Almost no helicopter is feared more than the AH-64 Apache Prime: a terrifying combat helicopter armed with homing missiles, plasma machine guns, and high powered lasers. How would you like to have your own model (not a toy as it will be very fragile) of this insanely powerful aircraft? Build this beast and pop those bloons. (If you are slightly confused as to why you will be popping bloons and why it is misspelled, refer to the next step).

Step 1: What Is Bloons TD 6

If you aren't familiar with the Bloons series, it is a series of games about an army of monkeys who pop an army of bloons (balloons) in some ... let's just say unconventional ways (machine guns, nuclear bombs, heavy machinery, tanks, etc). One weapon used is the helicopter (piloted by a monkey) that can be upgraded to the Apache Prime which "leaves most bloons wishing they'd never been inflated". If you are familiar with the Bloons series, good for you. You should really enjoy this instructable.

Step 2: Materials

To build this project, you will need:

-Popsicle sticks

-Coffee stirrers

-Masking tape

-Cardstock, cardboard, or a folder

-An LED light with a button, not a switch (the LED light is optional)

-Markers

-Scissors

-A hot glue gun

-Beads

-The urge to get revenge on those bloons who took over your city!

Step 3: Building the Base

Start by finding a toy with flashing LED lights. Take it apart and remove the LED light, batteries, and button. If you cannot find a toy that has a LED light or button, you can make a helicopter with no LED light. Anywho, build a small box around it using Popsicle sticks or just build a small box out of popsicle sticks if you aren't using the LED light. Position the button facing out. Then cut the edges off two popsicle sticks (color them black) and glue them to the box. Glue the other two ends to a single bead (refer to the fourth image). Then push a coffee stirrer through the bead and glue it to the button. This is the tail piece. The coffee stirrer will act like an extension to the button. When the coffee stirrer is pushed, the button is pushed and the lights turn on.

Next, cut two squares out of the cardstock and glue them on the top and bottom of the box. Cut out some trapezoid shaped pieces of cardstock (color it black) and glue them on the top and bottom of the tail piece. Take some masking tape and put it on a piece of paper. Color the tape black with the marker and peel it back off the paper. You should now have a black piece of masking tape. Wrap that around the box so it is now black. This is your base.

Step 4: Building the Wings

That last step was quite tedious. I promise this one will be much easier. Cut four small segments with slanted edges from the Popsicle sticks. The should fit together to make a trapezoid shape. Color the edges of the segments black. Cut out four pieces of cardstock in that shape. Color them black and purple as shown above. Then sandwich two Popsicle segments between two pieces of cardstock and you have a nice pair of wings.

Step 5: Building the Weapons

What is an Apache Prime without weapons? Umm... a weaponless Apache Prime?

Cut off the ends of four disposable chopsticks. Its okay if you you have two different sizes, as long as there are two of each. Each of these will become laser blasters. Roll four pieces of masking tape out. This time they should be smaller. Put them on paper and color them black. Wrap each "laser blaster" is a piece of masking tape. Then glue a purple bead to the end of each one.

To make the missiles, cut two more pieces of chopsticks (you can use the other ends of the already cut shop sticks). Wrap them in (not colored) masking tape and color the end red. I drew some lines on the other end so it looked like it had fins. Yayyy! Missiles. Glue on laser blaster and one missile to the bottom of each wing.

The machine gun may be a bit harder. Cut 5 coffee stirrers to a shorter length. Cut two more, but a bit longer. Tape these together to look like a machine gun. The longer ones should be on opposite ends. Next, bend the longer stirrers outwards and glue a cut Popsicle stick (colored black) on the top and bottom. Refer to the picture.

Step 6: Putting the Wings and Weapons on the Base

The box of the base should be covered be masking tape on the top, bottom and sides. The back should be where the tail is. That leaves the front open. Go ahead and cover it with a piece of cardstock colored black. Cut two holes in the front and glue the machine gun in. The longer stirrers go into the holes. The light inside the box will travel down these two stirrers and come out of the machine gun. Glue one laser blaster on either side of the machine gun.

Whooo hoooo! We now have a base with two laser blasters and a plasma machine gun. glue a wing to each side of the base. Make that a base with two homing missiles, two laser blasters, and a plasma machine gun.

Step 7: Who Wants Pieces of Popped Bloons Flying Into the Helicopter?

Definitely not me. Cut out two shapes and an octagon as shown above. Color one of the shapes blue and the other black. When they are folded and glued onto the octagon, they make a nice windshield to stop the pieces of popped bloons from flying into the helicopter. Glue this windshield onto the base as shown above.

Step 8: Building the Propellers

How else is out aircraft going to fly? This step is probably the easiest. Cut out two blades and color them red and black. Then glue them into an X shape. Glue a piece of a coffee stirrer perpendicularly at the place where the two blades cross. This is the propeller shaft. Glue a bead to the windshield as shown above. Place the coffee stirrer in the bead. If you want, you can cut a hole in the top of the windshield and glue the bead on top of that. Then you can put the propeller shaft through the bead and into the hole, allowing the propeller to spin longer and have a lesser chance of it falling out. You can also build a helipad if you want.

Step 9: POP THOSE BLOONS!

If you like this instructable, please favorite it, comment below, and vote for it. Anywho, what are you waiting for? Those bloons aren't going to pop themselves!