Paper Models of Polyhedra

Gijs Korthals Altes

Polyhedra are beautiful 3-D geometrical figures that have fascinated philosophers,
mathematicians and artists for millennia
Copyrights © 1998-2001 Gijs.Korthals Altes All rights reserved .
It's permitted to make copies for non-commercial purposes only
email: gijs@korthals.altes.net
Paper Models of Polyhedra

Platonic Solids
Dodecahedron
Cube and Tetrahedron
Octahedron
Icosahedron

Archimedean Solids
Cuboctahedron
Icosidodecahedron
Truncated Tetrahedron
Truncated Octahedron
Truncated Cube
Truncated Icosahedron (soccer ball)
Truncated dodecahedron
Rhombicuboctahedron
Truncated Cuboctahedron
Rhombicosidodecahedron
Truncated Icosidodecahedron
Snub Cube
Snub Dodecahedron

Kepler-Poinsot Polyhedra
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
Small Stellated Dodecahedron
Great Icosahedron
Great Dodecahedron

Other Uniform Polyhedra

Tetrahemihexahedron
Octahemioctahedron
Cubohemioctahedron
Small Rhombihexahedron
Small Rhombidodecahedron
S mall Dodecahemiododecahedron
Small Ditrigonal Icosidodecahedron
Great Dodecahedron

Compounds
Stella Octangula
Compound of Cube and Octahedron
Compound of Dodecahedron and Icosahedron
Compound of Two Cubes
Compound of Three Cubes
Compound of Five Cubes
Compound of Five Octahedra
Compound of Five Tetrahedra
Compound of Truncated Icosahedron and Pentakisdodecahedron
Other Polyhedra
Pentagonal Hexecontahedron
Pentagonalconsitetrahedron
Pyramid
Pentagonal Pyramid
Decahedron
Rhombic Dodecahedron
Great Rhombihexacron
Pentagonal Dipyramid
Pentakisdodecahedron
Small Triakisoctahedron
Small Triambic Icosahedron
Polyhedra Made of Isosceles Triangles
Third Stellation of the Icosahedron
Sixth Stellation of the Icosahedron
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron
Eighth Stellation of the Icosahedron
Ninth Stellation of the Icosahedron
Final Stellation of the Icosahedron

Prism and Antiprism

Triangular Prism
Pentagonal Prism
Pe ntagonal Antiprism
Triangular Prism
Octagonal Prism
Octagonal Antiprism
Pentagrammic Prism
Pentagrammic Antiprism
Hexagrammic Prism
Hexagrammic Antiprism
Twisted Rectangular Prism

Kaleidocycles
Hexagonal Kaleidocycle
Octagonal Kaleidocycle
Decagonal Kaleidocycle

Other Paper Models

Cylinder
Tapered Cylinder
Cone
Special Cones
"Matryoska house"
"Matryoska house" 50%
Globe
Chevaux-de-frise
 Dodecahedron

7 11
5

9. 12
2 4
10 6.

8
Dodecahedron
Dodecahedron
Cube

Tetrahedron
 Cube

5 1 2 6

3
4

3 Tetrahedron
2

1
Octahedron
Icosahedron
Cuboctahedron
Icosidodecahedron
Truncated Tetrahedron
Truncated Octahedron
Truncated Cube
Truncated icosahedron
Truncated dodecahedron
Rhombicuboctahedron
Truncated cuboctahedron
Rombicosidodecahedron
Truncated Icosidodecahedron
Snub cube
Snub cube
Right-handed
Snub dodecahedron
Snub dodecahedron
Right-handed
Small Stellated Dodecahedron

On this page a model out

of one piece On the next pages
a model out of six pieces.
Fold the long lines backwards
fold the short lines forwards
1

2
3

4
5

6
 8
Octahemioctahedron
type 1

type 2
7 13

11

5 12

10 1

3 4

14

13
Cubohemioctahedron
Small Rhombidodecahedron
(small version)
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines
Small Rhombidodecahedron
(large version)
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines

A
B

F C

E D
B

A
C

A
D

A
E

A
F

A
 Small dodecahemiododecahedron

Folds the lines between the

triangles forwards. Folds the
other lines backwards.
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
made out of one piece of paper.
Cut the lines between the long
and the short sides of the triangles.
Fold the long lines backwards and
fold the short lines forwards.
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
made out of two pieces of paper.
1
Cut the lines between the long
and the short sides of the triangles.
Fold the long lines backwards and
fold the short lines forwards.
This is piece one. On the next page
is piece two.
1
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
made out of five pieces of paper.
Cut the lines between the long
and the short sides of the triangles.
Fold the long lines backwards and
fold the short lines forwards.
N= Next part P= Previous part

P
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
made out of five pieces of paper.
Cut the lines between the long
and the short sides of the triangles.
Fold the long lines backwards and
fold the short lines forwards.
N= Next part P= Previous part

