275: Moo Cow

| wonko

It is a well known fact that I am a little obsessed with all things Cow. I used to have a plush cow (called Terry the Moo) but I loaned her to a student who cared about her less than I do and now she is lost:

A paper replacement is no real substitute but this little beauty is easily the most lovely paper cow I have seen so far.

Taken from a book by Roman Diaz “Origami for Interpreters”, there is much to admire about the ingenious design – a full set of curled horns, lovely pendulous ears, a fantastic rounded muzzle and face, strong shoulders, cute swishy tail and general cow-ness.

Folded from an A3-cut square, the proportions and fiddlyness is just about right and amazingly it is possible to nurse copy paper through this fold – the head was the most problematic and likely to split asunder, obviated by rounding the central axis rather than attempting to bend all those layers into a sharp crease.

Very happy with this model – it is a keeper and i will fold it again – I can imagine a paddock full of them, all slightly different as the model is poseable as well – bravo Mr Diaz, I am in awe of your design.

274: White Rabbits!

| wonko

The beginning of another month, and I am finding it difficult to find rabbits to fold:

This is Stephen O’Hanlon’s rabbit – a simple figurative fold that is suitably rabbitty for the “pinch and punch first day of the month”.

I cannot believe this heralds the last quarter of this project (10th month starting).

September, Done and Dusted

| wonko

September was a busy month, they all have been. Looking back at the models achieved this month I am amazed:

Amazed that I was able to do some of them, that I somehow found the time to complete them and amazed I am still just as determined to complete this challenge as I was when I started.

3 months to go means I have completed 3/4 of the journey so far … roll on January.

273: Business Card Dice

| wonko

I was playing with a modular technique that uses 6 business cards, some simple bends that create a stable modular cube:

You can then either link these cubes in any direction or “face” the sides with an additional set of 6 cards. I made these during a conference session that talked about creativity – I thought I should walk the walk.

I must consider a larger structure using this technique – a little like minecraft-style building but with paper.

272: Cheers, Big Ears

| wonko

Now I am a little bit merry after the QSITE drinks mid way through their annual conference:

So decided to give some pleating a go to form a martini glass – the principle is based on a technique designed by Stephen Hecht and involves exhaustive pre-creasing followed by an elegant twist/collapse

The resultant sculptural form is lovely – the scale I calculated also makes it life-size and convincingly a martini glass.

QSITE Peeps are off to the conference dinner tonight – I raise my glass to a bunch of talented and enthusiastic colleagues. I hope they have fun.

Very happy with this as a first fold, it is based on a  similar technique I used to invent a trophy for my son with the only really tricksey part determining scale. Satisfied with this one however. hope you like it too (lol, kidding myself that people are actually reading this shite).

271: Pelican

| wonko

I have been looking for a nice pelican (yes, I know that is an odd thing to say, but good pelican origami models are hard to find):

This is the best I have found so far, and although it is not free-standing, contains much that is pelicanny.

Lovely bill, nice feet (if a little thin and spindly) and the vestiges of nice wings, I think I will keep looking.

Folded after returning home from a conference (lots of nice people sharing). Busy times, sometimes you get that.

270: False Teeth

| wonko

Anyone who knows me realizes the terror I experience when visiting the dentist:

Don’t get me wrong, our dentist is awesome, and very aware that I have an irrational fear that I cannot control when being worked on.

A red frog (chewy lolly) was the latest culprit, taking away most of a huge filling on one of my molars so today I face a molar re-build and thought origami teeth – there’s an idea.

This delightful model is a compact little box pleating exercise designed by Robin Glynn. When folded from an A4 cut square they turn out essentially lifesize, although they have much fewer teeth than a real set, they are demonstrative of form and look a lot like those chattering teeth wind-up toys sold in joke shops.

Quite happy with this as a first fold.

269: Brill’s Dolphin

| wonko

Now I am going visiting to the Sunshine Coast today, so thought something marine would be appropriate:

This lovely dolphin reminds me of “flipper” who appeared to frolic in the sea. The sad truth about captive dolphins however is that they lead miserable, confused lives and have a really short lifespan due to stress and noise in their tanks. There is increasing and justified pressure to release dolphins and orcas from captivity as it is inhumane.

The design for this model is ingenius, the body is triangular in cross-section, lovely tail flukes, sharp dorsal and pectoral fins and a beak, with open mouth.

