scifi

263: Enterprise (Micro Machine)

| wonko

Those who know me know that I am a bit of a trekker, always on the lookout for Star Trek related stuff:

When I saw this simple model I knew I would give it a go some day. Tonight my mate Mike and I watch some retro Trek (Original Series) and I thought it opportune to roll out the micromachine version – not sure if you remember the concept – there was a sort of “matchbox” to that was tiny versions of other things – this looks a lot like the micro machine version of the enterprise.

At this scale it was very fiddly indeed – tiny little folds in a very dense mid-section, but it figuratively represents the model so I am happy enough with it. If I were to fold it again I wold start with a much bigger sheet of paper.

Cute saucer-section, nacelles in more or less the right place, I even fashioned a deflector dish in the right place – cute if torturous.

Space, the final frontier, these are the voyages of the starship Enterprise …

232: Face-hugger

| wonko

My second favorite sci-fi film of all time (Alien) brought new forms of terror to the screen:

In a well tried formula, a nasty makes itself on board a spaceship firmly clamped to the face of an inquisitive explorer (John Hurt), implanting an egg in the host’s tummy before scaring everyone and dropping dead. The newly hatched nasty then systematically, and with great suspense, eats everyone – you get that. This prototype xenomorph is all the more terifying because, based on Geiger illustrations, organically modelled after a sinister hand.

I like that there was always a life-cycle implicit in the Alien films, and that there was an innate social order amongst the xenmporphs also.

This model was a little trickey to fold – I had to nurse the copy paper as at many junctures it looked like it would disintegrate – I managed the fold without any paper fatigue I am proud to say and it is a worthy proto alien to compliment the adult I folded earlier in the year

Insectoid, reptilian, with gripsey fingers for walking, prehensile tail to wrap around the neck of the victim, off lung sacks for gas exchange, a well thought out model indeed (even if the instruction annotations were bewildering – thankfully I am confident enough to improvise when I cannot make head nor tail of what is supposed to go where)..

204: Android

| wonko

Now I am no fanboi of ANY operating system (they are ALL buggy, quirky and make little sense from a design perspective), and recommend NO hardware (it is ALL junk with 100% failure rate) but I thought some of my geekier friends might like this tribute:

A fairly faithful (at least from the front side of the model, it is fairly ugly at the back but might make a good card-mounted model) rendering of the Google Android mascot.

Apparently it should be green which is a little tricksey in a white-only first fold scenario but you get that. It features box pleating in TENTHS which in itself is interesting, but the initial collapse and shaping were interesting and I am happy with this as my first fold.

make me an offer, I might be convinced to fold one for you – you can have a go yourself here (be warned, it is not an introductory fold)

136: Starship Enterprise

| wonko

..Space, the final frontier. These are the journeys of the Starship Enterprise as she continues her 5 year mission …

Talk about “boldly going where no copy paper has been before”, this delightful little model is the result of wrestling an A3-cut square into something that is 17cm saucer to nacelle.

I really enjoyed torturing the paper to make this model, although paper fatigue and the sheer thicknesses in places caused it’s “structural integrity” to be compromised. I am pleased that it is relatively complete – it has a bridge rather vulnerably perched atop a nice saucer, 2 engineering marvels in nacelles attached rather nicely to the main hull, even a main deflector dish – so cool.

Why an “Enterprise”? Well, my mate and I finished BSG and will, tomorrow night, start the Original Star Trek episodes (Kirk, Spock etc) – both of us are healthily obsessed with all things Trek (we have seen it all, I used to even be able to speak Klingon!). I look forward to our time exploring sci fi so …. two to beam up Mr Scott…

132: Pyramid

| wonko

In the late 70’s (1979 to be exact), my musical world changed forever. I bought a record (remember them kids – black plastic circular things you put on a turntable) by a then teenage Gary Numan – it was “The Pleasure Principle”:

The music was electronic and I knew I had found my passion, the cover was baffling – a dapper teen in a suit, glancing casually at a glowing pyramid:

A simple re-working of the Waterbomb, some nice symmetry, it is delightfully complete on all sides

Made to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of that album, and the fact that I am going to see him and his band in concert tonight (WOOO!) supported by Severed Heads. Very excited by both, just quietly, as I had long given up home of ever seeing either live and resigned myself to collecting all their recorded works.

