours to assemble the pre-designed and cut pieces.

&quot;The Ultimate Paper Airplane | WIRED&quot;<p>Ahem. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;newatlas.com&#x2F;great-paper-airplane-project&#x2F;21961&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;newatlas.com&#x2F;great-paper-airplane-project&#x2F;21961&#x2F;</a><p>IMHO the actual flight characteristics of the aircraft are inputs to the `ultimate?` predicate function.

How does he come up with the 2d designs? They need to all fit together right? I feel like there some missing step between the reference material and the 2D illustrator designs.

The amount of dedication, passion and art is absolutely amazing. It reminds me of <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.phildragash.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.phildragash.com&#x2F;</a> where he did a complete audio of the Lord of the Rings book along with music edited from the actual soundtrack. I believe it can still be downloaded from here <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.org&#x2F;details&#x2F;the-fellowship-of-the-ring_soundscape-by-phil-dragash" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.org&#x2F;details&#x2F;the-fellowship-of-the-ring_sound...</a>

Posted here 4 years ago (885 points &#x2F; 200 comments) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=23749821">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=23749821</a>

I cannot begin to comprehend how this was put together. Unbelievable amounts of dedication must have been involved.

I&#x27;ve looked up what the hell is a manila folder, and it turned out to be a paper folder looking exactly like a Windows folder icon, even with a matching yellowish colour. Maybe I grew up and lived in all the wrong countries, but I&#x27;ve never seen such a folder in my life.

This is an awesome project!<p>Someone (with copious free time) is just a <i>wee bit</i> obsessive.<p>Hate to say it, but I can sort of relate (but I don&#x27;t have enough free time to do something this intricate).

Wow; this is amazing. I was looking into who makes their seats for business&#x2F;first (I usually assume it&#x27;s Rockwell Collins but it might not be) and was shocked to see how old their product is on this aircraft. The business class seats look like those from the 90s!

This is the kind of work billionaires should pay millions for as if it were a painting, and display it proudly.

The model looks cleaner than the aircraft&#x27;s business class IRL, if recent videos are to be believed.

I would get a high from the first two or three seats...and then....I would abandon the project.

I sympathize with how he must feel thinking about the 777-8 and 777-9 entering service soon, displacing the 300ER...<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Boeing_777X" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Boeing_777X</a>

If only I had this degree of focus and willingness to work so hard on all the boring bits!

Would love to see the files or precut sheets released as the ultimate scale model kit. It&#x27;d be really awesome to take these files to a laser cutter and make the model out of thin aluminum sheets.

These planes are incredible to ride on. AA runs a Charlotte &lt;-&gt; Munich flight... the Premium Economy exceeds expectations for the money, like sleeping in a lay-z-boy.

Exactly how many millions of hours did this take?

Looking at the picture captured in the youtube link, I wonder what kind of bolts are being used for the door?!? ;-)

Doing this all by hand shows immense skill, but printing directly onto manilla folders is talent and ingenuity.

Excellent choice of aircraft. The 777 is one of the greatest engineering achievements of all time.

1:60 scale model... i got excited for a moment based on the (misleading) title.

Humans are just amazing.

it’s very inspiring!<p>I wonder why manila envelopes. does envelope paper have properties uniquely fitted for this kind of modeling, or is it just nice color and suitable weight?

My God, that model is utterly beautiful.

Made out of manilla file folders is approximately correct for the state of Air India&#x27;s fleet right now.

This is amazing. I’d feel safer flying in this than the original.

hope this ends up in a museum

Amazing

I&#x27;ll comment on something different. His website is clean and awesome. Attention to detail just like the model. Love it.

If he adds AI, can he make it fly?