905: (355/365) Emperor Palpatine

I am sure you remember the good old days, when things were better. In the Star Wars Universe this meant Luke, Leia and Han battling the dark side of the force wearing cheesy costumes, in squeeky clean spaceships, among a rain of pew pew pew:

The truth is there were no “good old days”, they were just days, and at the time they seemed amazing but you know, they were just days. This is Lee Armstrong’s “Emperor Palpatine” – you know that evil prune who bar-b-qued people with lightning by channelling the dark side of the force. Continue reading

904: (354/365) Caterpillar

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

903: (353/365) Slippery Little Sucker

I must admit to being a bit of a fanboy when it comes to the works of Satoshi Kamiya. His designs are genius, fabulously complicated to fold and make good use of the sheet:

This is his Octopus – an amazing fold from an octagon that yields lovely little legs, a beady set of eyes and a pendulous 3D head/body with a modicum of paper torture. Continue reading

902: (352/365) Satan

So apparently a symbol of the festive season is a portly old beardy man in a red suit that gives presents to kids who have been nice (and not naughty):

This is Steven Casey’s “Santa”, a lovely exercise in colour change and layer management. Continue reading

901: (351/365) Little Bird

On my “must fold” for some time has been this design bu Hideo Komatso:

Entitled “little bird”, I folded it in black to make an obese crow. A deliciously complex fold that ends up being a 3d representation of a robin-like bird. Continue reading

900: (350/365) Calamari

I stumbled across a “dollar fold” designed by Daniel Brown and decided to try it:

An interesting exercise in sinking, point isolation and layer management, this charming squid looks fresh enough to cook. Continue reading

899: (349/365) Spikey Cube

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

898: (348/365) The Droid You Were Looking For

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

897: (347/365) Deathstar

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

896: (346/365) All 3 Dimensions

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

895: (345/365) Tightrope

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

Morning Light with Dragon Head

Revisiting a fold I achieved 3 years ago, I was struck with the dramatic lighting caused by an accidental reflection on our wooden floor and resultant shadow:

You know when you see something amazing and cannot quite believe it was you who made it? I seem to be surrounded with such moments.

894: (344/365) Baby Harp Seal

Sad but true, baby harp seals up until fairly recently were hunted for their pelts – the fashion industry could not get enough of them:

While seal hunting still continues today for food, oil and pelts, the clubbing of baby harp seals has largely been banned. Continue reading

893: (343/365) Teddy

It has been said that “you are never alone with a rubber duck” – equally true with a teddy bear I suspect:

I must experiment with the posture. designed for bi-colour paper, you cannot see the colour changes for eyes and the rest with this fold, but the arms and legs are charming, cutie ears and general body morphology is pleasing. Continue reading