SnipFold

Faceted Blue Whale

An original broad-headed whale with a closed octagonal tapered hull, white belly, swept flippers, horizontal notched flukes and fitted paper display pedestal.

Materials

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

Finished size: 164 x approximately 123 x 60 mm, including pedestal and flippers

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Cut and score at actual size

    Print at 100%; measure the 50 mm ruler. Cut each numbered piece once. Score all tab roots and panel diagonals. Ease the diagonal creases only enough to seat the adjoining seams; these make the changing oval sections without stretching. Planar pedestal diagonals remain flat. Body panels B01-B08 run nose to shoulder (28 mm); B09-B16 shoulder to waist (57 mm); B17-B24 waist to tail (55 mm). Tabs are 4 mm deep except the short tail seams, where they are proportionally narrower. Labels list the receiving panel IDs.

    Show 12 more pieces

  2. Close the broad head

    Arrange B01-B08 in numerical order around the axis, white B01 underneath; adjacent long seams join in sequence, with B08 returning to B01. Fold tabs inward and glue behind the panel named on each label. Use B25 as the nose cap: 44 mm wide, 38 mm high, with its longer horizontal edges at top and bottom. Glue B01-B08 front tabs behind B25. The shoulder opening must be 60 mm wide by 48 mm high. Dry before extending the body.

  3. Join the tapering middle

    Attach B09 behind B01, B10 behind B02, continuing through B16 behind B08, using the rear tabs on the head panels. Close the eight middle longitudinal seams in numerical order. Keep the white B09 belly below. The rear opening measures 46 mm wide by 36 mm high. Seat seams edge-to-edge; the entire tab goes behind its receiver, not into a gap.

  4. Close the narrow tail stock

    Join B17-B24 to B09-B16 respectively. Close the longitudinal seams around the tail stock. Before the final seam sets, tuck B26 onto the rear tabs to close the 12 x 8 mm octagonal end. The shell is 140 mm long; all 26 panels now form a closed hull. Let the glue dry fully.

  5. Build the fitted pedestal

    S01 is the 46 x 44 mm bottom. Fold its tabs up into S02-S05, then join the four side seams. Close with S06, the 30 x 24 mm sloping top. Its low edge is 13.26 mm above the table, high edge 16.42 mm. Dry on a flat surface. Center the white B09 belly on S06: the support runs from 40 to 70 mm behind the nose, with the high edge toward the tail. Apply a thin glue film to S06 and secure the belly; hold without crushing.

  6. Fit the swept flippers

    FR attaches to B11, FL to B15. Each 20 mm root starts 45 mm behind the nose, at height 30 mm above the table, and follows the side taper rearward. Glue the 4 mm root tab upward on the side panel, then fold the blade outward and 22 degrees below horizontal (112 degrees from the upward tab). Keep both tips clear of the table. Allow to dry supported.

  7. Add horizontal tail flukes

    Fold T at its 7.2 mm wide root. Glue the 6 mm tab forward onto dorsal panel B21, centered on its narrow rear edge. The tab follows the back slope, about 14.3 degrees above the horizontal fluke plane. Flukes extend 24 mm aft of the tail stock at height 40 mm; their 72 mm span lies horizontally, with the center notch facing backward.

  8. Place eyes and finish

    Glue ER to B03 and EL to B07. Eye centers are 15 mm behind the nose and 38 mm above the table. Use the pedestal to keep the whale level while all seams cure. The pedestal is part of the display; do not balance the shell on its flippers.

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.