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How to fold an origami kaiju in the city

A big build from eleven pieces: an upright kite torso, a thick tail curled by three reverse folds, column legs with reversed feet, short arms, horns and a head with a swung-open jaw, plus a lime strip of jagged crystals down its back. Then fold a little city to stomp through: a stepped tower and a block of flats, and stand the whole scene up.

You need: Teal squares: two 15 cm, two 12 cm, an 8 cm and three 5 cm. A 10 x 6.4 cm lime strip, a 12 cm grey-blue square and a 10 cm sand square. Scissors, glue, black and white pens.. Challenge, 65 steps, about 55 minutes.

Steps

  1. Torso: crease the middle. Start with the torso: a 15 cm teal square, white side up, turned like a diamond. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner and open it again.
  2. Torso: make a kite. Fold the two edges by the left corner in so they meet along the middle crease.
  3. Torso: fold over the short point. Fold the short point on the right over to the left, along the line between the two side corners. This edge will be the bottom of the torso.
  4. Torso: fold in half. Fold the bottom half behind along the middle crease, so the flaps stay outside. The long fold is the kaiju's back.
  5. Torso: flat shoulders. Fold the long point behind, 5 cm from its tip, so the top of the torso is flat.
  6. Torso: stand it up. Turn it so the back runs up the left side and the wide end is at the bottom. It's a chunky, pear-shaped body!
  7. Crystals: new sheet. Set the torso aside. Cut a 10 x 6.4 cm strip of lime paper and lay it white side up, long sides at the top and bottom.
  8. Crystals: fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The crystal tips will be on this fold.
  9. Crystals: fold it over. Fold the right end over so it lands 1.5 cm short of the left end. Uneven is good: crystals never grow the same!
  10. Crystals: and over again. Fold the right end over again, so the fold lands 8 mm short of the left end.
  11. Crystals: snip the shards. Snip through all the layers: from the bottom edge halfway along, steeply up to the top fold, then down to the bottom right corner. Then snip the top flap only a little lower, so some shards are shorter.
  12. Crystals: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  13. Crystals: open it out. Unfold the first fold. A row of sharp, jagged crystals stands along the top, no two alike!
  14. Tail: new sheet. Set the crystals aside. Take another 15 cm teal square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  15. Tail: crease the middle. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner and open it again.
  16. Tail: make a kite. Fold the two edges by the left corner in to the middle crease, like the torso.
  17. Tail: fold over the short point. Fold the short point over to the left along the line between the side corners.
  18. Tail: fold in half. This time fold the top half behind, so the long fold runs along the top of the tail.
  19. Tail: hook the tip up. Outside-reverse-fold the tip up and back, on a steep crease from the top fold 7 cm from the tip.
  20. Tail: curl it over. Fold the end of the hook down towards the body, on a slant starting 3.8 cm up its back edge. A big curly tail!
  21. Arm: new sheet. Set the tail aside. Take a 5 cm teal square, white side up.
  22. Arm: fold to the middle. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle.
  23. Arm: fold in half. Fold the right half behind, so the strip is 1.25 cm wide. The fold on the right is the front of the arm.
  24. Arm: bend the elbow. Fold the bottom half forward on a slant, from the front edge just below the middle. A short, strong arm!
  25. Leg: new sheet. Set the arm aside. Take a 12 cm teal square, white side up.
  26. Leg: fold to the middle. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle.
  27. Leg: fold in half. Fold the right half behind. You have a thick 3 cm column; the fold on the right is the front of the leg.
  28. Leg: the foot. Outside-reverse-fold the bottom forward, on a 45° crease 3.6 cm up the front edge, so it sticks out as a big flat foot.
  29. Leg: round the thigh. Fold the two top corners behind, 1.2 cm in, to round the thigh.
