Built by Passion

With Ferrari, you don’t simply fall in love — you respond. Instantly. Viscerally. The roar, the shape, the precision — it speaks the brain’s native language of speed, prestige and mastery. Ferrari doesn’t ask for attention. It commands it. And it pushes its fans to express their passion in the most creative and surprising ways. One that stand out is the unique interpretation of Milan Paulus.

Over the past 16 years, Paulus has turned his apartment, tucked away in a quiet corner of the Czech Republic, into a private tribute to Ferrari’s racing history. Inside, he has created more than 90 Ferrari replicas. Not from kits. Not from plastic. But entirely from paper.

At 1:6 scale, each machine is a feat of patience and precision. Wings, exhausts, gearboxes — even the bolts — are crafted from paper, shaped and assembled by hand. Behind this art lies a method as meticulous as the results: “I use only photographs, drawings and technical data available on the internet. Thanks to that, I have an archive on my computer with everything I need. I recalculate each photo to scale from one known dimension — for example, I know a wheel rim is 17 inches, or 42.5 cm — and from that I calculate the proportions of the whole car. Based on those calculations, I prepare the drawings.”

Each paper Ferrari model is painstakingly crafted in 1:6 scale

Once ready, Paulus brings them to life — cutting, shaping and assembling each piece. The bodywork is treated almost like a real car: filled, sanded, primed, painted and clear-coated. “Everything is done by hand,” he says. “I rely on drawings and calculations I prepare myself, but the real craft is in the manual work.” He keeps to a small credo: stay calm, never rush, constantly check the dimensions. Without factory blueprints, he cannot claim exact accuracy — but he aims for the most credible realism possible.

Colour and finish are a chapter of their own. Paulus has spray paints mixed by a specialized store and complements them with brushes, markers and foils to imitate chrome or carbonfibre. Even the smallest parts — screws, handles, exhaust tips — are treated with the same care.

His tools reflect the same philosophy of simplicity and rigour.  “I probably have three drawers full of tools. But the main ones, without which it can’t be done, are not so many: scissors, glue, a snap-off knife, ruler, compass and calculator. And then — hands.” Beyond those are the secondary tools — tweezers, clamps, forceps, pliers — small allies that can ease the work, but never replace the patience, imagination and persistence required. With a lifetime of papercraft behind him — 16 of those years devoted to Scuderia Ferrari at 1:6 — he has many tricks up his sleeve. When asked how he does it, he smiles: “magic.” “There’s always something to learn, always something to improve. I’m always inventing new methods. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.”

Paulus has created 94 models, and aims to finish all 116 Scuderia Ferrari F1 cars for the 100th anniversary in 2029

The path that led him here began much earlier. “I’ve been watching Formula 1 since I was ten. My childhood hero was Niki Lauda. When I learned that he had survived the 1976 Nürburgring crash in a Ferrari 312 T2, that was the moment Ferrari became truly special to me.”

He built his first paper replica almost half a century ago. But the serious journey began in 2008, with a model of the 1964 Ferrari 1512 — the car from the year he was born. Since then, his collection has continued to grow. Today, it counts 94 pieces, with six more in progress.

The goal is as ambitious as it is symbolic: to complete every Ferrari F1 car by 2029, the 100th anniversary of Scuderia Ferrari. He still has 22 to go.

“The most complicated project in terms of execution has been the Hypercar Ferrari 499P from 2023. But honestly, they’re all difficult — if you want to build them right.”