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How to fold an origami biplane

Taper a long red body, swing its tail up into a fin and pleat an engine cowling at the nose. Add two wing bars on black struts folded from one strip, a wheel and a wooden propeller.

You need: Red: a 6 x 18 cm strip, 6.5 x 1.8 and 5.5 x 1.8 cm pieces. Black: 6 mm x 14.5 cm strip, 3 cm square. Brown 1.5 x 7.5 cm. Hard, 22 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Body: edges to the middle. Start with the long red strip, white side up. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet along the middle.
  2. Body: slim the tail. Fold the bottom edge behind on a slant, from 7 cm from the right end up to 1.4 cm below the top at the left end.
  3. Body: tail fin. Fold the left end straight up on a 45 degree slant, from the top edge 1.7 cm from the end. It stands up as the tail fin.
  4. Body: cowling pleat. At the nose, fold the right end over on a crease 2.3 cm from the end.
  5. Body: fold it back. Fold the flap back out on a crease 5 mm further left. The ledge is the engine cowling.
  6. Body: shape it. Round the nose's two corners. Cut the fin's front edge back on a slant and round its top back corner.
  7. Struts: new strip. Set the body aside. Take the thin black strip, white side up.
  8. Struts: fold in half. Fold it in half lengthwise, so it's black on both sides and only 3 mm wide.
  9. Struts: fold up the posts. Fold both ends straight up on a slant, 3.3 cm apart in the middle, so the strip makes a U with two tall posts.
  10. Wheel: new sheet. Set the struts aside. Take the small black square, white side up.
  11. Wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to the middle.
  12. Wheel: round it. Fold the four new corners in a little, so the wheel is nearly round.
  13. Top wing: new sheet. Set the wheel aside. Take the longer red piece, white side up, long edge at the bottom.
  14. Top wing: in half. Fold it in half, top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  15. Top wing: shape it. Round the two right corners, the wing's front. Cut a long slant off the top left, so the back edge is thin.
  16. Bottom wing: new sheet. Set the top wing aside. Take the shorter red piece, white side up, long edge at the bottom.
  17. Bottom wing: in half. Fold it in half the same way, top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  18. Bottom wing: shape it. Shape it like the top wing: round front corners on the right, a long slant off the top left.
  19. Propeller: new strip. Set the bottom wing aside. Take the brown strip, white side up, standing upright.
  20. Propeller: in half. Fold the right edge over onto the left edge.
  21. Propeller: round the tips. Round both ends of the propeller with two little cuts each.
  22. Glue it together. Glue the struts on the body, the wheel under them, the wings across the post ends and the propeller on the nose.

Ready for take-off!

Draw a black cockpit behind the top wing, a target on the side, a hub on the wheel and a black spinner on the propeller.

How to fly it

  1. Hold it by the belly and swoop it round the room, making a buzzing engine sound.
  2. Loop the loop over a chair and land it gently on the table.
  3. Hang it from a thread over your bed so it flies all night.

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