  30. Glue torso, tail, crystals, arm. Glue the torso over the leg's thigh. Glue the crystals behind the back, the tail behind the hips with its bottom fold on the table, and the arm behind the chest.
  31. Horns: new sheet. Set the kaiju aside. Take a 5 cm teal square, colour side up, so the horns come out white.
  32. Horns: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge.
  33. Horns: in half again. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge again, making a strip 1.25 cm tall.
  34. Horns: snip the points. Snip each end on a long slant, from the top corner to 2.1 cm in along the bottom, so both ends taper to sharp points.
  35. Horns: bend the V. Fold the right half up and over on a steep slant from the middle of the bottom edge, so the two points spread apart in a V.
  36. Second leg: new sheet. Set the horns aside. Fold a second leg from another 12 cm teal square, white side up.
  37. Second leg: fold to the middle. Fold the left and right edges to the middle.
  38. Second leg: fold in half. Fold the right half behind.
  39. Second leg: the foot. Reverse-fold the bottom forward into a foot, like the first leg.
  40. Second leg: round the thigh. Fold the top corners behind to round the thigh.
  41. Second arm: new sheet. Set the leg aside. Fold a second arm from another 5 cm teal square, white side up.
  42. Second arm: fold to the middle. Fold the edges to the middle.
  43. Second arm: fold in half. Fold the right half behind.
  44. Second arm: bend the elbow. Bend the elbow forward, like the first arm.
  45. Head: new sheet. Set the arm aside. Take an 8 cm teal square, white side up.
  46. Head: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge and crease it well: you will snip along this fold.
  47. Head: open it again. Unfold it back into a square.
  48. Head: flaps to the middle. Fold the top and bottom edges in, each stopping 5 mm short of the middle crease. The white stripe left in the middle will be the teeth.
  49. Head: fold back the end. Fold the left end behind, 2 cm from the edge, for a short, chunky head.
  50. Head: blunt the snout. Fold the top right corner behind on a slant, and the top left corner behind a little, so the head has a blunt, bumpy brow.
  51. Head: snip the mouth. Snip along the middle of the white stripe from the right edge, stopping 1.3 cm from the left edge. The right end is the snout.
  52. Head: open the jaw. Fold the lower jaw towards you on a slant from the end of the snip. The mouth swings wide open: ROAR!
  53. Head: tuck the chin. Fold the corner of the jaw that hangs below the head behind, along the bottom edge of the head.
  54. Glue on head, horns, leg and arm. Glue the head on the shoulders and the horns behind the top of the head, points sweeping back. Glue the second leg on the front of the hips and the second arm on the chest.
  55. Tower: new sheet. Set the kaiju aside: time to build the city! Take a 12 cm grey-blue square, white side up.
  56. Tower: windows stripe. Fold the left and right edges in, each stopping 5 mm short of the middle. The white stripe in the middle is a column of windows.
  57. Tower: fold down the top. Fold the top edge down in front, creasing 4.5 cm below it.
  58. Tower: snip the corners. Snip 1.5 cm in along the top fold from each side, so the sides of the flap come free.
  59. Tower: narrow the flap. Fold the sides of the flap in, 1.5 cm each.
  60. Tower: step up the top. Fold the flap back up on a line 1.5 cm below the roof. Its end pops up above the roof as a narrower top storey.
  61. Block: new sheet. Set the tower aside. Take a 10 cm sand-coloured square, white side up.
  62. Block: fold up. Fold the bottom edge up to 1.5 cm below the top edge. The white band left at the top is a row of windows.
  63. Block: fold the sides behind. Fold the left and right edges behind, 2 cm each, for a neat little block of flats.
  64. Set up the city. Stand the tower on the left, behind the tail tip, and the block of flats on the right, right in front of the kaiju's roaring jaws.
  65. Stand up the city. Stand the whole street up together: the kaiju on its feet and tail, the tower and the block of flats beside it.

Stomp!

Give it a fierce white eye, a nostril and a frown, ink between the fangs and add claws to its toes and hand. Draw windows on the buildings. Now stomp it through your city!

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