…yes, I know, a day late but, meh! Always on the look out for fascinating geometry, I had put this 6-part Rhombicuboctahedron, designed by David Mitchell, in my “fold this when you get a moment” pile:
6 relatively simple modules interlock to make a fascinating ball-like structure but the devil is in the details. Continue reading
I am always on the lookout for interesting folded geometry:
A modular exploration, designed by David Brill is usually interesting and these Brillex cubes seem fascinating. Continue reading
Australia does not really have a tradition of Halloween, it seems to me a cultural import that encourages the worst sort of excesses – a point I tried to explain to a small halloweenie dressed as a fairy who came knocking on my door on this day a few years back:
It did not go as well as planned, needless to say I am now labelled “the grinch” of our street and little kids scuttle past our place in costume afraid of the bad man in that house. Continue reading
It is interesting how things sometimes just work themselves out:
Here was me, panicking because I had nothing ready or in mind for today’s fold, came home and the latest Tanteidan Magazine was in my mailbox. Continue reading
Leafing through my copy of Drawing Origami Tome 2, I noticed a spectacular modular designed by Francesco Mancini that I knew I had to try:
Modules folded from 2×1 rectangles lock together really nicely, creating clusters of 3 and 5, forcing the megastructure to curve gently into a spikey ball. Continue reading
Being a bit of a closet Biology nerd, when you see a design that combines love of folding with something biologically interesting you jump at the chance to fold it:
This modular is made up of a bunch of bent arrow-shaped modules that slip together in 2 strands that then, rather satisfyingly, intertwine in much the same way as worms do when they are mating. Continue reading
For purists, today marks the Spring Solstice, the “official” first day of spring (as per lunar cycles). 
As a member of OUSA, I was asked to participate in the “Annual Gift”, which consists of contributing a fold to be used as a Xmas tree decoration at The American Museum of Natural History. Apparently this has become something of a tradition. Continue reading
Having recently realised I had forgotten to re-subscribe to JOAS, I hurriedly did so then went on holidays, fully expecting the back-issues of Tanteidan to not arrive for weeks:
Due to the miracles of Australia post (or was that Japanese post and a courier?) they arrived while I was away, fortunately kept dry in my mailbox. Continue reading
So when invigilating, you cannot mark or do anything that productively uses the time, so sometimes I choose a simple but repetitive fold that I can do without looking anywhere but in the direction of students being examined:
This is Michal Kosmulski’s “Oxi” module – an interesting variation of Tom Hull’s “Phiz” unit. Continue reading
Looking for today’s fold, I returned to a collection of bookmarked models from my growing collection of Tanteidan magazines:
Made of 4 tetrahedral modules, each with deep tabs along a pair of adjacent sides, you then fold a pair of interlocking preliminary bases as the core. Continue reading
Topologically convoluted geometric modulars confuse the brain – shapes that morph into different shapes in stable but seemingly unpredictable ways are fascinating:
This is a wedge-flex – a modular hinged construction of a series of triangular prisms (wedges) that fold, bend, twist and re-align in interesting configurations. Continue reading
The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone,
The foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone,
The ankle bone’s connected to the leg bone,
Now shake dem skeleton bones!:
The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone,
Now shake dem skeleton bones! Continue reading
Leafing through the Tanteidan Convention book #5, I came across an early Dragon design by Takashi Hojyo:
This model is a modular – 3 parts (head/tail, body/legs and lovely wings) made from the same sized square, it needs glue (shhhh, I used a couple of nubs of double-sided tape) to keep it together but has a comic-like charm. Continue reading
Busy times indeed – perfect for folding a 12 piece modular:
Fairly simple modules that sit over one, inside another adjacent module, locking fairly positively into swirls of 4 “petals”, you get a shape that describes a cube when you look just at the points. Continue reading
Sometimes you need to fold a modular, and sometimes that modular really needs to be a 12 part construction:
This is “Cube from Thrids” designed by Tung Ken Lim, a simple windowed cube that works well with a 3-colour scheme. Continue reading