P
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
made out of five pieces of paper.
Cut the lines between the long
and the short sides of the triangles.
Fold the long lines backwards and
fold the short lines forwards.
N= Next part P= Previous part

P
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
made out of five pieces of paper.
Cut the lines between the long
and the short sides of the triangles.
Fold the long lines backwards and
fold the short lines forwards.
N= Next part P= Previous part

P
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
made out of five pieces of paper.
Cut the lines between the long
and the short sides of the triangles.
Fold the long lines backwards and
fold the short lines forwards.
N= Next part P= Previous part

P
Pentagonale hexacontahedron
 1

2
 3

4
 5

6
 7

8
 9

10
12
Pentagonallconssitetrahedron
Stella Octangula
Type 1
Type 2

Fold lines of type 1

backwards
Fold lines of type 2
forwards
 Fold the lines
with a rightangle
backwards
fold the other
lines forwards

Compound of two
Cubes
Compound of Three Cubes
(Small version)
Fold the dotted liines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards
 Compound of Three Cubes
(Small version)
Fold the dotted liines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

A
C

F G

G
 A

A
 A

A
 A

A
A

G
On this page a compound of five cubes
made of one piece of paper.
On the next pages a compound of five
cubes made of 7 pieces of paper
Instructions:

Cut and fold the piece(s) of paper.

Glue the part without tabs around it last.
This is the top part of piece F. This one
opposites the center part of piece A.

Below an example of a part

Fold forwards

Fold backwards
 B A
B

G
C
C
G

E E
B

A
A
 C

A
A
 E

A
G

A
 Compound of five Octahedra
If you use paper in five different colors
each octahedron has a different color

Color 1

A D
H G

E
R

C I

B U

M d
P F

N O

Y Q

L c

K T
W a S
J

X Z

V b
 Compound of five Octahedra

Color 2

B F
K J

G
W

D
A

C L

N O
Q S

E R

d c

M
P

Y
U T
Z
V X

H b

I a
 Compound of five Octahedra

Color 3

C I
L D

J K

B M

Y
A

O P
R Q

F S

G
N

E
H

X Z
V b
W a

T
d

U c
 Compound of five Octahedra

Color 4

D K
F O

L P

A B

E G

I H
S R

U Q

C
T

J a

X Z
d b

Y c

V M

W N
 Compound of five Octahedra

Color 5

E N
G R

O H

D F

A
B

J C
T V

I U

K a

W S

X d
Y c
Z b

L P

M Q
Pyramids
Pentagonal pyramid
Decahedron
Rhombic Dodecahedron
Great Rhombihexacron

Fold the short lines forwards

Fold the long lines backwards
Pentagonal Dipyramid
 Pentakisdodecahedron
X

X
‘Dodecahedron’

A convex dodecahedron
(not a platonic solid)
constructed of 12
isosceles triangles
Hexakaidecahedron
‘Icosahedron’

A convex icosahedron
(not a platonic solid)
constructed of 20
isosceles triangles
Icositetrahedron
Icosioctahedron
Tricontidihedron
Tricontihexahedron
Tetracontahedron
Hecatohedron
Third Stallation of the Icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

X
X

X
Third Stallation of the Icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

X
X

X
 Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(small version)
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

First glue part A

Glue the parts A-M on A

Part A:

X
X

X
Parts B-M
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large version)
First glue the parts A until F
Glue the 12 other parts on the ABCDEF

B
D

F
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large version)

A
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large version)

A
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large version)

A
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large version)

A
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large version)

A
F
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large)
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large)
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large)
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large)
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large)
Sixth Stallation of the Icosahedron
(large)
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron

A D

B
D

C C

B G

A
G

F F

C I

A
I

H H
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron

D E

A
E

J J

E F

D
F

L L

F B

E
B

N N
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron

G H

B
H

O O

H C

G
C

Q Q

I J

C
J

R R
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron

J D

I
D

K K

K L

J
L

S S

L E

K
E

M M
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron

M N

L
N

T T

N M

O
M

F F

O G

N
G

P P
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron

P Q

O
Q

T T

Q H

P
H

R R

R I

Q
I

S S
Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron

S K

R
K

T T

T P

M
P

S S
Eighth Stellation of the Icosahedron
(Large version)
Lold dotted lines forwards
Fold other lines backwards

B B

D A

F
F
Eighth Stellation of the Icosahedron
(Large version)
Lold dotted lines forwards
Fold other lines backwards

A
Eighth Stellation of the Icosahedron
(Large version)
Lold dotted lines forwards
Fold other lines backwards

A
Eighth Stellation of the Icosahedron
(Large version)
Lold dotted lines forwards
Fold other lines backwards

A
Eighth Stellation of the Icosahedron
(Large version)
Lold dotted lines forwards
Fold other lines backwards

