Peter Engel Scorpion

[PaperMaverick]

Hello, All,

A few months back I started Engel's scorpion from Folding the Universe. I got to step 42 and stopped because the paper I was using was too thick. I started again using some Hello Kitty wrapping paper which seemed thin enough, however, this afternoon I'm seeing that another attempt will be necessary with thinner paper...if that doesn't work, I will use air next time...if that doesn't work I will take a deep breath and then head to Michael's to take up rubber stamping as a hobby.

Paper thickness aside, I am stuck on step 42, 43 and 44...I've made good folds up until this step however I'm not seeing the legs Engel refers to in step 42...on one side of my model it goes triangle flap, possible legs, possible legs, possible legs and then there is this big thick layer of stuff which even the bionic man could not fold into a set of legs. If I flip the model over it goes triangle flap, possible legs and thinner possible legs and then the big thick layer of stuff...so in all there are 6 possible sets of legs with varying thickness.

Where are these mandibles he's talking about? Are all possible sets of legs supposed to be reasonably thin or is one set supposed to be thick and ungainly like on my model-in-progress?

Assuming I haven't made a folding error and just need thinner paper, how the heck are you supposed to fold the flaps to make mandibles? There is a huge gap between the diagram for step 43 and 44 and even though as origamists we're supposed to be good at filling in the gaps, this one has beaten me into submission and is laughing.

Michael

[maddoghoek100]

it has been quite a while since i have done this model, but i will go back and take a look.

As to paper thickness, this model works best with tissue foil in my experience, you can jump on happy folding to watch a video on how to make tissue foil if you have never done so. I think you will like the result a lot better. Large tracing paper might also work if you are looking for something more easily available.

This was the first complex origami book i ever bought and i started with wrapping paper as well. I was constantly struggling with it to make the knight on horseback and other models. Tissue foil solved all those problems.

[PaperMaverick]

Thanks for the reply...let me know what you remember about the model.

[maddoghoek100]

Well i went back and remade it and for the life of me could not rememner what I did there the first time. I just skipped the steps and shaped the head and it looks very satisfactory. Now having done it twice i would stress TISSUE FOIL. I used some double tissue i had lying around and to get presentaion quality will take quite a bit of MC.

[enewel3]

Paper thickness aside, I am stuck on step 42, 43 and 44...I've made good folds up until this step however I'm not seeing the legs Engel refers to in step 42...on one side of my model it goes triangle flap, possible legs, possible legs, possible legs and then there is this big thick layer of stuff which even the bionic man could not fold into a set of legs. If I flip the model over it goes triangle flap, possible legs and thinner possible legs and then the big thick layer of stuff...so in all there are 6 possible sets of legs with varying thickness.

Where are these mandibles he's talking about? Are all possible sets of legs supposed to be reasonably thin or is one set supposed to be thick and ungainly like on my model-in-progress?

I also got stuck here. It's been almost a decade since you posted, but thought I'd offer some guidance for Googler's who wind up here.

From the top:
- triangle flap
- possible legs => yes, legs!
- possible legs => yes, legs!
- possible legs => yes, legs!
- flap that is too think to be legs => and yet these too are legs! Hard to fold indeed!
- thinnest possible legs => here are the mandibles!
- possible legs => nope, those are the claws!
- triangle flap.

Taking the mandibles in step 43, you will notice that there are four plies of paper—what you would obtain if a simple mountain fold was then given an inside reverse fold. The action of step 43 will tend to undo that inside reverse fold, pushing the central two plies outward. However, it is impossible to completely "open" that inside reverse fold, and attempting to do so will create new creases. I got luck by starting to push out the hidden paper near the tip of the mandible, and slowly moving up the mandible toward the body coaxing in paper out. Eventually it can't come out more, since it is in conflict with the rest of the inside reverse fold that disappears into the body. Take it as far as it can go, and then newly created creases will reconcile the distil part of the manidble (where paper is pulled out) with the proximal part where the inside reverse fold remains and disappears into the body. pinching the mandibles flat starting from the tip and working toward the body will help find a natural place for the new creases to land. It does end up matching what is drawn in 44.

Hope this helps someone!

[enewel3]

Initially I got stuck on steps (41,42,43), but since I managed to get past it now, I've posted some guidance (see previous post). Now I am stuck on step 51. Here we are told to pull out some loose paper to form the claws. While my claws do have multiple plies that I guess could be pulled out, I cannot figure out how to do it. In step 52, that part of the model does not seem to have changed visually much, so I am not sure what is actually supposed to be hapenning. Clearly it has a major effect, though, because when I continue with the model, I find that my claws are tiny compared to other finished models I've seen in the book and posted around.

Can anyone offer any clues about how step 51 works? Can you describe where the "hidden" paper comes from, or how the claws end up getting so much bigger? Why does step 52 show that area of the model essentially unchanged, when apparently there is quite a lot of paper that has been freed (based on the fact that finished claws are so much bigger).

Another clue is that my claws cannot open at the ends, whereas Engel's instructions show that there are two mini tips that can be spread appart. My claws have only one tip, and I don't see how it can become two tips as a result of step 51.

Any clues would be appreciated!