93: Lang’s Pillbug

Now when I was a kid, ferreting around in the underbrush, we used to call these little chaps “Slaters”, as a Biology teacher, I referred to them as “Wood Lice”:

These isopods were made famous by “A Bugs Life” – remember the foreign tumbling critters Tuck and Roll? They are a sort of primitive crustacean and have a myriad of legs, body segments, are rarely bigger than 1cm in length and are usually grey or light brown (depending on how much light they have been exposed to.

Mistakenly I decided to try a “simpler” model than my chosen Joisel model which stated it needed much bigger paper to make it even possible – I cursorily scanned a Lang design and settled on this – it looked simple enough – boy was that a mistake.

This has taken me AGES, and so often I thought it was going to hell in a handbasket. So much paper torture to get to the stage when it said to do 8 3-way accordion crimps (like Hoodie) and I was ready to give up. Instead, I made a cup of tea and persisted.

It has 14 individual legs, a pair of antennae, 10 body segments and I think it is just plain awesome that it worked, first fold.

You may applaud now.

It amazes me that this pattern was generated MATHEMATICALLY first – Mr Lang, you are a genius – everything in its place based on some seriously wonky geometry constructed by exhausting pre-creasing. Very happy the paper survived and it looks like it should.

This model elevates me to Paper Ninja status (and reminds me to consider MORE carefully before launching into a model).

10 thoughts on “93: Lang’s Pillbug

  1. Impressive! I would never consider attempting a model like this with printer paper, but you’ve done quite a good job of it. I’m reminded of an article I read on nytimes.com (here) which talks about how high achievers constantly push their limits. Keep it up!

    1. lol, actually initially I thought I was choosing a simpler model, but did not register the complexity until well in to it – was determined not to have it beat me – the paper nearly failed however, along the central crease it was fraying and, given much working would have split. Thx for the comment

  2. Amazing in and of itself, and then from printer paper! We call the little guys, Rolly Pollys, and least in Central Illinois that is how they are known.

  3. Wow, where are you? It is still Sunday morning where I am sitting, even though the last post said it was tomorrow morning, which must be local time for you. Amazing the way the internet seems to do away with time zones.

  4. Well, it is good to know that tomorrow will arrive! I am in central Illinois, in the USA, half way between Chicago and St. Louis. I hope you and the floods in Australia did not mix. I look forward to seeing all of your folds for 2011.

  5. In Canada we call those pill bugs because when you poke them they roll up into a ball. Nice work on the model.

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