SnipFold

Curled-tail Seahorse

Original dimensional faceted seahorse with a bent neck, horse head, projecting snout, segmented curl and supplied rear pedestal.

Materials

  • 180 gsm colored card for animal
  • 250 gsm card for base and pedestal
  • PVA glue
  • Scissors or craft knife
  • Scoring tool and ruler
  • Fine tweezers
  • Pencil for eyes

Finished size: 107 x 80 x 167 mm including display base

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Prepare display base

    Use 250 gsm card for BASE and stand. Cut BASE 100 x 80 mm. Its rear edge is y=-48 and front edge y=32; the seahorse faces toward positive x. Keep flat.

  2. Build Rear pedestal

    Lay SL face down. In printed perimeter order, fit S01, S02, S03, S04 to its matching edges. Fold the two 3 mm side lips 90 degrees inward; glue the lower lips to SL. Each short end flap folds to the next edge angle and glues inside that next wall. Work around the open 12 mm deep cavity; press seams with tweezers before proceeding. Dry, then glue SR onto the upper lips, pressing from outside against the dried wall rim. No interior access is required after this last lid.

  3. Anchor the pedestal

    Glue the entire 18 x 12 mm pedestal bottom to BASE, centered left-right, 22 mm forward of the rear edge. Hold square and dry fully. Its front face will contact the rear of the torso over an 18 x 25 mm patch, z=55 to 80. The pedestal stays behind the curled tail with 8 mm clear depth separation.

  4. Build Belly shell

    Lay BL face down. In printed perimeter order, fit B01, B02, B03, B04, B05, B06, B07, B08 to its matching edges. Fold the two 4 mm side lips 90 degrees inward; glue the lower lips to BL. Each short end flap folds to the next edge angle and glues inside that next wall. Work around the open 28 mm deep cavity; press seams with tweezers before proceeding. Dry, then glue BR onto the upper lips, pressing from outside against the dried wall rim. No interior access is required after this last lid.

  5. Mount the belly

    Glue the rear belly panel BL to the pedestal front at y=-14. Align the belly bottom 55 mm above BASE. Use the full 18 x 25 mm contact patch between x=-9 and 9, z=55 and 80. Support upright until dry; the broad base and rear pedestal are supplied paper components, not an invisible wire.

  6. Build Bent neck

    Lay NL face down. In printed perimeter order, fit N01, N02, N03, N04, N05, N06, N07 to its matching edges. Fold the two 3 mm side lips 90 degrees inward; glue the lower lips to NL. Each short end flap folds to the next edge angle and glues inside that next wall. Work around the open 20 mm deep cavity; press seams with tweezers before proceeding. Dry, then glue NR onto the upper lips, pressing from outside against the dried wall rim. No interior access is required after this last lid.

  7. Join the curved neck

    Seat the 18.97 mm neck bottom edge (-2,117) to (16,111) against the matching belly shoulder edge. Center the 20 mm neck on the 28 mm belly depth, leaving 4 mm on each side. Glue the complete edge-wall contact, then dry.

  8. Build Horse head

    Lay HL face down. In printed perimeter order, fit H01, H02, H03, H04, H05, H06, H07 to its matching edges. Fold the two 3 mm side lips 90 degrees inward; glue the lower lips to HL. Each short end flap folds to the next edge angle and glues inside that next wall. Work around the open 22 mm deep cavity; press seams with tweezers before proceeding. Dry, then glue HR onto the upper lips, pressing from outside against the dried wall rim. No interior access is required after this last lid.

  9. Seat the horse head

    Glue the 12.53 mm head edge (1,151) to (12,145) onto the matching neck top wall. Center the 22 mm head over the 20 mm neck: 1 mm overhang each side. The sloping brow and lower jaw face right.

  10. Build Tubular snout

    Lay ML face down. In printed perimeter order, fit M01, M02, M03, M04 to its matching edges. Fold the two 2 mm side lips 90 degrees inward; glue the lower lips to ML. Each short end flap folds to the next edge angle and glues inside that next wall. Work around the open 12 mm deep cavity; press seams with tweezers before proceeding. Dry, then glue MR onto the upper lips, pressing from outside against the dried wall rim. No interior access is required after this last lid.

  11. Attach the snout

    Glue the snout root wall from (31,143) to (37,151), length 10 mm, onto the matching head wall. Center its 12 mm depth on the 22 mm head, leaving 5 mm each side. The tube projects 25 mm diagonally forward; its closed end is a paper muzzle, not a breathing opening.

  12. Build Segmented curled tail

    Lay TL face down. In printed perimeter order, fit T01, T02, T03, T04, T05, T06, T07, T08, T09, T10, T11, T12, T13, T14, T15, T16, T17, T18, T19, T20, T21, T22, T23, T24, T25, T26, T27 to its matching edges. Fold the two 1.5 mm side lips 90 degrees inward; glue the lower lips to TL. Each short end flap folds to the next edge angle and glues inside that next wall. Work around the open 12 mm deep cavity; press seams with tweezers before proceeding. Dry, then glue TR onto the upper lips, pressing from outside against the dried wall rim. No interior access is required after this last lid.

    Show 14 more pieces

  13. Hang the curled tail

    Glue the 10 x 12 mm tail root wall at z=55, x=0 to 10, to the underside of the belly. Center in depth, leaving 8 mm on each side of the belly. The polygonal curl stays 8 mm above the base. Use tweezers on its 1.5 mm lips; close the side lid only after every short segment seam has dried.

  14. Mount the dorsal fin

    Fold FIN flange 90 degrees. Glue its 4 x 25.18 mm flange along the back wall from (-18,78) to (-15,103), centered on y=0 and extending toward y=-4. The scalloped membrane projects backward in the central plane.

  15. Finish and allow to dry

    Draw one small eye on each horse-head side, 8 mm behind the snout root and 6 mm below the brow. Allow all joints to dry overnight on a level surface. Paper is modeled with zero thickness; do not force the tight tail corners. Physical stability and assembly remain to be verified.

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.