The Scaled Octahedron is yet another modular origami that I have had the pleasure to work on, in recent days. It is not the easiest piece that I have made, mainly because of all the different size square that are needed.

The one that I have made required a total of 24 squares and 12 rectangles. The 24 squares were converted into 6 pyramids of 4 levels each. The number of levels in the pyramids can be changed as desired - in multiples of 4. So instead of 4 levels, one can also do the same with 5 per pyramid or even with just 3 levels per pyramid. The number of rectangles remain the same - these are the units needed to connect the various pyramids together.

The size of square paper for making the pyramidal modules change for each level. If we assume 'x' is the side of the smallest level, then the side of the next level is 1.5x. Followed by 2x, 2.5x and so on. So in my case, I started with 2 inches squares, 3 inches, 4 inches and 5 inches. The rectangular connectors have one side that is the same as the largest square (5 inches in my case), the other size is a quarter of this side. For me, this was 1.25 inches. A total of 12 rectangles are needed.

Folding the individual modules is fairly easy. Assembly is a little more challenging. It is better to use printer or copy paper for this model. For one - it is firmer which makes assembly a lot easier. And for another, the back of the paper is also visible, which means the white part of single-sided paper will be seen and that is not a very pretty sight for this model.

Model Details:

Model: Scaled Octahedron 

Creator: Laura Azcoaga

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: Squares and Rectangles

Paper Size: 2 inches, 3 inches, 4 inches and 5 inches squares + 5 inches * 1.25 inches rectangles

Model Size: ~8 inches across

Modules: 36

Instructions: Origami Modular en Argentina

Tutorial: Youtube