How to fold an origami scorpion
Five pieces. Pleat a low body, pleat and turn a doubled strip three times so the tail curls up and over, cut two claws, snip a comb of eight legs and glue it together.
You need: Amber paper: a 9 × 3 cm piece, a 2 × 10.5 cm strip, two 2.5 × 5 cm pieces and a 6 × 4 cm band; scissors, glue and a black pen. Hard, 28 steps, about 35 minutes.
Steps
- Body: pleat. Lay the 9 × 3 cm piece across, coloured side up. Fold the right end over to the left on a crease 3.3 cm from the left end.
- Body: fold it back. Fold it back to the right on a crease 3 mm further left. The little step is the back edge of the head shield.
- Body: cut the hump. Keep the bottom edge straight. Round off the head end, cut the top into a low hump and round the tail end down to the bottom.
- Tail. Set the body aside. Take the 2 × 10.5 cm strip, white side up, lying across.
- Tail: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge, coloured side out. The tail is now 1 cm wide.
- Tail: pleat. Fold the right end over to the left on a crease 8.7 cm from the left end.
- Tail: and back. Fold it back on a crease 3 mm further left. The step marks off the round sting bulb at the end.
- Tail: cut the sting. Round the end: curve the open top edge down to a sharp point on the folded bottom edge. That point is the sting.
- Tail: turn it up. 3.2 cm from the left end, fold the rest of the tail up and to the right on a slanting crease, so it rises steeply.
- Tail: turn it over. 2.1 cm further along, fold the rest over to the left on a slant, so it points up and a little back.
- Tail: turn it down. 2 cm further on, fold it over once more so the bulb points left and down, with the sting hooking over the body.
- The front pincer. Set it aside. Take a 2.5 × 5 cm piece, coloured side up, standing tall, for the front pincer.
- Pincer: fold in half. Fold it in half the long way, right edge onto the left edge.
- Pincer: cut the claw. Snip the top corner off the folded edge, 1.5 cm down, for the gap in the claw. Round the open side out into a fat claw, then taper it to a thin arm.
- Pincer: open it. Open it flat: a fat claw with two pointed fingers on a thin arm.
- The back pincer. Set it aside. Take a 2.5 × 5 cm piece, coloured side up, standing tall, for the back pincer.
- Pincer: fold in half. Fold it in half the long way, right edge onto the left edge.
- Pincer: cut the claw. Snip the top corner off the folded edge, 1.5 cm down, for the gap in the claw. Round the open side out into a fat claw, then taper it to a thin arm.
- Pincer: open it. Open it flat: a fat claw with two pointed fingers on a thin arm.
- Legs. Set the pincer aside. Take the 6 × 4 cm band, coloured side up, lying across.
- Legs: fold in half. Fold the band in half, left edge onto the right edge.
- Legs: in half again. Fold it in half again the same way, right edges over onto the left fold.
- Legs: and again. Fold it in half once more. It is 7.5 mm wide and eight layers thick.
- Legs: cut a point. Through all eight layers, cut both long edges in to a thin point at the bottom middle, starting 3 mm below the top.
- Legs: open once. Unfold the last fold.
- Legs: open again. Unfold the next fold.
- Legs: open flat. Unfold it flat: a comb of eight pointed legs hanging from a strip.
- Glue it together. Glue the body over the top of the comb. Glue the tail's base behind the back end, curling up, and both pincers behind the head, pointing forward.
Tail up, pincers ready!
Draw two eyes on top of the head shield and a few lines across the back for its body segments.