tuna
is the first model I ever made. I thought it would be fun to scan in
the pattern and print an enlarged version, hence, the two sizes. It's not unreasonable to think of
making life-sized models.
This
tuna
is the first model I ever made. I thought it would be fun to scan in
the pattern and print an enlarged version, hence, the two sizes. It's not unreasonable to think of
making life-sized models.
I find it amazing how the designers are able to work with the paper to replicate the complex
shapes of the subject animals. Here is a
Hammerhead Shark.
Even these
relatively simple models require a lot of painstaking cutting, folding, and glueing. If not
precisely assembled, the various parts will end up not fitting together well.
The pattern for this 
Emperor Penguin was downloaded from this
site for the Epson Aqua Stadium in Tokyo.
I've found the biggest selection of patterns to be at the
Tokyu Hands store in Shinjuku, but even those seem to be a small subset of all the patterns
Kei Craft has ever made.
By far the most complicated model I've made so far is the 
Galapagos Tortoise. There were 18 pieces in all, and I probably spent
about 3 hours cutting them out and 7 hours assembling them. There were quite a few tricky re-entrant
folds, and the instructions were quite vague on how some of the pieces were supposed to come out.
This kit was printed on 3 sheets and cost Y1000.