Foldabots are back: Making and remaking of Jomike Tejido’s Pinoy DIY robots
MANILA, Philippines — Before gadgets ruled playtime, kids played with paper, scissors and glue. For many 2000s kids, that imagination took shape as Foldabots, the Filipino do-it-yourself cardboard robots in the now-defunct K-Zone Philippines magazine.
Transforming into vehicles or animal robots, Foldabots became a favorite from 2006, with each issue offering a new robot to cut and assemble.
Nearly two decades later, Foldabots are back with a new toy book selling out online, and the original fans — now in their 20s — are leading the welcome.
In an interview with Philstar.com, Foldabots creator Jomike Tejido said it is surprising and rewarding to see his former readers and builders still interested in these foldable robots up until today even if they have all grown up.
“I have more and more encounters with dudes in their 20-somethings come up to me and say how much they loved creating the toys and following the comics,” he said.
“That always gives me a sense of achievement that is better than any of the picture books I made, ” Tejido added.
From folders to Foldabots
Before he became an architect and later a full-time children’s book illustrator, Tejido was already tinkering with paper.
The beginnings of Foldabots trace back to his childhood, when he turned old school folders into makeshift toys because Transformers or MASK figures were not always within reach.
“I’d proudly tell my parents they didn’t have to buy anymore because I figured out how to make them,” he said.
Years later, while cleaning up at home, he stumbled upon penciled plans of cars transforming into jets and tanks on the inside cover of an old student handbook. With a scanner and printer set up in his bedroom, he realized he could finally bring them to life.
At the time, Tejido was hosting the arts-and-crafts show "Art Is-Kool." When the program was canceled in 2005, he turned his attention to K-Zone, which he felt lacked a serialized local feature.
“I wanted to be the Filipino wildcard in this publication that made kids love the local language and culture in a subtle way,” he said.
He coined the name Foldabots — an ode to his childhood folder-made robots — and designed characters with distinctly Filipino touches and playful names. Buhawi was the first, followed by Astig, Kislap, Tutubi, Patrol and more.
By May 2006, Buhawi debuted in K-Zone, kicking off a monthly tradition that ran for over a decade. As an only child, Tejido felt like a “kuya” to many, watching kids quietly cut, fold and assemble his creations.
“It was like a connection between a kuya and a little brother,” he said. “Seeing someone hooked with my work, being silent and doing their best is better than any book review or compliment I got since it is genuine and it speaks louder than words.”
Filipino stories in every fold
Every Foldabot carried a story and a lesson in Filipino culture.
Named after animals, natural forces, or mythological creatures, the robots helped kids learn Tagalog words as they played.
By infusing his designs with local culture, Tejido hoped to bridge a growing language gap. “It was intended for kids to learn Tagalog words through association with the robot’s alternate forms, attitudes, or powers,” he explained. “As someone who made picture books and often did school visits, I was concerned that Filipino kids didn’t know many basic Filipino words — even the ‘cool’ ones that were supposed to be fun to say.”
In 2007, he created Foldabots inspired by Philippine mythological creatures, including Tikbalang, Nuno and Higantechron.
The accompanying comics brought the paper robots to life, offering children a world that was exciting and distinctly Filipino. Set in a futuristic Manila called Neo-republika, the Foldabots are heroic transforming robots who battle pollutant forces to protect the city and all life within it.
The villains were as imaginative as the heroes, among them are Rumbado, a smoke-belching bus robot; Tipaclone, a slick grasshopper from the Pestebots; and Gahaman, the greedy leader of the Trosobots, a team bent on destroying Neo-republika’s remaining forests.
Among Tejido’s proudest creations was Buhawi, the Philippine Eagle and leader of the Foldabots — a nod to local identity and an invitation for kids to see their culture reflected in the toys they loved.
Foldabots arrived at the height of robot mania, when robot-themed anime dominated television and toystores, and the live-action "Transformers" movie was on the horizon. Tejido’s creations offered a uniquely Filipino twist on the transforming robot craze.
“I did not realize how kids could have loved it as much as they did. I think it was because it called out to a specific interest, or it may have been a very real and localized series that tried to ride the waves along with the big foreign giant IPs — I can only speculate. But with the help of the comic story, the series of single characters were given much more life and relatability as the story was set in a futuristic Manila called Neo-republika,” he said.
Creases and comebacks
Foldabots’ rise was cut short in 2017 when K-Zone shut down. Tejido had been midway through a combiner team — robots that could join into a giant mech — when the series stopped cold. “I was caught off guard,” he admitted.
To give fans closure, he held a free toy pattern giveaway at a mall coffee shop, drawing a crowd. “It was a sad end… my mind had constantly been buzzing for a new robot character every month for a decade, then suddenly stop.”
In the years that followed, he focused on picture books, paintings and sculpture, but he said, he has never stopped pitching Foldabots to publishers selectively, seeking good print quality, wide accessibility and long-term commitment.
A decade later since it went off-print, Foldabots are back, now with Anvil Publishing — ready to be cut, folded and brought to life.
New generation of builders
The Foldabots Toy Book 1 remasters classic characters, streamlines assembly and even redesigns Bangis, the dog Foldabot, based on his daughter’s feedback.
“She can kid-test my work… it felt like the drawings I did in my mid-20s needed to be updated,” he said.
To meet today’s digital habits, Tejido created YouTube assembly guides accessible via QR codes, merging hands-on craft with the digital age. “Instead of considering screen time a threat, I made it an ally,” he said.
Still, the heart of Foldabots remains a back-to-basics craft essential for kids’ creative and motor skill development. The new edition also reintroduces teks cards, a Filipino street game adapted into a battle card system.
For Tejido, the revival is both a homecoming and a handoff to a new generation. “Foldabots is a brand for everyone who wants to make their own toys with just the book, a pair of scissors and glue,” he said.
Looking ahead, Tejido envisions two toy books annually, reviving the comics and — if possible — adapting the story for animation. “If I were to dream my biggest wish for this, it would be a Netflix show!”
He also sees environmental storytelling potential: “Robots fighting pollutant robots… localized Foldabots inspired by vehicles or animals from other countries, still led by Buhawi, the Philippine Eagle.”
Foldabots Toy Book 1 officially launches on August 30 at National Bookstore Trinoma Mall, with a signing at the Manila International Book Fair, but fans can already get it online and in select bookstores.
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