Scales!

[Folderp]

I do have one problem with scales at the moment. Is there any way to turn the pleated sections coming out of the scales - like at the bottom of the image - into flat, unpleated paper?
Scales by Folderp, on Flickr
I can't seem to figure out any way to do so.

[sable7]

Hey folderp—

I don't have very much experience folding scales but I can offer some advice from what experience I do have. I believe (I'm not positive about this) that you should be able to unpleat a section below the scales as long as, when completely flattened, the unpleated paper is only as wide as the section of scales. Here is a *somewhat* related example that I'm partially basing this statement on. For a new project I'm working on, I have a section where scales (I call them scales, it's just an extremely simple hexagon tesselation) transitions to simple horizontal pleats. Here's an image of the front and the back:



Of course, it's a different situation, but you can see that through a somewhat messy but symmetrical process, I was able to flatten the transition. This is a transition between two very different patterns, but I believe it works because they are the same width.

So, what you could *possibly* do is create a somewhat large pleat (horizontally from the angle you took the picture) and try spreading the pleats and collapsing similarly to how I did. I don't think this will immediately work, but I think that if you play around with stuff like that you might ultimately find success.

[NeverCeaseToCrease]

No, I'm pretty sure there's no way to simply make them disappear . However, for each horiziu pleat you add, each vertical pleat can move one unit to the left or right. With enough horizontal pleats, you can move the vertical pleats all the way to the edge of the paper.

I'm assuming you're trying to integrate theses scales into a larger box pleated model, so it'd be better to line up the eats with the rest of the model instead of trying to disappear them. Robert j Lang has a technique called a comb that might help.

[Tankoda]

You can kind of elias stretch them out of existence, but the paper below will be wider than the paper above. This may work on a test sheet, but usually won't for full models

[Folderp]

You can kind of elias stretch them out of existence, but the paper below will be wider than the paper above. This may work on a test sheet, but usually won't for full models

How exactly do you do that? And you do mean that the used-to-be-pleated section will be wider than the scaled section? Because that's what I was wondering if you could do.

[Baltorigamist]

What you're looking for is something which is effectively a "scale transition." As has been said already, there's no way to get the pleats to disappear completely. However, you can manipulate them by way of Elias stretches to distribute them in a way that's more to your liking.
My advice is to study some crease patterns for models that use scales (the Ryu Zin or Shuki Kato's Zoanoid Dragon would be a good starting point) and learn how they work.

[Froy]

There might be a way.

I'm thinking on the legs of the 3.5 Ryujin. If you have access to the CP check how the paper is arranged to to create the pleats that form the scales.

Hard to explain just with words and not showing the CP.

[Folderp]

Ok, sounds fine.

[Baltorigamist]

From what I've seen of scaled crease patterns, most of them have a set of pleats going down the middle (between the scaled sections). Is there an efficient way to eliminate that while also integrating double-width pleats?