Maritime Hammertime

Intro about nature of project
The goal in this project was to use only recycled cardboard to make a slotted construction costume. It is meant to keep the earth greener one costume at a time.


School Project Intro
Our school curriculum is based on the marine environment and technology. We do many projects that encourage us to use new methods that force us to think out side of the box.

Design Brief
We had to create a marine themed costume out of only cardboard using no fasteners. The method we used was called slotted construction. It uses pressure to hold its self together.

Specs
The design must fit comfortably on a middle school student and resemble something related to the marine world.

Limits
Use only cardboard
Use no fasteners
Fit comfortably on a middle school student
Related to the marine environment

Step 1: Materials/ Tools List

Materials
   Cardboard
       S1 - Head, one 50" x 44" piece. 
       S2 - Body, two 18" x 30" pieces
       S3 - Shoulder Straps, two 9"x 3" pieces.
       S4 - Caudal Fin, one 12" by 10" piece.
       S5 - Dorsal Fin, one 10" by 10" piece.
Tools 
       T1 - Cutting Mat
       T2 - Utility Knife
       T3 - Ruler
       T4 - Pencil

Step 2: Create the Head

Use the utility knife (T2) on top of the cutting mat (T1) to cut cardboard (S1) so that there is a centered 10” tab protruding 5" on one of the 44” sides.

Step 3: Head (Cont.)

 Use the utility knife (T2) on top of the cutting mat (T1) to cut a 10 inch square tab with a centered 6” tab extending two inches on the sides and an 8" tab on the very end. (on both ends of the 50" long sides). If this is done correctly, there should be 20" of the normal cardboard with the square ends on the sides. The square must be exactly 10" away from the end or it will not fold correctly. 

Step 4: Head (Cont.)

On edges where the square tabs aren't have centered 6" tabs every 10"

Step 5: Head (Cont.)

Use the utility knife (T2) on the cutting mat (T1) to Cut a 20" tab along one of the edges with a centered 10” slice on the fold with the tab protruding 5”.

Step 6: Head (Continued)

Use the utility knife(T2) on top of the cutting mat (T1) to cut a circle in the in the center of any face that has a diameter of 8”.

Step 7: Head (Cont.)

Use the pencil (T4) to draw a shark like mouth on an adjacent face using the pencil (T4).

Step 8: Head (Cont.)

 Use the pencil and ruler to draw lines connecting each of the tabs.

Use the utility knife to score these lines.

Step 9: Head (Cont.)

Fold the cardboard (S1) along all of the tabs and every 10" aligning with the tabs (Where you scored). The head should look like the picture below.

Step 10: Head. (Cont.)

Use the utility knife (T2) to cut out the mouth. Notice that you may have cut part of a tab. This is fine.

Step 11: Create the Body

1. Using the utility knife (T2) on top of the cutting mat (T1) Cut 3” horizontal slots in the cardboard (S2) 3” from the top and 2” from each edge.

2. (ON BACK ONLY) Use the pencil (T4) and ruler (T3) to mark 8” inch slots centered starting at 4” from the top and at 18” from the top then use the utility knife (T2) on the cutting mat (T1) to cut out the slots.

Step 12: Create the Caudal (Tail) Fin

Imagine the fin ending at the top of the cardboard (S4).

1. Using the utility knife (T2) on top of the cutting mat (T1)  cut a 2” x 1” tab centered at the bottom of the cardboard (S4). (the tab should be 2" wide and 1" deep)

2. Leave about 1” from the top of the tab then cut a straight line to the top left corner of the cardboard using the ruler as a straight edge (T3)

3. Make a point 2” away from where the beginning of the upward part of the fin was cut, using the pencil. (T4)

4. Cut from the point to the bottom corner and back to the bottom of the tab.

Step 13: Create the Dorsal Fin

1. Using the utility knife (T2) on top of the cutting mat (T1) cut 10” tab along bottom of cardboard (S5)

2. From either corner, use the pencil (T4) to draw a curved line from 1 " above the tab to the opposite upper corner. 

3. Use the utility knife (T2) on top of the cutting mat (T1) to cut out the shape of the fin.

Step 14: Shoulder Straps

1. Use the utility knife (T2) on the cutting mat (T1) to cut the cardboard (S3) with indents on both of the 9” sides at 1” from the edge and 3” from the edge.

2. Repeat step 1 to create the second strap.

Step 15: Assembly

1. Slide the shoulder straps (P3) into the horizontal slots in body pieces (P2).

Step 16:

2. Slide the caudal fin (P4) into the bottom slot on the back of the body (P2).

Step 17:

3. Slide the dorsal fin (P5) into the upper slot on the back of the body (P2).

Step 18:

4. Fold head (P1) every 10” and slide tabs into slots. Fold ends in and place tabs in slots.

Step 19: Paint It!

Paint the costume to make it look more realistic!

Be sure to paint both sides so it doesn't warp.