130: Cylon Reading it’s Script

| wonko

Tuesday evenings for over a year now a mate and I get together and watch 2 episodes of Battlestar Galactica, gradually wending our way through the seasons. Tonight is the final 2 eps:

I like the idea that the CG extras (robot Cylons or “toasters” as they are lovingly referred to) would have to check the script to determine their cues to enter, gesticulate mecahically and kill all humans, so I modded a fold of a german person wearing a hat reading a newspaper to suit:

…squint, look at it in poor light, chemically enhanced and … you got it, right? Well, it is sort of figurative, and sort of works – I really wanted to do the whole cylon centurion but could not find a fold that worked.

If you have not seen the more recent incarnation of BSG you really should – it is landmark Sci Fi, I like it that episodic drama can literally take your breath away, move you to care about the characters, make you question things and be so danged entertaining to discuss.

124: May the Fourth Be With You

| wonko

Now the date is a word-play on a classic Star Wars line, and what better to celebrate Star Wars Day than with C3P0:

This is a mask – even from an A4 sheet it is quite large – I Hazard to suggest that an A3 sheet would make one that was wearable. Fairly happy with it – simple fold, busy day.

122: Geiger Xenomorph (alien)

| wonko

I loved Ridley Scott’s “Alien” – so dark, terrifying and it introduced a much reprised xenomorph originally designed by H.R. Geiger.

When I first saw the instructions for a paper xenomorph (in Spanish) I filed them away in the “yeah, prolly not” folder.

Conventionally the diagram should have symbols to reinforce what is happening (sometimes with words also, except these were in Spanish). First exception to the rule was a TURN OVER with no corresponding flip symbol!!! Grrrr. Following my realisation that I was folding the wrong side, I tried again only to be baffled by “Quedan la dos solapas mirando hacia la derecha” describing a collapse, followed by “Introducir las solapas dentro de los bolsillos” to describe a pocket tuck … poor paper (and finger tips) by this stage. Thank you Google translate.
Now I admit I broke a rule here – I got part way towards collapsing the base and realised I missed an instruction to open some side flaps so did all the nasty folding over the top of some snarly pre-folding instead of on the yet-unfolded side. I discovered this when i opened up the model expecting to find pre-creases only to find none – oops. I was determined to complete this model, so I started again – so sue me.

This is AMAZING – appendages, tail (ouch, that was painful to fold at this scale) and I re-worked the head to be a little 3d and characteristically domed – very pleased with this model. For an A3-cut square to reduce to a model barely 7cm tall, there is a LOT of paper torture, thank goodness for fingernails – I am amazed the copy paper did not simply disintegrate (it would have had I used the model I folded in error first).

For all you Alien fans out there, this one is for you (in commemoration of the theft of a classic line in the movie “Paul” I saw last night – “get away from her you bitch!” – lol.

105: Klingon War Bird

| wonko

About time I did something for the trekkers out there – this torturous model is a Klingon War Bird:

Instructions, in German, suggested size paper makes a microscopic fold, very tough on the paper (thank heavens for fingernails).

I like that the model is at least true to shape – knowing how the fold works now I would use a much bigger piece of paper should I fold this again as some of the detail is lost because of the thicknesses of the fold.

Still, boldly go, hey 🙂 You can have a go yourself: http://www.papierfalten.de/documents/faltanleitungen/bird_of_prey.pdf

84: Tie Fighter

| wonko

So our school did a fundraiser today – crazy tie day (yeah, I know it sounds a little lame to pay to wear a novelty tie, but it is for charity):

I decided to interpret that non-traditionally, so made a TIE FIGHTER, from Star Wars (cue sfx: pew pew pew!) … well, I thought it was cute anyways.

After looking at reference footage, and the model (which is fairly faithful) I am left wondering how the floop these things were supposed to fly – Science Fiction expects a lot of us sometimes.

You can have a go also: Tie Fighter

69: Space Shuttle

| wonko

Now I read, after the fact, that the Space Shuttle “Discovery” landed for the last time, and I gather it will not go up again.

I quite like this model, fairly simple folds but the shape relies on shaping and puckering in places to indicate lines – neat indeed.

You too can have a go: http://www.nickrobinson.info/origami/diagrams/shuttle1.htm

16: Yoda

| wonko

…do or do not, there is no try.

I have seen a few Yoda models, this is one I decided to try – quite like the stance but geting the expression on the face and arms/feet right were tricksey.  They can not all be gems I supposeSee if you can improve on this model, have a go at: http://www.fishgoth.com/origami/diagrams/yoda.pdf