Papercraft Bumblebee (Prototype)

Intro

For my papercraft project, I set out to create an inspired papercraft based on a Transformer, more specifically a 1984 G1 minibot Bumblebee. I knew from the start whichever object I chose was not gonna be super simple, which is why this prototype took longer to manifest than usual due to unforeseen engineering and design issues that I did not account for. 

Description

A little on why I chose this object. I personally don't hold much emotional attachment to objects in the sense of importance, but I do have several objects I'm attached to for nostalgic reasons(Which is weird cause I wasn't even born when the original figure was released). Regardless I needed to narrow down what object I would use, and landing on 'Transformer' didn't help because I have hundreds. Finally, I decided though to use Bumblebee from the original 1980s cartoon(Fun fact, at least for me, Transformers, specifically 'Bee, were actually not Transformers. They were imported from Japan, from a line called Micro Change!) 

Now as for the papercraft, at first I was intending to just make a model car or robot, not both, but I decided it would be a better challenge(And more fun!) to make a transforming robot. Turns out though, despite the incredibly simple transformation and design, the malleability and weightless nature of paper are both a blessing and a curse.

Challenges & Continuing Thoughts

Lots of challenges came up while actually putting the 'figure' together, some which were frustratingly unexpected and others 

which were a result of my lack of testing(Which I guess I wouldn't have seen till I built it). The biggest issue by far was trying to fold the shapes. Particularly the car parts. Due to how I had constructed the 'shell' for the body, I couldn't actually put the two halves reliably together. I had no way of getting inside. I did resolve it partially by using clear scotch tape on the nonvisible parts(With one exception) but even then so many triangles needing to be glued resulted in the slightest movement of the frame making it separate. The next issue was not the biggest problem on my hands but certainly irritating. The wheel arches essentially had no way of being attached and the tabs I added helped barely if at all. Again this was due to the 'shell' being complex informs and not having a way of getting in. Finally, just when I thought nothing worse could happen, the transformation did not work, at least not fully. The intention was to have the legs and arms extend, easy peasy right? I tested in Rhino, it worked, lit, everything is good. Turns out: A) The leg panels were not proportioned correctly(Some panels were smaller than the others and thus could not fold properly), but I made work and will fix them for the final real easily, B) The arms and legs are too short to be noticeable, or in the legs case, long enough to allow for the feet to fold up. The transformation was definitely on the right track, but still in need of tweaks to the proportions. Also in need of proportion adjustment is the body because while the original had a round belly, my version is just too big.

Finals Points & Good Ending Vibes

Though that is a lot of issues(or at least I think so), I want to end on a good note. The overall silhouette I'm actually happy with in terms of the curves and especially with how the layering of the feet turned out. I did add faux-windows, just to get a check on my proportions and I am kind of happy with that. Despite my frustrations, I actually really had fun figuring out the first iteration of the 'figure'. I definitely have several fixes set to go into the model. Relocation of certain tabs. Sizing. Adding panels to make the 'shelling' process more plausible. 

And along with the fixes, there are some little things I now want to try to incorporate into the final like spinning wheels(Which I may be forced to figure out due to the way the feet will need to transform), maybe try to get more PoAs(Points of Articulation) into the arms and legs.