Brachiosaurus Skeleton (part two)

(Click to enlarge image)

This is my semi-complete take on Fumiaki Kawahata's Brachiosaurus skeleton. For added realism I have rested its head on a tin of Benson & Hedges cigarettes, no doubt very similar to the ones that drove the Brachiosaurus species to extinction, roughly 146 million years ago, during the early Cretaceous Period.

Having assembled small sections of the skeleton I found that, while most of the pieces of slot together quite well, it doesn't take a lot to separate them. There are also some problematic areas, such where the front legs join with the rib cage; these won't stay in place at all. For the model to have any kind of structural integrity it needs to be glued together.

Another not entirely unforeseen problem is that the neck won't support its own weight. I am going to get around this by securing a length of stiff wire along its underside. I will probably do likewise with the tail.

The leg in the foreground is a mock-up. I folded it very quickly just to get an idea of how tall the finished model would be (just under 10 inches). When I refold it I will try to bring out the shape of the bones and attempt to make the toes appear a little more skeletal than they are in the design.

Brachiosaurus Skeleton (part one)

(Click to enlarge image)

The majority of origami models begin their existence as uncut squares of paper. Complex dinosaur skeletons (like the one above, designed by Fumiaki Kawahata) differ in that they are modular creations, assembled from many pieces, all of which are folded separately.

The neck section of this Brachiosaurus incorporates 13 small squares of paper of varying sizes (6-8cms) - one for the skull and one for each of the 12 vertebrae. The completed skeleton uses 45 squares. The finished pieces seem to slot together quite well. I am cautiously optimistic that I can assemble the model without resorting to glue.