Hina dolls

Here we see Mr. and Mrs. Samurai at home.


These traditional hina dolls are two-piece models, designed once again by Jun Maekawa. (Hey, it's a long book.) They are a lot of fun to make, although they tend to get thick and stiff near the end of the folding sequence, making them somewhat difficult to stand. The costumes are completely separate from the dolls, meaning it is possible to make additional costumes for them. For instance, here we see Mr. and Mrs. Samurai at the discotheque.


(Yes. I know. I not only made paper dolls, I made different outfits for the paper dolls. I don't care, I'm still macho.)

The dolls themselves are each made from a 5-7/8" square of black origami paper. The home costumes are each made from a 5-7/8" square of patterned origami paper. The party outfits are each made from a piece of shiny wrapping paper cut into a 6" square. The completed models are approximately 2" tall. (Yup, still no ruler.) The folding patterns for these dolls may be found in Maekawa's book Genuine Origami.

Sheep

Baa.

This is a nice ram model designed by Jun Maekawa. My interpretation of it is unfortunately somewhat goat-like, but I hope you get the general idea.

This goat -- sheep, I mean sheep -- was made from a 10" square of standard origami paper. The final model is approximately 3" long. (I can't find my ruler.) The folding pattern may be found in Maekawa's book Genuine Origami.

Three-headed crane

Welcome,. and happy 2009! We start out the year with a traditional standby, the three-headed crane.



Actually, three-headed cranes are not in any way traditional. This model is by Jun Maekawa, designed to illustrate certain aspects of technical folding. My favorite part of this model, however, is actually an intermediary stage -- a six-pointed analogue of the traditional bird base. Using this base, I have created my own (slight) variations on Maekawa's model.

Phoenix.



Triple crane.



Folding instructions for the three-headed crane may be found in Maekawa's excellent book Genuine Origami.