Mario Kart Papercraft Update

After making a papercraft Light Cycle and giving it to Luigi, it was only natural for me to look for Mario's kart papercraft to make Luigi's bragging rights more evident.
What I found was this one: http://nintendo-papercraft.com/mario-karts/
After trying to get it together, I ran into some problems ranging from obvious to ones that appear only when you try to actually make the model.
The result turned out okay, but while making it I came up with some ideas about how this scheme can be improved. So I decided to update it and make another kart to test it.

Here's how the new scheme turned out:
(It appears that Photobucket downsized the pictures a bit. You can download the actual scheme here.)
First, it was obvious that the number of pages could be reduced to at least 3, so I moved some details around.
The body was mostly okay, though there were some overlapping tabs for gluing. I removed some of those.
On the front panel, I made a hole where the steering wheel's axis should be positioned, so that it can be inserted more securely.
I removed the caps on the exhaust pipes, since, being pipes, they should be uncapped at least at one end - and at the other end I added flaps with the idea that the pipe will be inserted through the hole in the muffler's cover and then secured with glue from the other side. Of course, I also added corresponding holes on the mufflers (If anyone feels like this is a bad idea, you can use those pentagons just for positioning the exhaust pipes).
When putting together wheels, the toughest part was closing the second side, which actually won't even be seen on the finished model. At the same time, it wasn't clear how to glue the wheels on the model. I ended up using strips of paper for that. So, I replaced the second disks on the wheels with strips of paper which should be used for gluing wheels to the body. Also, I reduced the tabs on smaller wheels, so they won't be bigger than corresponding tire parts.
(New wheel is smaller because taken from resized Photobucket pic, as that's what I currently have on hand.)
The chassis, again, had some overlapping flaps, which I removed. Also there were some flaps on the ends which were hard to fold inside, and I removed those too, as those won't be visible anyway.
It isn't marked on the model, but I recommend scoring the wide flaps on the chassis lengthwise, so it folds in two. It will help gluing it together.
I also added some flaps for installing the steering wheel, and a copy of the steering wheel, so that it won't look white from the other side.
The scheme for the seat bizzarely cut the side part into small pieces (probably Pepakura work which the author didn't correct). I made those into one piece.
I also painted white the bottom that will be glued to the body, and made a maintenance hole in it, which should greatly reduce the frustration as you try to glue together the object that would otherwise have completely closed surface. Now you can put your fingers through it and press the flaps from the other side. Similar hole was made in the engine block.
Bumper and side pods were left as they were.
The details that hold the side pods to the body (I called them "step" and "side pod holder") were probably the most puzzling in the original scheme, since there was no obivious way to attach those either to the body or to the side pods. I added necessary flaps, and also painted them red to that there won't be white spots where they are attached (that means that whoever decides to make a recolor of this version should recolor those, too).
Things I didn't do: mark where the parts attach to each other. I wasn't so sure that I'm doing it right, and besides, that may be the theme for the next update (probably not by me). So you'll have to read the following section to understand how it all fits together.

So, how did it work in practice (aka "Assembly guide")?
First, about materials and instruments. I've built the first kart out of album paper, which was no cardboard, but still a bit thicker. This one, I've made of simple printer, or "office" paper. Looks like my printer started to run out of yellow toner, hence the weird colors.
Though some people advice against glue stick, I've used one, though to glue in tight places I employed a thin stick with a flat end. You'd also do well to have a blunt stick to hold parts together in tight places, and also to roll some parts around (you'll see).
For cutting, scissors and an utility knife to make holes. Check that it's sharp, and put something you don't mind being cut under it when cutting!
Scoring the folds (that is, running along the folds with a blunt object) is vital for having a good model. Use a ruler for long straight lines, small ones I did by hand. I used my wife's metal knitting needle for this, make sure you ask nicely if the needle isn't yours (obviously, that's not the only option).

Now, to the model!
First things to assemble were the seat and the engine, though those would be glued in at the very end.
First version of the scheme had 3 folds glued on top of each other on the sides of the seat, so I changed this a bit.
Don't worry if the holes turn out ugly. Those will be on the underside and won't be visible on the finished model.
Next, the chassis.
Though those are pentagonal, I used a round stick to wrap the parts around and apply pressure to glue them together. I recommend making the tubes first, connecting them second. It turned out so much better than the first version, where the white flaps were sticking out like dirty underpants.
Now, when making the body, not that part of it folds inward (that's what puzzled me when I was first assembling it. The trick here is not closing the body until all side parts are glued to it, so you can apply pressure from the inside. You can glue in the front panel though. Note that I attached it wrong at first, so some photos show it in upside-down position!
When you have both chassis parts attached, it's time to glue on the wheels and side pods. Since there's no marks on the body, you'd have to use your eyes, common sense nd knowledge of original Mario's kart (this one is from DS version).
Assembling wheels is relatively simple now that you have to close only one side. The strips on the other side are actually too long, so you can cut those a bit. You glue the bottom of the wheel directly to the chassis, and the top part to the body with the strip, which you should fold a bit so that the wheel won't be too close to the body.
(These two shots are out of sequence ― it's a front wheel, though it's better to start with the rear ones.)
Here's how I positioned the step and the side pod holder:
Note that that's probably not the best way, so experiment!
Here's how it looks with side pod attached.
When you're done on one side, attach the parts on the other, trying to make your build symmetrical.
Only after the chassis, the wheels and the side pods are attached, you can close the body.
Here, the front panel is attached like it should be, though there's a hole where I wrongly attached the steering wheel axis before.
When assembling the exhaust pipes, it would be a good idea to wrap those around a stick, too.
After the pipe is ready, you put it through a hole you have cut in the muffler and secure it there with the flaps, then put together the muffler. Glue those at an angle to the engine.
Then, glue the seat and the engine inside the body. (For some reason the engine just won't stick to the sides, so make sure to glue it good at the bottom). Cut out and put together the two sides of the steering wheel. Cut out and glue the bumper. Put the steering wheel and the bumper on the car. Glue together the back ends of the chassis.
What you should get should look like this:
... preferably better.
A comparison shot (new model is on the left. The chassis are definitely better, the rest is up to your judgment.
In case the link got lost in this wall of text: you can get the new scheme here.
Thanks for reading, hope that helps.