A
Eighth Stellation of the Icosahedron
(Large version)
Lold dotted lines forwards
Fold other lines backwards

F
 Ninth Stellation of the Icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

C F

B A

B A

F C
A F
B C

E G

E G

D K
D K
C F

B C

A A

A A

C D D E

D E

H I

H I

G H
G H
B C

D E

A A

A A
E F
F B

F B

J K

J K

I J
I J
D E
 K L

B G

B G

C C
G C
H C

H D

H D

L I
L I
K L

H F

D K

D K

I E J L

E L

J I

J I

L E
L E
H F

G K

B G

B G
K L
F H

F H

J I

J I

L J
L J
G K
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

A B

F D

E
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

B A

C K

G
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

C A

D G

H
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

D A

E H

I
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

E A

F I

J
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

F A

B J

K
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

G B

C L

H
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

H C

D L

I
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

I D

E L

J
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

J E

F L

K
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

K F

B L

G
Final Stellation of the icosahedron
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards

L G

H J

I
Triangular prisms
Pentagonal Prism
Pentagonal Antiprism
Octagonal Prism
Octagonal Antiprism
Pentagrammic Prism
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards
Pentagrammic Antiprism
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards
Hexagrammic Prism
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards
Hexagramic Antiprism
Fold the dotted lines forwards
Fold the other lines backwards
Twisted rectangular prism (45 degrees)
Twisted rectangular prism (90 degrees)
Twisted rectangular prism (+ 45 -45 degrees)
caleidocyclus
Caleidocyclus 8
Caleidocyclus 10
Cylinder
 Tapered Cylinder

x 2 2
l= r + h

c=2 r1

x = 360.2. . l /c
d=c.n/l

r1 r1 = radius
r2 = radius
r2
c = circumference of circle 1
d = circumference of circle 2
x =angel of the part of the large circle
l = radius of the large circle
h = height of the cone
i = heigt of the tapered cylinder
= pi = 3.1415
Cone

x 2 2
l= r + h

c=2 r

x = 360.2. . l /c

r = radius
c = circumference of the circle
r x =angel of the part of the large circle
l = radius of the large circle
h = height of the cone
= pi = 3.1415
Asymetric Cone
Square Cone
Square Cone
Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

noordelijke, oostelijke muur huis en de bodem

north, east wall of the house and the floor

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

dakkapel

dormer-window

zuidelijke en westelijke muur huis

south and west wall house

 paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

(uitsnijden / cut-out)

onderkantdak plus twee zijden

two sides of the roof

place
dormer-
window
 onderkant dak/
bottom roof
fits around walls
don't glue roof on the
walls

Twee zijden dak

Two sides of the roof

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

 Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

dakkapel

dormer-window

zuidelijke en westelijke muur huis

south and west wall house

noordelijke, oostelijke muur huis en de bodem

north, east wall of the house and the floor

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

dakkapel

dormer-window

zuidelijke en westelijke muur huis

south and west wall house

noordelijke, oostelijke muur huis en de bodem

north, east wall of the house and the floor

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

dakkapel

dormer-window

zuidelijke en westelijke muur huis

south and west wall house

noordelijke, oostelijke muur huis en de bodem

north, east wall of the house and the floor

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

Paper Colour 1/ papier kleur1

dakkapel

dormer-window

zuidelijke en westelijke muur huis

south and west wall house

noordelijke, oostelijke muur huis en de bodem

north, east wall of the house and the floor

 paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

onderkant dak/
bottom roof
fits around walls
don't glue roof on the
walls

(uitsnijden / cut-out)

onderkantdak plus twee zijden

two sides of the roof

place
dormer-
window

Twee zijden dak

Two sides of the roof

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

onderkant dak/
bottom roof
fits around walls
don't glue roof on the
walls

(uitsnijden / cut-out)

onderkantdak plus twee zijden

two sides of the roof

place
dormer-
window

Twee zijden dak

Two sides of the roof

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

onderkant dak/
bottom roof
fits around walls
don't glue roof on the
walls

(uitsnijden / cut-out)

onderkantdak plus twee zijden

two sides of the roof

place
dormer-
window

Twee zijden dak

Two sides of the roof

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

onderkant dak/
bottom roof
fits around walls
don't glue roof on the
walls

(uitsnijden / cut-out)

onderkantdak plus twee zijden

two sides of the roof

place
dormer-
window

Twee zijden dak

Two sides of the roof

paper colour 2 / papier kleur 2

Globe
 3 1
3
1 2 2

3 1
3
1 2 2

3 1
3
1 2 2

3 1
3 1 3
3 1 2 2

1 2 2

3 1
3
1
2 2

3 1
3
1 2 2
3 1
3
1 2 2
Large Chevaux-de-frise
The other two parts are on the next two pages

1 1
1

2 2
3

2 2