This one is IT
Out of all the books in my collection; this is the only book i still haven't completed all the projects. All projects in this book are for Advanced skilled. Most require complex folds that takes much time and effort to complete. The results are INSANE! The level of detail of these bug is unreal. Mine have been mistaken for real bugs on several occasions.
Anyone feeling like they want to take it to the second... or third level this is a must to have!
Very difficult models that can be very frustrating to complete
I see I'm in the minority on this book, and I'm sure I'll get a bunch of "unhelpful" votes from people disagreeing with my opinion, but I found this book really frustrating for the amount of steps that are just so difficult to get through. To be honest, until I got this book, I'd never really had major difficulties with any origami I've done, I've been folding for over 30 years, I had even folded Lang's previous monster the Cuckoo Clock from The Complete Book of Origami, Montroll's Stego and other such complex models. I've done plenty of insects before (I loved the mantis in his Origami Zoo book) but a fair number of the ones in this book just drove me nuts. There just is not enough explanation of quite a few of the intermediate steps. He often has very nice, detailed explanations of some of the later steps, but just skims over earlier ones that end up being rather inexplicable as a result. There are just a lot of places where I just totally had no idea at all how he was getting from one step to the next. I'd try such models again and get stuck in the middle again, and I personally just do not find that enjoyable to put so much time into something only to get totally stuck and unable to continue. Sure, it happens once in awhile regardless...but with this book it became commonplace. Are the models in this book top-noptch, highly detailed and realistic insects? When successfully folded, absolutely. But for me, what makes an origami book great is the ability to take extremely complex, interesting models (which this book most certainly has) and diagram them in such a way that a reasonably competent folder can accomplish them with a concerted effort 90+% of the time. And this book definitely missed that mark, so I simply cannot give it as high a rating as I had hoped.
I'd certainly recommend you avoid this book until you have quite a few years of experience folding and can easily handle any type of model, and advanced steps like reverse folded sinks, etc. But I'd also suggest you consider whether you are the type of folder that doesn't mind spending an hour or two on something and have nothing to show for it, but is able to move on and try again (and again and again...) Or if you mind having models that you really want to do, and just cannot figure out. It frustrates me to no end that this book of all the ones I own I simply am not able to figure out all the models in. I am used to messing up a model on the first try once in awhile but there are models in this book I tried several times and honestly felt like I just could do over and over and still not figure out. I personally just don't have quite that level of perseverance, so this book tends to sit on my shelf while I do other, not necessarily easier models, but ones that at least I know I will be able to complete successfully.
Long Live Robert Lang!
Although Lang's Origami Insects & Their Kin is several years old, it still stands as the premier origami book, and it still is a masterpiece because it offers many detailed true-to-life models; two spiders, butterfly, dragonfly, ant..., and ends with a scorpion, and for around $11.00, this book is a steal.
I did fold one model from the book, nope, not the ant, LOL! but the praying mantis, and it turned out great, just like the real thing, so much so, that I almost squashed it. Wait! I think I did squash it, Ha Ha Ha!!
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