SnipFold

Flared-eave Miniature Pagoda

Original two-tier square pagoda with red stacked wall tubes, a structural inner deck and eight folded jade roof panels with sharply flared faceted eaves.

Materials

  • 180-220 gsm cardstock
  • Scissors or craft knife
  • Scoring tool and ruler
  • PVA glue

Finished size: 68 x 68 x 82 mm

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Cut and score

    Print at 100 percent and check the 50 mm ruler. Cut each numbered piece once. Score all dashed folds before assembly. Keep B flat as the 56 mm foundation. Dry-fit each joint before applying a thin film of PVA.

  2. Build tier 1 support

    Join W11, W12, W13, W14 clockwise viewed from above. Fold the right 3 mm seam inward 90 degrees behind the next wall. Fold bottom 4 mm feet inward 90 degrees. Make a 44 mm square, 32 mm high tube. Center its footprint 6 mm from each foundation edge and glue the feet to B. Bend the top 4 mm flanges outward and down 9.46 degrees below horizontal (99.46 degrees from the upward wall). Leave these roof-contact flanges unglued for now. Let wall seams and feet dry square.

  3. Fit the supporting deck

    Fold the four D flaps downward 90 degrees. Set the 44 mm deck flush with the lower wall tops at height 32 mm; glue its four 4 mm flaps against the INSIDE wall faces. Keep wall roof flanges outside. Press through the open top and allow to dry fully before adding the upper tube.

  4. Build tier 2 support

    Join W21, W22, W23, W24 clockwise viewed from above. Fold the right 3 mm seam inward 90 degrees behind the next wall. Fold bottom 4 mm feet inward 90 degrees. Make a 24 mm square, 32 mm high tube. Center its footprint 10 mm inside every D edge; glue its feet to D. This tube starts at height 32 mm and continues through the lower roof opening, supporting the second roof. Bend the top 4 mm flanges outward and down 9.46 degrees below horizontal (99.46 degrees from the upward wall). Leave these roof-contact flanges unglued for now. Let wall seams and feet dry square.

  5. Assemble and seat roof 1

    Join R11, R12, R13, R14 clockwise viewed from above into a square roof. Each right-hand 3 mm corner tab goes under the adjacent panel, separately above and below the eave crease. The upper slope is 50.19 degrees below horizontal outward; the outer eave slope is 9.46 degrees. Valley-fold the eave crease by 40.73 degrees to flare the eaves. Fold the four opening tabs down onto the upper tube walls. Slide the roof over the upper tube: opening 24 mm square at height 44 mm, bend 44 mm square at height 32 mm, eaves 68 mm square at height 30 mm. Glue opening tabs to the upper walls and the underside immediately outside the bend to the lower wall top flanges. Hold corners aligned until tacky, then let dry without loading the eaves.

  6. Assemble and seat roof 2

    Join R21, R22, R23, R24 clockwise viewed from above into a square roof. Each right-hand 3 mm corner tab goes under the adjacent panel, separately above and below the eave crease. The upper slope is 56.31 degrees below horizontal outward; the outer eave slope is 9.46 degrees. Valley-fold the eave crease by 46.85 degrees to flare the eaves. Close the four triangles at their shared apex. Seat the 24 mm square bend on the upper wall rim at height 64 mm; glue the eave undersides to its four top flanges. The 48 mm eave square is at height 62 mm and the apex at 82 mm. Hold corners aligned until tacky, then let dry without loading the eaves.

  7. Dry upright

    Check both roof crease squares sit directly on their corresponding wall rims, with all four support flanges glued beneath the shallow eaves. Allow the foundation, supporting deck and roof seams to dry upright. This is a decorative miniature; do not lift it by a roof.

Notes

The 3D model shows each piece in its finished, idealized shape; the exploded view only spreads the pieces apart. It is not a paper-physics simulation: curved shapes are forming guides, not exact physical folding or proof of developability, and intermediate fold shapes are not supplied.