Howl's Moving Castle

About the Film

"Howl's Moving Castle" is a feature-length animated film produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 2004. It is based on the fantasy novel "Howl's Moving Castle" by British author Diana Wynne Jones.

The "moving castle" that serves as the story's setting is a massive structure that walks on four legs, featuring a unique steampunk-style design that fuses magic and machinery. The exterior has a complex structure mixing various architectural styles, with chimneys, balconies, and windows arranged irregularly. This complex and organic design requires advanced engineering skills to recreate as a papercraft model.

The film earned 19.6 billion yen at the box office and won the Golden Osella award at the 61st Venice International Film Festival.

About This Model

This "Howl's Moving Castle" papercraft was created for promotional purposes for the "Howl's Moving Castle & The Great Circus Exhibition." It's a precision model that recreates the complex structure of the moving castle from the film using 26 A4-sized sheets with a total of 237 parts. When completed, it stands approximately 30cm tall, and features moving wings and propellers.

The Great Circus Exhibition was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo from April 27 to August 31, 2005, and later traveled to Osaka ATC and other venues. During the exhibition period, with special sponsorship from Epson Sales Co., Ltd., the model was available as a free download for a limited time.

Production Overview

Item	Details
Purpose	Promotion & Download Distribution
Main Sheets	26 A4-sized sheets
Total Parts	237 pieces
Assembly Instructions	9 A4-sized sheets
Completed Size	Approx. 30cm height
Distribution Format	PDF Download (2005 limited period)

Design Features

• Complex 3D Structure: Faithfully recreates the irregular architectural style from the film
• Precise Details: Expresses chimneys, balconies, windows, and decorative elements in fine detail
• Steampunk Design: Captures the unique world where machinery and magic merge
• Four-Legged Structure: Recreates the characteristic legs that support the castle
• Detailed Instructions: 9 A4-sized assembly instruction sheets enable step-by-step construction of the complex structure

Design Challenges

Recreating Complex Structure

The most distinctive feature of Howl's castle is its "patchwork" appearance, mixing various architectural styles. Towers, balconies, chimneys, and windows are arranged irregularly, each existing at different angles and heights. The greatest challenge was to decompose this complex three-dimensional structure into assemblable papercraft components while maintaining structural strength.

Expressing Steampunk Elements

The castle's exterior includes numerous mechanical elements characteristic of steampunk, such as steam engine pipes, gears, and metal decorations. To make these appear three-dimensional through flat paper printing, careful attention was paid to shading and color design.

Four-Legged Structure Design

The four legs supporting the castle needed to appear movable while actually standing stably. The leg angles and contact surface area were calculated to ensure stability after completion.

Color Model (Completed Work)

The completed color model faithfully recreates the film's artwork. It achieves the warm color expression characteristic of Ghibli works, including the reddish-brown exterior walls, verdigris-colored roof, and detailed smoke rising from countless chimneys.

Viewing from various angles reveals the castle's complex structure in three dimensions. Particularly from the side and back, you can see details that were difficult to observe in the film, allowing you to appreciate the meticulous art design of Ghibli animation.