Did you ever want to create your own (model) phone? But you don't want a "normal" phone?

What about a phone that hasn't been released yet?

The Galaxy Fold is the 3rd unveiled foldable smartphone in the world. It can be folded over 200,000 times. Although this paper model will last a few less folds than that, you can make your own and show it off to your friends! Well, until they look a little closer of course.

But until Samsung officially releases the Fold, this is the closest we'll get to actually having one..

So let's get going!

(Before we start, I apologize for the extreme uses of bold words and CAPITAL words. Or BOTH. But this project is very very very easy to screw up, and the emphasis I put are on very important, easy-to-fail bits. Please listen carefully and think before you paste.)

Step 1: Ingredients

So, this thing not only folds, but it has two screens and a triple-lens camera. What a beast. It also coincidentally makes this a little more complicated than making (say) a Note 9.

For the ingredients, you need:

1. OHP Film: OHP film stands for Overhead Projector Film, and it's a transparent film that can be printed on. It is also called "Transparency Film". It's not exactly necessary, but if you want to make your phone look more realistic (and not just a slab of paper), you will want to have this. MAKE SURE THAT THE OHP FILM IS PRINTABLE. If you have a laser printer, you will need to purchase a laser-printable film. If your printer is Inkjet, you need to purchase Inkjet film. Some printers may not be able to print on OHP film. (I will include a step on what to do if your printer cannot print on OHP film.)

2. 1mm-thick cardboard: I got my supply from boxes of Dress Shirts.
The cardboard does not need to be this thick. (But NEVER use thicker cardboard! That makes the whole thing look sloppy and hard to put together. A cereal box will work fine.) Thick cardboard is difficult to bend (as it can break), but having it thick makes the whole model feel more solid, and holds the shape much better than thinner cardboard. DO NOT use paper. It's not a substitutable thing.

3. Adhesive Label (Sticker) Sheets: Adhesive Label Sheets have adhesive on the back, so you can print on it, cut it out, peel it, and affix it without the need for glue or tape. This is not necessary (You can use normal paper if you don't have it), but it makes the job much easier and prevents creasing from glue marks. Make sure that the sheet is an entire sheet, not split into small sections (for labels)!

4. 160gsm paper: You don't need this. It's used only for the hinge, and may be replaced with the cardboard. But if you have it, use it. It's useful for other projects (like making cards), so you can choose to buy it if you'd like.

5. Glue and tape: If you're using Adhesive label sheets, you don't need to use too much glue (You'll still probably need a little!) I used superglue (for particularly stubborn sides that refused to get attached) and school glue for certain bits. (You can omit the school glue. It's not vital.) You can also substitute tape for the adhesive sheets, since it's not used much.

Step 2: Creating the Template

To date, NOBODY has created an accurate template of the Galaxy Fold. So I made my own!

A slightly difficult process. The official renders of the Galaxy Fold are limited, not to mention that most of them are low-quality. I spent over 20 minutes searching for enough high-quality ones X)

I needed to get the closed front, closed back, open front, and the side. For some reason, renders of the side hinge are close to nonexistent; I was only able to find one; Thankfully it was in high quality!

For the convenience of you readers, I have included the complete template here, for free (not a big deal)!

Now you don't have to go through the 1-1/2 hours of trial and error I went through yesterday. Hooray!

You can decide to download it directly from the image above, or as a .psd file by the link I included, OR by these alternate links on imgur: (DO NOT print right now; There are more instructions to follow!)

1st Sheet: https://i.imgur.com/f7pv6Ba.png

2nd Sheet: https://i.imgur.com/EhhHnZz.png

3rd Sheet: https://i.imgur.com/wWpKerr.png

Please do not use or without permission. I worked hard on these :(

Step 3: Printing the Template

So, on the 1st and 2nd pages, you can see the front, back, and side of the phone. You can also find a photo of the screen, showing a map, (I had to correct the photo from a tilted perspective!) and a smaller screenshot showing another map. These parts you print out onto the Adhesive Sheets (or normal paper, if you don't have adhesive sheets).

On the third page, you can see an image of the inside frame, and also an extra camera. These you print out onto the Transparency/OHP film.

If your printer cannot print on OHP film:

1. Try again. My printer had a "jam" error with the film on the first try, but on the second try it worked perfectly. DO NOT touch or scratch the surface of the film for at least a minute after they come out of the printer. The printing will rub off very easily in the moments after it comes out of the printer, but dries pretty quickly. Still, take no chances!

OR:

2. Print out on normal paper, cut it out, then paste it to the OHP film. For the frame, you can paste it (printed side up) on top of the film, while for the camera, you should paste it (printed side up) beneath the film for a shiny effect. This makes the camera look much better.

Step 4: Create the Shells

You need 2 "Shells" to create each side of the phone. 1 "Shell" is half of each side. Get it?

Now this part is a little easy to make mistakes on:

Cut out the SMALLER sides of the phone from the template as indicated by the arrows on the first picture (DO NOT peel them).

