There is a swathe of Star Wars books being released at the moment, covering all era’s and topics from the early years of Princess Leia to the rise of Captain Phasma. Some books give you the chance to pop-up and assemble vehicles, some to colour them in but this new release, Star Wars Kirigami, by Marc Hagan-Guirey gives you the opportunity to try a paper craft that you’re most likely unaware of.

Using the Japanese art of kirigami, which basically translates to paper cutting without glue or tape, Hagan-Guirey and Chronicle Books have released a book which gives budding kirigami artists the chance to amass a fleet of ships from across the galaxy and the timeline of the saga, ranging from the easiest project (the Armoured Assault Tank) up to the TIE Silencer from The Last Jedi.

This oversized book gives us not only the 15 projects themselves but also information about the vehicles that you might not expect from such a book. The vessels first appearance is listed, as is the maximum speed, length and crew. We also get real-world information about the ships, looking at its creation for the film as well as some in-universe info about the vehicles.

All very useful, but for those of us keen to get crafting and building these mini marvels there’s plenty of help to show us how to raise them from a 2D flat page to a 3D pop-up representation.

First off, Hagan-Guirey walks us through the paper you need to use, preferably a heavy paper around 200gsm. The cutting tools are vital, a good craft knife and self-healing cutting mat is absolutely essential. Hagan-Guirey even recommends putting on some John Williams in the background, to help focus on the task at hand, good advice for any project.

Different folds and cuts required to make the models. Half cuts, valley folds and mountain folds are needed as well as the methodology of folding the paper (levering, pinching, skewer, push out and flatten).

It even gives a how-to guide on lighting and displaying your kirigami work, something that on the face of it may seem unnecessary but when these are lit and displayed properly it adds a whole new dimension the work. Hagan-Guirey came to the attention of Lucasfilm in large part to the work he put in to displaying his work and you should too.

Don’t be surprised if this is just the first in a series of kirigami books, as kids and adults alike are going to love the tactile joy of bringing these creations to life. This release focuses on vehicles, but future books could cover locations, masks, anything. Great fun, more please!

STAR WARS KIRIGAMI / AUTHOR: MARC HAGAN-GUIREY / PUBLISHER: CHRONICLE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW