Cardboard Armored Car

I choose to make my cardboard contest entry an armored car. For a while, I've found great interest in them, and because I've made several before, I thought that I should make another. Enjoy!

• Scissors Popsicle Sticks
• Large Craft Sticks
• Wooden Dowels
• A Ruler
• Hot Glue Gun (bigger the better!)
• Paintbrushes
• Your choice of paint (acrylic works best)
• Toothpicks
• A figure (I made my own)
• Cardboard
• And other items of your choice to add along the way...

To start the turret, you'll want to find a large, circular object to trace, and a template of an armored car. I choose to base mine off of the U.S. Marine' LAV-25. Trace the template onto the cardboard, and cutting it out. Then take your circular object (such as a can) to start the turret ring. Once that it cut out, cut out a large rectangle to wrap around the circle to make the turret ring. You'll also want to make a seat or two for the figure, which can be done my gluing two pieces of cardboard together, and then adding smaller pieces on the side for arm rests.

Once the seat is in the turret, take two rectangular pieces of cardboard to raise the top of the turret up. Then, add side platting accordingly.

More details:

• Add a barrel using a large wooden dowel
• Make a functioning hatch by sliding a small wooden dowel through the cardboard grain, and connect that to two Popsicle sticks.
• A machine gun on the top also makes this project look more realistic
• A gun shield on the side
• Sights for the gunner

M240 Machine gun

Use your choice of acrylic paints to paint the turret. I choose a simple army green.

Start building the body by finding a large cardboard rectangle. Cut out a hole for the turret ring, and add siding onto the support plates.

The front plating is a bit tricky, but by adding a base underneath it, all you have to do is set it on top. Make a variety of angles, just like modern day armored vehicles.

Making the wheels is a simple but time consuming process. Make 4, 6 or 8 wheels by repeatedly cutting out circles. Glue them together to make your simple wheel. To make a tire, strip the top layer off of a strip of cardboard, and then glue that around the rim to a tire

Cut each of the large craft sticks in half. Drill a hole in the middle of each, and attach them to the bottom of the body. Slide the dowel of each wheel into the holes to make an axle, and add a cardboard spacer at the end to prevent the wheel from falling off.

Find your choice of paint for the body and wheels, and touch up on the details. Once you're satisfied with your paint job, your done!