Cut out four pieces of cardboard, the same size as the side of the phone. (It is recommended to leave the corners of the phone at 90 degrees, trim them later.)

then very gently bend them, creating a nice gradual curve on one end for about 1 and a half cm (or half an inch). Trim the corners now, to make a nice rounded corner, then gently bend the two other short sides as well.

(Leave one long side un-bent! You will need to use this straight edge later!)

Create TWO of these shells, then create two more with LESS CURVED EDGES. This side will be the inside screen, it should almost be FLAT!

MARK the pieces as "1 back", "2 back", etc, so that you can tell which sides are the back and which two pair together. One curved shell and one less-curved shell come together to make one side.

Step 5: Create a Side

Now you have two curved Shells and two less-curved Shells.

Get one curved Shell and one less-curved one. These two will be put together to make one Side.

DO NOT put them together by putting glue on the edges of the Shells. That creates a very ugly and bumpy side, and is much harder to make. (Don't use tape, either!)

I used glue gun on the inside to adjust the height. Obviously, if the glue doesn't reach high enough, the other side won't be pasted onto the shell. I let the glue dry, then applied more glue on top. Then I placed the other shell onto the glued shell, and let them connect together to make a Side.

If you did this properly, you should have a nice smooth Side. Repeat this to make two identical-shaped sides.

Step 6: Adding Details to the Outside

Now that you have these Sides ready, you need to add details!

WARNING: MAKE SURE that you're pasting these onto the correct parts of the shell! It's easy to get mixed up, or paste on the wrong side, or do it upside-down. Look at a reference photo and make SURE you're doing it right!

Also, it's recommended that you use the BIG images of the sides for this step. The large images has extra spaces for the curved sides of the Shell. Every other detail, such as camera or speaker hole, is the same size as the small images.

First, let's do the front (the side with the screen). BE VERY CAREFUL in this bit, I made a mistake and suffered for it until the end:

Cut out the small map image. (Do not peel it.) Then cut out the front piece (The side with a screen) from the Adhesive Sheet.

Using a knife, cut out the screen of the front side on the Adhesive sheet as seen on photo 1. (Do not peel it).

Then, cut out a piece of Transparency film to be slightly bigger than the screen on the front. (I accidentally pasted the entire front onto the film. This made it extremely difficult to paste it onto the Shell. Don't make the same mistake!)

Peel off the back of the film on the front piece, then carefully affix the map (To the BACK) using tape. Make sure the tape does not extend past the edge of the screen, or else it will be visible from the front.

Now the front screen looks like it's an actual screen, while the rest of the front is not shiny.

Attach the front to the front part of the Shell.

The second Shell is easy to add details to. All you need to do is to take the BACK side (The side with a camera) off the Adhesive sheet, and very carefully affix it onto the second Shell.
Then cut out the camera from the Transparency sheet, and paste it onto a piece of cardboard. Cut that out in the shape of the camera, then paste on top of the camera part on the back. This makes it look 3D, and have a nice "glass"-looking effect. (See last photo)

Step 7: Add Details to the Inside

Now, the outsides should look complete (except for the hinge).

Put the two pieces together, then paste the LARGE map photo on the top. (I also pasted in another layer beneath that to make the fold stronger. I don't think it really matters.) Easy!

Now, cut out the frame from the OHP/Transparency Film. Then, very carefully fold it in half, like the second photo.

Carefully paste the frame. I used Glue Gun for that, since it dries quickly and holds fast. DO NOT overdo the glue. If you put too much glue, it will leak out the sides, making it unpleasant to look at.

The film, no matter what you do, will crease a little or bend when folded. Mine overall stayed pretty still, but a corner of the top just wouldn't stay glued, even with multiple tries with Super Glue.

A little pressing is recommended, to make the frame settle well. Keep the phone OPEN when doing this part, or else the glue may leak out and glue the phone shut! Then you may need to tear it apart, and nobody wants that..

Step 8: ..And Pause. for a Little Bit.

At this point, your phone will be looking great!

The only thing you need to do now is to create and add the hinge.

I actually added this stage just to show some photos.

Heh heh.

Step 9: Create the Hinge!

I worked for a LONG time on the hinge. I just couldn't figure out how to do it. If you actually look at the real Galaxy Fold's hinge, you'll see that it's not a very easy thing to make with paper.

I first created a thick 2-layered hinge, but it was too thick for the sides to shut upon.

Then I took off a layer and made it thinner, but it was still too thick and wouldn't shut properly.

I finally just decided to make a very simple hinge-like piece to insert inside the fold.

To do that, just test it out for yourself! Depending on how you pasted the two shells together, there will be a certain amount of space inside the sides for a piece of paper to go into.

Create a piece of paper that's as tall as the phone's opening, and wide as the phone's inside space (as far as it will go.) Experiment with the width, and make sure that the piece of paper stays neatly inside the phone, even when folded or opened.

Then cut out and affix the Hinge sticker piece to the center of the piece of paper that works as the hinge. (Make sure that it's centered on YOUR instance. The center of the piece of paper, the part exposed when folded, will be different depending on how you made your phone!)

If you did it properly the "Samsung" logo will be nicely visible when the phone is shut, and hidden when open.

(Notice how I did not use any glue or adhesives in this process. You can use it the way you'd like, just be careful!)