228: Wilbur, the Narcoleptic Cat Sidekick

| wonko

As mentioned previously, Captain Fainty has a sidekick:

Now it must be said that this sidekick is more of a liability than an asset – as is true for all cats really (let’s be honest), and there is little evidence that this sidekick is even remotely interested in being labelled as such. There is even less evidence that this sidekick has actually performed even the minimum of sidekick duties – you get that apparently.

This is a Joisel fold, and I will probably fold it again now I know what goes where, but I am fairly happy with this as a first fold – he looks like he is slinking – something cats are wont to do, prior to a bout of narcolepsy.

A relatively simple fold with lots of potential for modelling and expression, the posture is lovely but the legs are a little dense and fiddly at small scale.

227: Science Week

| wonko

Today schools (well some of them) started activities to do with National Science Week so I thought it only fitting to fold the logo for this celebration:

An interesting exercise in sixths, with a pleasing design in relief, this model is tidy front and back and I am just a little disappointed it is not as 3d as it looked on the instructions

Hope your week is filled with all things Science – the scientific method is the basis of all great discoveries man has laid claim to.

“Super Heroes”

| wonko

In a moment of madness, amongst an hilarious conversation about the Marvel comic universe, my mate Winston (Michael Brent) and I began brainstorming crap superheroes.

It surfaced that I have low blood pressure and tend to faint (used to regularly) so a new “super hero” was born: CAPTAIN FAINTY

We decided that this superhero would have a sidekick, and that it should be an narcoleptic cat … yeah, don’t ask!


For shits and giggles (and not to add to the already folded collection, but vaguely related to it) I decided to try to fold one.  Using a variation of the Hoodie I was able, with a single 2×1 rectangle to bring life to this occasionally unconscious super hero by adding the all too necessary cape.

It has been pointed out to me however that capes are no longer fashionable amongst the super-set as although they flap magnificently in the breeze, they tend to get you sucked into jet engines whilst waving at the passengers during a flyby which is at worst fatal and at least embarrassing.

Fortuanately, Cap’n Fainty is mostly land-based but it is yet to be decided how effective merely fainting on your foe is as a method of thwarting him.

226: It’s a Mammoth

| wonko

I have always loved oddball humour, and when I discovered the panels by Gary Larson I became an addict, buying everything he published. His acerbic observations of scientific concepts amused me greatly, combined with his caveman humour and we come close to my fav Larson comic of all time – the experiments in early microscopy shown in this panel. This is doubly accurate as, unlike dinosaurs, Mammoths are a relatively recent extinction, with frozen specimens found still to have plant material in their gut and butchery marks on their bones – I guess Mammoth burgers were tasty to early hominids.

Looking for elephantine, I came across a Woolly mammoth in “Origami Zoo” by Robert Lang thus completing a “hat-trick” of models by him:

this figurative mammoth is lovely – seemingly correct morphologically, the hunched and raised shoulders and relatively demure hind quarters, lovely curly tusks, placid expression and gently curling trunk

This model was nearly a fail, using copy paper – some very thick layers inside make shaping the body very difficult an the paper fatigue nearly split at the shoulders – gently gently was necessary at the collapse stage.

Very happy with this as a first fold, and will fold it again I think with some nice textured paper – this would probably work in large format also as you could model toes and a more complete facial expression. I used a square cut from A3 copy paper and the final model was small and tight – thinner paper would have helped I guess.

225: Lang’s Green Tree Frog

| wonko

When I first saw this model, in “Origami Design Secrets” I knew I wanted to try it:

Such a torturous but interesting fold, initial pleating followed by some amazing swivel and sink folds to get the body differentiated from the legs, this is my pose for this model – I like that it looks like ti is crawling and I thought much more interesting that being symmetrical.

there is much to be in awe of with this model – I am and I managed to fold it; the toes, the eyes and the overall accuracy of the morphology are simply amazing – more proof that Robert lang is a maestro mathematician and true artist in his designs.

This model took ages as I was fastidious with my folding, accuracy mattered but wow, no I mean WOW! What a difference good paper makes – I did not attempt this with copy paper – there is a spread/sink/swivel move that would shred the paper early on so I used a sheet of tissue foil and am glad I did.

