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How to fold an origami ladder fire engine

Fold a red strip and reverse-fold its front up as the cab. Fold a grey strip into a ladder with rails and pleated rungs, raise it over the cab and add two folded wheels.

You need: Red paper 25 × 10 cm, grey paper 26 × 3 cm, two 5 cm black squares, glue and a white pen. Hard, 25 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Edges to the middle. Start white side up. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet along the middle.
  2. Fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the middle, so the top half goes behind. Now it is a long thick strip, red on both sides.
  3. Cab. Outside-reverse-fold the short front end straight up, on a 45° crease from the bottom edge, wrapping it round the strip.
  4. Windscreen. Fold the top front corner of the cab behind on a slant, for a sloping windscreen.
  5. Ladder: new strip. Set the truck aside. Take the grey strip, white side up.
  6. Ladder rails. Fold the top and bottom edges in, leaving a white gap along the middle. The grey bands are the rails.
  7. Rung: fold over. Near the right end, fold the left part over to the right, all layers together.
  8. Rung: fold back. Fold it straight back a little further along, leaving a narrow pleat across. That's a rung.
  9. Rung: fold over. A hand's width to the left, fold the left part over again.
  10. Rung: fold back. Fold it back a little further along for the second rung.
  11. Rung: fold over. Same again a hand's width further left.
  12. Rung: fold back. Fold it back for the third rung.
  13. Rung: fold over. Same again a hand's width further left.
  14. Rung: fold back. Fold it back for the fourth rung.
  15. Rung: fold over. And once more, near the left end.
  16. Rung: fold back. Fold it back for the last rung.
  17. Back wheel: new sheet. Set the ladder aside. Take a black square, white side up.
  18. Back wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  19. Back wheel: hub. Fold each point back out a little, so a small white square shows in the middle.
  20. Back wheel: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so it looks round.
  21. Front wheel: new sheet. Set the back wheel aside and take the other black square, white side up.
  22. Front wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  23. Front wheel: hub. Fold each point back out a little, so a small white square shows in the middle.
  24. Front wheel: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so it looks round.
  25. Build the fire engine. Glue the truck over the front wheel. Glue the ladder's foot on the back, tilted up over the cab, and the back wheel under the ladder's foot.

Nee-naw!

Draw a white window on the cab and a white stripe along the side. Race to the rescue!

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