Computer & colour printer.
160gsm card, A4 sheets or something close to that such as US Letter. (Non-metric countries probably measure paper in something other than grams per square metre. 160gsm is twice the weight of standard photocopier paper -- I hope that will help you select the right stuff from Staples).
Double sided sticky tape. Preferably about 1cm (half inch) wide, but wider will do.
Scalpel or modelling knife with a fresh blade.
Very blunt blade or other not-too-sharp instrument for scoring the folds (see below).
Steel ruler or other metal straight edge.
Ideally a cutting mat, failing that you can made to with a piece of MDF, or as a last resort, mount board. Wooden cutting boards don’t work well as the blade can follow the grain.
One or more PDF files for printing. Choose from this range of colours:
Some browsers will open the PDF file in the browser window using the Adobe reader plugin. It is better to download the file to your PC, so right click is and choose the menu option which will be something like "Save link as...".
Print the PDF file out on 160gsm card. The image is in the centre of an A4 sheet, so it should fit smaller sizes like US Letter. When printing, look for the option "Page Scaling" in the print dialog and select "None" from the drop down list.
During daylight, hold the sheet against a window with the printed side facing away from you. You should be able to see the lines through the card. Stick three strips of double-sided stick tape over the tabs. Don’t peel off the backing strip of the tape until you are ready to stick it.
Using a (very) old blade, compass point or similar, score the lines between the wall sections and tabs. Although we will be folding inwards, I have found that scoring on the printed side works fine. It is also a lot easier as you can see what you are doing. Use a steel ruler to keep nice straight edges. I use the back of my blade to score. If you do this, you need to be careful you don't cut right through.
Using a new blade in your scalpel, cut all the way around the outside of the model, making sure you leave the tabs attached. Cut out the door & window holes as well.
Here is the result with everything, including the door & window, nicely cut and ready for folding.
Pre-fold all the fold lines, and then flatten the model out again.
Peel the backing paper of the double sided tape on the back wall’s tab -- it’s the shortest piece. Bend the tab around to the back of the floor & carefully stick it down.
Fold the tabs for one end wall right in and peel off the backing paper. I use the tip of my blade to start peeling.
Stick the end wall to the tabs. Hold the wall in place with the fingertips of one hand and reach in to push the tabs into place with the other hand.
Use a stick or a capped pen to reach inside to press the tabs home.
Fold the other wall's tabs in and stick the wall in place. As before, use a stick or something similar to press the tabs home.
© Copyright 2006 Mike Wilson