224: Lab Rat

| wonko

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Science Week and I thought it appropriate to mark the occasion with a lab rat:

This delightful model by Robert Lang has a lovely shape but is very cruel on the paper it is made from (so much so that it split due to tension and fatigue along the neck and back)

I like this base, and am satisfied with this as a first fold of the model – I learnt a lot attempting it and will fold it again with more suitable paper I think – copy paper is a cruel mistress sometimes.

223: Yoshizawa’s Monkey

| wonko

I like a figurative compound model, and when it is designed by a master like Akira Yoshizawa then it feels like a privilege to fold it:

This is one of his monkeys, in two pieces – I love the pose, the simple but expressive face, posture and all – very clever.

Made with 2 bird bases, then each part diverging in method yet strangely symmetric, coalescing into a top and tail that then slots together.

This is a lot like the more complex “swivel monkey” which I will torture myself with later, for my first fold I am happy with this result. Taken from “Creative Origami”, a masterwork entirely in Japanese, most models have no landmarks, you fold them by eye, making each fold unique and allowing the folder to add their own character – nice.

222: Jitterbug

| wonko

My Monthly Modular is a fab use of equilateral triangles that work in clusters of 4 or 5 to make interesting spheroids:

Eight of the modules make a “Jitterbug” – a curious structure that twists into a cube.

Thirty of the modules clustered in fives make a soccer ball (er, sorry, an Icosadodecahedron) which is a lovely thing to behold. (oops, sorry, a icosidodecahedron)

A relatively simple construction, quite quick also and also fairly rigid given how the parts interlock and self-tighten. You can have a go at this yourself here

221: Census Night

| wonko

Tonight is Census Night – lots of demographic questions and a bunch of boxes to tick:

Naturally I wracked my brain as to what to fold on such an occasion (it only happens every 5 years or so) and drew a blank, then thought of the response style for some questions and that was my inspiration for this original fold

Fairly happy I can think of something and then make it with a reasonable resemblance to the original idea. Next time, if I had time, I would try to do this with only ONE piece of paper (via box pleating)

220: Saint Mary Mackillop

| wonko

Apparently today is the feast for St Mary Mackillop – the first Australian who has been verified to do enough miracles to qualify as a saint.

Interestingly, I drive past the church school she used to teach in in South Brisbane. I would love to say I actually knew this, but a staff member mentioned it during a meeting so I fired up my collection of nuns for a suitable model to provide the tribute.

A relatively simple box pleating exercise designed by Fred Rhom called “Vera Cruz” this works well for the purpose.

there are a few things you can vary here as most is folded without landmark – the height of the cross, the tallness of the nun etc, nice figurative model.

219: Redback Spider

| wonko

This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of a technology that changed my life – The World Wide Web:

Tim Berners Lee posted the first web page ever and the model of online information sharing was changed forever. I thought a SPIDER was appropriate to mark the occasion and an Australian one to boot – given a large network of networks in Oz joined the world wide network of networks to form what we now know as the INTERNET (I am old enough to remember when there was no net).

This was a torturous fold – fiddly beyond measure and I am so glad I started with a large format sheet of tissue foil instead of even attempting it with copy paper – the legs are like 12 thicknesses, thinned down (proving that Mythbusters were wrong). Beautifully thin legs, plump inflated body and ferocious looking fangs – it is really creepy.

The instructions were almost completely diagrammatic, with only occasional random spanish annotations so I had to improvise, or look forward/backwards to work out what was happening in a bunch of places.

There is something vaguely creepy about putting a spiders head in your mouth the blow up the abdomen, even though I knew it was paper it just felt creepy. The instructions were deceptively complex – I have grown to hate the “repeat” symbol which hides hours of work. I am really quite chuffed however with the result and think it looks suitably like a redback spider (we have them on the northern side of our house), the typical front bundle of legs behind a large abdomen are quite distinctive. It is a variation of the “Black Widow” designed by Manuel Sirgo

218: A Thousand Cranes for Peace

| wonko

During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945 and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.

For my birthday this year (June 4), my daughter bought me 1000 sheets of coloured origami paper so that I could attempt to fold 1000 cranes by today, August 6, Hiroshima Day.