It was difficult to photograph this model, so I perched it (via a blob of blutac) atop a mangled paperclip. Well dome Mr Brill

268: Hermit Crab

| wonko

When I first saw this design I put it in the “yeah, prolly not” because it looked hard:

A twisted shell, claws, legs, eyes on stalks and a seemingly impossible series of paper torture instructions. Previewing instructions, many of them made no sense until you were in the moment – the impossible collapse to get the legs and claws together was so poorly described I just sort of improvised, symmetrically, and it turns out what I did was what I was supposed to – psyche!

I am really chuffed that this model worked – a real challenge to manage the paper fatigue as some of the major axes are bent, swiveled and stretched to the point of splitting, fortunately I was able to shepherd the paper through to the end.

A trecherous fold really as, just when you think you are on top of it, the instructions require you to fold it inside out – arrrgghhh! It makes sense, the critter needs to be inside the shell but I wish there was another method to get there as I nearly tore it asunder in an attempt to turn it inside out without losing the already folded body – ended up unfolding it nearly completely and then re-forming as best as I could inside.

Quite happy with the result, it does look hermit-crabby, although it looks like he is ready to trade up to a larger shell.

267: Nollentonk

| wonko

When my sister was little, she used to call elephants “Nollentonks“:

No idea why, the name just stuck. My daughter also likes elephants so i am on the search for a good one. This little beauty measures in at 8cm trunk to tail.

This is John Montroll’s African Elephant. A lovely model that I now regret folding at this scale (I am running short of A3-cut squares, so used an A4 instead). Getting the elephantine proportions and general shape were tough work at this scale, but the model is a good one and the inner nollentonk shone through in the end,

Lovely ears and tusks, waggly tail and nice solid body make this model a winner, one I will fold again.

266: Master Yoda

| wonko

Now I know I have, early on in this project, folded a figurative yoda but I thought it about time I did real justice to this loveable muppet (well, before he became pure CGI in the prequel abominations):

This lovely model is by Fumiaki Kawahata and is deliciously detailed.

I like that he has a 3 fingered hand, walking stick, lovely facial expression replete with crinkled brow and flowing robe. He also free-stands which is a bonus.

I am very pleased with this as a first fold – the diagramming was a bit of a mystery at many junctures so I found I had to improvise, but the model did not suffer for it I think.

The force is strong with this one, could do with a dose of the force actually to propel me over the 365 finish line, it has been a long haul so far.

265: You Dirty Rat

| wonko

The Spanish Origami Society (ASOCIACIÓN ESPAÑOLA DE PAPIROFLEXIA) feature a number of folders with unique approaches to model design, this is a cute rat:

A fairly compact model, suggestive of features rather than folding every detail.

I think it captures the spirit of a rat quite well, well a nice playful one rather than a plague-infested nasty.

Nice ears, face and tail, and a plump little 3d body combine to make a neat model for today.

264: Stinkbug

| wonko

I mowed yesterday, and noticed my citrus trees were once again infested with stinkbugs:

I would dearly love a solution to this annual pest – not only do they smell, they damage the new growth of the tree and mark the fruit. Worse, I am allergic to the stuff they spray in defense when disturbed – I come up in horrible blistery sores that take ages to heal.

The trees are quite large, individually picking off the bugs is impractical, I am open to suggestions.

This little bug was very badly diagrammed (sorry whever did it), I had to improvise at many junctures and would fold it differently if I were to fold this again – you live and learn however.

Morphologically, this is a fairly good stink bug actually, just a pain to fold at this scale.

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 …

262: A Dead Man’s Chest

| wonko

Ahoy me Hearties, so today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day, so I looked for somethin’ suitably Piratical t’ fold in celebration.

I decided on a Treasure Chest by Robyn Glynn, a lovely folded and pleated folly that looks like it be made o’ planks o’ wood, has a curved top and a rather nice clasp latch.

Avast! T’ scale o’ this model was problematic, particularly t’ internal lockin’ o’ t’ corners o’ t’ box, but t’ fantastic crease pattern you do prior t’ collapsin’ makes it all fall into place.

I be quite happy with this as a first fold, and hope more than just me celebrate this important day by talkin’ like a Pirate.

Although I be not a great jack tar, I could quite fancy a wooden leg, eye patch and parrot and imagine t’ tricorner hat and overcoat would go down a treat.