Favorite Instructables

Like a lot of paper modelers I started by building regular polygons. Some of my earliest constructions were based on simple equilateral triangles: the Regular Tetrahedron, the simplest 3D object made of 4 triangles, the Regular Octahedron, made with 8 triangles. And of course the Icosahedron, the pinnacle of basic constructions using the humble equilateral triangle.

These basic models whetted my appetite for many delightful and complex models to come. Well apparently there is another modeler out there who yearned to create his own treat and turned the humble triangle into a humble pie. A Pie-Cosahedron that is. Based on a paper model of an icosahedron, he (or perhaps they), created a 20 sided pecan pie. If you don't believe it you can read his post yourself: Modular Pie-Cosahedron

I have been a fan of the Instructables site for some time now. I like the idea that if you can explain something you can post it. And the public gets to give your post a rating. This is a single place you can go to look through many ideas on a wide variety of subjects. You don't have to manage your own website to post a single idea. CD case: The Spiral Data Tato Origami CD Case

And I spotted a few others that I like:
Flower Design Paper CD Case
CD Case from Normal Printer Paper

Here is a couple of quick clever toys made of paper and tape:
Crazy Paper Cylinder
Crazy Paper Cube

HT Racers Wrap Up

I know it has been a few months now, but I wanted to wrap up the "HT Racers" American Inventor post. I have been so busy lately that I had forgotten.

Ricky made it to the top three which was an amazing accomplishment considering the competition! But he unfortunately did not win :( However he did win a contract with Spinmaster toys to further develop and distribute his "HT Racers". So congratulations to Ricky! We hope to see his remote control paper toy "HT Racers" for sale soon!

RC Paper Model Kit Inventor Wins $50,000 on American Inventor!

We just finished watching the ABC American Inventor show from last Wednesday, June 13 (we TiVo). We were surprised to see that one of the entrants was a paper modeler, Ricky DeRennaux, teacher from Oklahoma! His invention was a radio controlled paper model kit with design software! He demonstrated a paper toy car and he pointed out to the judges that the wheels were 100% paper as well. The judges were very impressed so much that he actually won the LosAngeles leg of the contest! He won 50,000 dollars with the chance to go on to the next phase and the chance to win One Million dollars! The 50,000 is given to finalists to further develop their inventions. He was up against some good inventions: lightweight fold-able wheel chair, clamp for children's hearing aids and more. One of the criteria for the judges selections is that the invention has mass market appeal.

His idea is actually not 100% new as I seem to recall a paper model site that did have the idea of RC paper models, but the wheels were not paper. But, he may be the first to market the idea.

Regardless if he is eventually the One million dollar winner he is getting the idea of paper modeling out there to a broader audience!
American inventor is on Wednesdays 9/8 central on ABC.

Here is the clip featuring Ricky and his RC paper toys on YouTube