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How to fold an origami fire station

A big rescue build. Slit, cut and pleat a brick station with a bell tower, fold its two big doors, a fire truck with a ladder, a firefighter, a hydrant and a spotty dalmatian, then stand it on the driveway.

You need: 18 pieces: 15 cm brick red square, then yellow, white, grey, red, black, blue, navy and skin pieces (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, black and white pens.. Challenge, 57 steps, about 70 minutes.

Steps

  1. Station: crease the tower. Start with the station: a 15 cm brick red square, red side up. Fold the left edge over, creasing 5 cm from it. This strip will be the tower.
  2. Station: open it. Fold the strip back out to the left.
  3. Station: slit the tower. Cut down the crease from the top edge, 5.5 cm long. The tower strip now stands free at the top.
  4. Station: lower the roof. Fold the top right of the square behind, 5 cm down. The tower now stands 5 cm taller than the rest.
  5. Station: the sign band. Fold the new roof edge onto the front by 5 mm, both layers together: a thick cornice along the roof.
  6. Station: tower in half. Fold the tower strip in half, its left edge onto the crease.
  7. Station: point the tower. Cut through both tower layers in a slant, from 2 cm down the crease side up to the top of the fold. A pointed roof.
  8. Station: tower top down. Fold the tower's top down over the front, creasing 3.6 cm below the tip. The bell window goes where this fold meets the side fold.
  9. Station: snip the bell window. Snip the corner where the two folds meet: 6 mm along the top fold and 7 mm down the side fold.
  10. Station: open the tower top. Fold the top of the tower back up.
  11. Station: open the tower. Unfold the tower. A pointed bell tower with a diamond window near the top.
  12. Station: pleat a ledge. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 8 cm below the top of the tower. The white side shows for now.
  13. Station: fold it back down. Fold the flap back down 6 mm higher. The pleat makes a ledge over the doors.
  14. Bell: new sheet. Set the station aside. For the brass bell behind the window, take a 2 × 2.4 cm yellow piece, yellow side up.
  15. Hang the bell. Glue the station on top of the yellow piece, so it shines through the tower's diamond window.
  16. Door 1: new sheet. Set the station aside. For the first big door, take a 4 × 5.6 cm white piece, standing tall.
  17. Door 1: arch the top. Fold the two top corners behind, 6 mm each way, so the top of the door is arched.
  18. Door 2: new sheet. Set the first door aside and take a second 4 × 5.6 cm white piece.
  19. Door 2: arch the top. Fold the two top corners behind, 6 mm each way, so the top of the door is arched.
  20. Hang the doors. Glue both doors on the station under the ledge, bottoms on the bottom edge, with 8 mm of brick between them.
  21. Driveway: new sheet. Set the station aside. For the driveway, take a 27.4 × 3.5 cm grey strip, grey side up, lying long.
  22. Driveway: the kerb. Fold the top edge onto the front by 3 mm: a white kerb along the back of the driveway.
  23. Set the station on the drive. Glue the station behind the driveway, its bottom 8 mm down behind the kerb.
  24. Truck: warning light. Set the scene aside. Now the fire truck. Take a 1 cm blue square for its warning light, blue side up.
  25. Truck: round the light. Fold the two top corners a little way behind, so the light has a round dome.
  26. Truck: body. Set the light aside. Take half a 12 cm red square (12 × 6 cm), red side up, long edge at the bottom.
  27. Truck: fold the bottom behind. Fold the bottom quarter behind.
  28. Truck: windscreen. Fold the top-right corner down in front on a slant. The white triangle is the windscreen, the slant is the front of the cab.
  29. Truck: ladder. Set the body aside. For the ladder, take a 1.8 × 10.5 cm white strip.
  30. Truck: fold the ladder. Fold the strip in half the long way, bottom edge up to the top edge. A stiff, skinny ladder.
  31. Truck: back wheel. Set the ladder aside. For a wheel, take a 3 cm black square, white side up.
  32. Back wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  33. Back wheel: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little, so a small white square shows in the middle: the hubcap.
  34. Back wheel: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so the wheel looks round.
  35. Truck: front wheel. Set the back wheel aside and take the other 3 cm black square, white side up.
  36. Front wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to the middle.
  37. Front wheel: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little for the hubcap.
  38. Front wheel: round it. Fold the four points behind to round it off.
  39. Roll out the truck. Glue the wheels under the body, half showing, the ladder along the roof and the light behind the cab. Park it half out of the right door.
  40. Hydrant: outlets. Set the scene aside. For the hydrant's side outlets, take a 2.6 × 0.6 cm yellow strip, yellow side up.
  41. Hydrant: body. Set the strip aside. For the hydrant, take a 1.6 × 3 cm yellow piece, yellow side up, standing tall.
  42. Hydrant: dome the top. Fold the two top corners behind, 6 mm each way, so the hydrant has a round cap.
  43. Dalmatian: body. Set the hydrant aside. For the dog's body, cut a 3.2 cm black square in half corner to corner. Take one half, white side up.
  44. Dalmatian: the tail. The dog sits facing left. Fold a thin sliver at the right corner up along the slanted edge: its black back is the tail.
  45. Dalmatian: head. Set the body aside. For the head, cut a 2.6 cm black square in half corner to corner. One half, white side up, long edge at the top.
  46. Dalmatian: floppy ears. Fold each side corner down on a slant, from near the middle of the top edge, so it lies along the side. Black floppy ears.
  47. Dalmatian: the chin. Fold the bottom point behind, about a quarter of the way up, ear tips too, to blunt the muzzle.
  48. Firefighter: coat. Set the dog aside. For the firefighter's coat, take a 3.4 × 4 cm navy piece, navy side up, standing tall.
  49. Firefighter: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  50. Firefighter: shoulders and legs. Snip the top open corner off on a slant for a shoulder. Then cut a slim slant up from the bottom of the fold to part the legs.
  51. Firefighter: open it. Open it out: a coat with sloping shoulders and two legs.
  52. Firefighter: face. Set the coat aside. For the face, take a 1.6 × 1.7 cm skin-coloured piece, coloured side up.
  53. Firefighter: round the face. Fold all four corners behind, 4 mm each way.
  54. Firefighter: helmet. Set the face aside. For the helmet, take a 2.4 × 1.3 cm yellow piece, yellow side up, lying long.
  55. Firefighter: dome the helmet. Fold the two top corners behind on a slant, 9 mm along the top and 7 mm down the sides. The bottom corners stay as the brim.
  56. Call the crew. Glue the hydrant's strip behind it and stand it at the left. Sit the dalmatian by the tower, head on top. The firefighter stands by the left door.
  57. Stand it up. Bend the driveway gently towards you between the hydrant and the dog, then stand the whole fire station up on the table.

Ready to roll!

Paint a white sign and write FIRE on it. Draw the bell, door lines, lane dashes and ladder rungs. Give the firefighter stripes, the dog its spots and the hydrant caps.

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