This model has been on my “must fold” for ages, but I had only ever seen a CP and could never make head nor tail of the design. I saw a rendition on Origami Dan Discord and, after an enquiry it turns out there exists an unofficial diagram, drawn by Hua Ge that guides folders through this terrific insect:

I split a sheet from a new 60cm roll of medium weight Kraft and began folding. There is a load of pre-creasing, primarily setting up the high-density collapses to make the long thin legs, so accuracy early on pays dividends later.

Uncharacteristically, this model uses loos pleat structures to bulk out the body, define the wing covers and head/thorax/abdomen, with a deliciously complex un-sink to make the head-thorax join. Interestingly this model also has a super-detailed head/face – it reminds me so much of the hoppers in “A bugs life”, and it has real “cute” personality, as much as a locust can be cute.

This model is my daughter’s nightmare, she was always creeped out by grasshoppers, and this model is creepy lifelike.

There is LOTS to like about this design, the legs/proportions are fabulous, so nice and thin (some like the front legs are easy-win thin, but the formation of the back legs is so complex that getting them nice and thin is an interesting challenge.

I used some white glue spots to keep the seams together – this helped pose the legs while the layers were drying. For some reason this mdoel took me an age – I folded a whole lot of it and then put it away and worked on other things – it and my Kamiya mantis have been partially complete for what seems like an age.