Toys in Miniature: Frances Armstrong
Easy-to-print version. DIagrams are at the end.
Tiny Toys page 2.
Go to page 1 to see the meanings of the little icons. The open door by the project on this page means that this is suitable for beginners.
Little red wagon
Revised
You will need:
A piece of red paper (or white paper painted red) about the size of half a postage stamp
Similar pieces of white and black paper, but these must be coloured white or black all the way through
A white bristle from a scrubbing brush
Scissors, glue, and a punch to make holes 1/16" (about 1.5mm) in diameter (or the patience to cut out tiny circles by hand)
Optional: For method 1, a piece of wood about 1/16" x 1/8" x 1/4" (1.5 mm x 3 mm x 6 mm), and a piece of red paper 1" x 1/16" (25 mm x 1.5 mm) (approximately; you can experiment with different sizes--it should really be a little larger than 1/16, about 3/32.)
Method:
First, make a sandwich with white paper as the bread and black paper as the jam. Leave to dry, then punch out at least four 1/16" diameter holes. These should look like wheels (see diagram 1 at the end). Mark the centres in black.
For the wagon itself, there are two methods. Sizes are approximate--you can do this project 'by eye" as long as the corners are square.
Method 1: See "Optional" above. The piece of wood is your base (thicker than scale, but that won't be noticeable, as long as you cut the strip of paper wide enough). Fold your strip of paper so it goes around the base with a small overlap, and glue it there. (See diagram 2 at end.).
Method 2: Use no wood, only paper. See diagram 3 below. Cut a rectangle of red paper 1/4 inch wide and 3/8 inch long (6 mm x 9.5 mm). Snip the four slits marked. The exact length of each snip should be 3/32 inch (2 mm), but you don't have to be exact, as long as the slits are all the same length. Fold upwards on the gray lines. The extra pieces on the long sides can be glued inside the wagon, as in the last picture in diagram 3 below. Use tweezers and clips to hold things together, and take your time..
If it needs it, paint the wagon.
Now cut a strip of red paper about 1/32" wide and half an inch long. You will need your single white brush bristle. Glue the paper around the bristle as in the pictures below. Check the length of the paper strip and trim if necessary. Trim the bristle too, to about 1/8". Glue the handle to the wagon. I've done this with half the red paper on the inside and half on the outside of the wagon, but it doesn't make much difference.
Paint the handle if you like.
FInd the wheels you made and glue them on each side as in the diagram. These wheels will not turn; we'll do wheels with an axle another time. (Or try it yourself, using a bristle for an axle, covered with a tube of paper glued underneath the wagon.)
Diagram 1
Diagram 2
Diagram 3
Diagram 4
Diagram 5