The First and Last folds were done here at home – first was a microgami version (folded from a 1cm square) to pay homage to the importance of the individual in the enormous task; the last was a simple white fold, completed in the relative safety and warmth of my lounge room while watching telly last night.

I had many helpers – many hands make light work – thank you to the hundreds of kids and teachers who helped, provided encouragement or simply asked what I was doing and why – I hope it was instructive. I also had a passive collection (I positioned a piggy bank near by for punters to deposit change if they felt so moved) and have a tidy sum to donate to Japan Red Cross.

So what does 1000 cranes look like when amassed?

I will organise to give these away – hopefully students will think about things when/if they take one.

Why?

I must say that when I visited the Hiroshima memorial site in 2003 the place upset me for a bunch or reasons – primary school kids ran and giggled and filled in worksheets, collecting information on casualties, counting demolished buildings on scale models, being photographed beside the scale model of “little boy” the first bomb dropped and coloured in pictures of the shadow left by someone as they vaporised in a doorstep. I know I should have been heartened by the obvious celebration of life and love around me but it made me ashamed to be allied with a group that could do this or even contemplate it.

I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb… It is an awful responsibility which has come to us… We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes.
—President Harry S. Truman, August 9, 1945

217: A Little Crabby

| wonko

I have been a little crabby lately – not sure why:

Times are busy, change is inevitable and I am not sure I cope well with it at times (prolly less well when I am tired)

This is a lovely fold, based on a waterbomb base and teasing 8 legs from one set of flaps and claws from the others – very clever and not too difficult really (compared to others I am contemplating) – some neato pre-creasing makes most of the folds before you need them.

Sleep, chocolate and tea – perfect remedies for those times when you get a little crabby also.

216: I’m A Little Teapot

| wonko

I’m a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my spout. When I get all steamed up then I shout, “tip me over pour me out”:

It is a well known fact that I am seriously into TEA, so it is natural to make a teapot, when I saw this model I knew I had to make it.

A clever, simple use of a bird-base, the shape is variable (many judgement calls effect the final shape) and the handle is a little free-form but I like it – hope you do too.

215: iBaby 1.0

| wonko

Now I was asked to speak publicly today to farewell a work colleague about to begin a period of maternity leave and so thought a Baby was appropriate:

Robert Lang, in “Origami Design Secrets”  has a box pleated baby I was interested in trying. When I had done the first fold, I decided the presentation fold (to be mounted on cardstock) should be blue because everything associated with Amanda is, then I decided the little blue baby beeded a teddy bear (having already mastered Kirschenbaum’s fluffy teddy bear) so the card project was on

When it came time for the speech, I am a very nervy public speaker but I got a little geeky – below is most of the speech (well those bits I did not make up on the spot) –

As spokesgeek, I was asked to “get my geek on” and talk on behalf of Rablin and Rablin in the prototyping of an all new product:
iBaby 1.0
Making a baby takes time, here is a prototype I prepared earlier [reveal baby] although I have not worked out where the USB cable goes yet.
This prototype may not be to scale, may appear bigger in a rear vision mirror than it actually is, is available in any colour so long as you want BLUE, represents a choking hazard for small children but does not contain any traces of nut, so I am lead to believe (having seen the scans, it is a little girl you see).
iBaby1.0 is being prepared for release at the Rablin household September 4, developers Amanda with seed funding by Travis are busily planning for the release. We hope the download proceeds without issue but believe there us a bad language and drugs plug-in available to assist with the data transfer.
Those of us who are experienced users know that iBaby1.0 may be incompatible with realLife3.0 and may cause the sleep process to behave erratically for a while but that is within normal parameters.
We would like to warn of the potential newtooth incompatibility causing iBoob 1 and 2 to crash erractically. We are also unsure how compatible the iBaby capsule is with the blue vw, but work arounds and kludges are being investigated.
We look forward to iBaby’s first tweet, and are confident she will post photos of herself on Facebook for her legion of iGen friends to drool over whilst they are teething.
Can you join with me in wishing Amanda, Travis  and accompanying iBaby all the best in the exciting journey towards parenthood.
It seemed to be well received, quite happy the speaky part is over however.