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How to fold an origami quad bike

Cut a green strip into fenders, reverse-fold a black strip into handlebars, fold four fat wheels and pleat a strip of brown mud to ride on.

You need: Green paper 27 × 8 cm, four 8.5 cm black squares, a black strip 8 × 3 cm, a black scrap, a brown strip 34 × 5 cm, scissors and glue. Hard, 25 steps, about 40 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. Start white side up, long side across. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge, so the strip is green on both sides.
  2. Cut the fenders. Cut the front top corner off on a long slant for the front fender, and snip the front bottom and both back corners round.
  3. Handlebar: new sheet. Set the body aside. Take the black strip, white side up.
  4. Handlebar: edges in. Fold both long edges in to meet along the middle.
  5. Handlebar: in half. Mountain-fold it in half the long way. Now it is a thin post, black inside and out.
  6. Handlebar: grip. Outside-reverse-fold the top 2.5 cm back, wrapping it round the post, so it points to the seat. That's the handlebar grip.
  7. Seat: new sheet. Set the handlebar aside. Take the black scrap for the seat.
  8. Seat: shape it. Snip the back top corner round, and cut the front on a slant so it slopes down to the handlebar.
  9. Far wheels: new sheet. Set the seat aside. Take a black square, black side up, for a wheel on the far side.
  10. Far wheels: round it. Fold the four corners a little way behind, so it looks round.
  11. Far wheels: last one. Set it aside. Take another black square, black side up.
  12. Far wheels: round it too. Fold its four corners behind the same way.
  13. Back wheel: new sheet. Set the far wheel aside. Take a third black square, white side up.
  14. Back wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  15. Back wheel: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little, so a white square shows in the middle. That's the hub.
  16. Back wheel: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so the fat wheel looks round.
  17. Front wheel: new sheet. Set the back wheel aside and take the last black square, white side up.
  18. Front wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to the middle.
  19. Front wheel: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little for the hub.
  20. Front wheel: round it. Fold the four points behind to round it off.
  21. Mud: new sheet. Set the front wheel aside. Take the long brown strip, brown side up.
  22. Mud: fold up. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 3 cm below the top edge.
  23. Mud: fold back down. Fold it back down on a crease 8 mm higher, making a pleat: a ridge of churned-up mud.
  24. Mud: round it. Round both top corners in small snips.
  25. Build the quad. Glue the far wheels just behind and ahead of the near ones, the body over all four, the handlebar behind the front and the seat on top. Set it in the mud.

Muddy fun!

Draw a headlight, a black footrest and a white flash on the side. Bump it over a pile of books like a muddy hill!

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