When I first saw this modular, it broke my brain, but knew I wanted to fold it. I looked and looked for instructions and finally reached out to Leong Chen Chit, through connections to Sydney Origami Group on fakebook:
Units for this model are folded from an ‘almost’ half a4 sheet, through an ingenious geometric construction you get a fan fold that can then be mutated into the basic unit. Continue reading
I am always on the lookout for interesting folds, this one was shared on a fakebook group as a photsequence on Flickr:
A fun folding technique, and a fascinating fractal pattern gradually converges towards the centre of the original octagon. Continue reading
As I relax from the 365 challenge, I am finally getting the need to fold again:
Fractal folding is relaxing and yet challenging, Shuzo Fujimoto’s Hydrangea fractal seems to be able to be tessellated also.
In these 2 folds I experimented with different densities of repeat, discovering that accuracy matters – a fraction of a millimeter initially magnifies as the folding progresses. Continue reading
It is a little known fact that mice used to originally be triangular – the closer to a right angle triangle, the more genetically successful apparently*:
This charming model is designed by Makoto Yamaguchi, a quirky fold that I found when browsing Tanteidan 106. Continue reading
Interestingly, paper folding developed independently in most countries that made paper. In China, traditional folding included objects like this:
This is a modern interpretation of a Zhen Xian Bao – a traditional thread case. Even cursory research on teh interwebs reveals astonishing combinations of these little compartments, nested in other compartments.
This fold was designed by Paula Versnick, and has 7 separate compartments of varying size, that all lock together into a charming little book. Continue reading
I have a long and terrifying “fold me” list of models I will one day get around to – this was on it:
An excruciating fractal tessellation that eats paper like few other folds, based on spiral collapses of a dodecagon that then gets turned inside out to make the next level to collapse.
The unfold and re-collapse stages (I did 3, but theoretically could keep going getting smaller and smaller) looks like it is going to hell in a handbasket, then it sort of just sorts itself out in a magic sort of way. Continue reading
Christmas is many things to many people. For me it is another chance to get together with family and catch up over a shared feast:
I hope that wherever you find yourself, you stay safe and look after each other, share some joy, love, hugs and laughter. Merry Christmas, ho ho ho and all that humbug. Continue reading
When looking for a simple fold, one’s attention naturally falls on a torturous corrugation-based model that takes an age to fold (not):
This is Maarten Van Gelder Caterpillar – an exhaustive corrugation executed on an 8×1 rectangle (although I think it would be more effective on even longer paper). Continue reading
Continuing the modular bent, I had bookmarked this fold in my collection of Tanteidan magazines as a “must try”:
This is Jun Maekawa’s “Spikey Cube” – a 6 part modular that only holds itself together when the last part is slotted in place. The locking mechanism is difficult to master initially, and seemingly different each corner. Continue reading
Now I am as much a Star Trek fan as the next one, and love a comedy sidekick movie plot device. It was interesting that the Star Wars franchise returned to the tried and true “quirky beeping droid” sidekick in “Force Awakens” and the BB8 droid seems a cute successor to the more limited R2 units (that they decided could fly in later/earlier messes of movies):
This is Martin Hunt’s Modular BB8 droid model. A torturous fold of many parts.
4 different modules combine to make a roughly spherical ball with a “head” that can be affixed wherever you want, sort of captured the overall morphology of the droid. Continue reading
Tomorrow in Oz the next chapter of the Star Wars saga opens in cinemas. I am not likely to see it until the crush of “real fans” abates but thought on the eve I would fold something relevant:
This I have labelled “Deathstar” because it bears an uncanny resemblance to the space station the Liberator encountered just out from Far Point, while captain Mal and his rag tag band of cylons, and their computer Aurac, cruised the belt looking for replicants (how many scifi franchises are hinted at here? :P). Continue reading
I have folded a number of axis-type geometric modulars in my time:
This is Nick Robinson’s XYZmbe, a 6 part model that shows the intersections of the X, Y and Z planes with a curious twirly intersection. Continue reading
Life is a delicate balance, kind of like being on a tightrope way above the ground in the bigtop. Balance is important, lots of things effect balance:
Work, life, play, people, things that all take their toll on our balance, and we all struggle to walk the line sometimes, tipping this way and that as various forces pull at us. Continue reading
I like a model that is a simple variation of the waterbomb and this is such a thing:
Pre-creasing before locking together creates the facets when the solid is inflated. Continue reading
Apparently there is a lolly in Holland called “Drop” – it is most likely a salted licorice, must look that up. This box is designed to gift “drop” to friends:
When I first saw the model I was sure it was a bomb … I mean, look at it! Continue reading
