CHAPTER X

CARDBOARD AND PAPER TOYS INVOLVING USE OF RULER, SET-SQUARE, SCISSORS, AND KNIFE

=Materials.= The cardboard used should not be too thick; medium thickness is best (threepence a sheet). Almost any paper that is not too thin can be used for making hinges. All kinds of cardboard boxes will be found of great use in making shops, engines, etc.

=Tools.= _Scissors_ with round points are safer for children to use, though perhaps not quite so suitable for the work.

_Knives._ For little children the carton knife, consisting of a small blade projecting not more than a quarter of an inch from the handle, is the best, as the smallness of the blade does much to prevent the children cutting their fingers.

For older children the "London" or "Leipsic" pattern is suitable, or they can use their pen-knives. These can be sharpened quite well on an ordinary knifeboard.

_Rulers._ The "non-slip" safety ruler is the best. It grips the paper well, and the depression between the raised edges enables the children to hold it steady when cutting.

=Adhesives.= Higgins' vegetable glue or seccotine.

=A Pigeon-house= (Fig. 178). On a piece of cartridge paper draw an oblong 8 inches by 2 inches, and divide it into four squares (Fig. 174). On the top of each construct an equilateral triangle. Make a flange about 1/4 inch on the sides of the triangles, as shown in Fig. 174, and on the sides of the squares. Cut and fold back the doorways. Fold and gum together. Flanges 1, 2, 3, 4 should be folded in. Draw and cut out a square, side 2-1/2 inches (Fig. 175); gum the house on to this.

For the post draw an oblong 8 inches by 2-1/2 inches (Fig. 177). Fold into five lengths (1/2 inch wide). Draw J K and L M 1/2 inch from the ends of oblong E F G H. Cut along the lines, cut off the shaded portions, and fold along the dotted lines. Gum the two outer portions over each other to make a four-sided post.

For the base cut a square, the side 3 inches (Fig. 176), and to this gum the flanges at L M. Gum the house to the flanges at J K. To make the top stronger, a second square (the side 2-1/2 inches) can be cut; the flanges at L M are gummed to this, and then the house is fastened on.

Other easily made farmhouse models are a hen-coop, a barn, a pigsty, the farmhouse itself, etc.

=The Noah's Ark= (Plate III). As this is a fairly large toy, it is best made from separate pieces of cardboard hinged together by strips of paper. If it is cut from one or two pieces, the size of the cardboard is somewhat unmanageable.

The following Noah's Ark is of a suitable size for holding cork animals.

Two pieces of cardboard are cut, 8-1/2 inches by 4 inches (Fig. 179). Cut two other pieces, 3-1/2 inches by 6 inches. Mark and cut these out as A and C. In one side, A, a door is cut. A paper-fastener is put in to form the handle. On the other sides windows may be drawn and coloured. When fastening the pieces together the children must be very careful that the bend of the hinge is straight.

Fig. 179 shows the pieces of the Noah's Ark hinged together. The children will find it easier if they paste the hinges on A and C first and let them dry thoroughly; then they can fasten A to B and C to B and D, and lastly D to A, but B must be firmly hinged to A before C is attached, and so on with the other parts. However, there is plenty of work to be done while the children are waiting for the paste to dry. (In their eagerness to finish toys the children often want to paste or glue too many things together at once.)

For the bottom of the ark a piece of cardboard, 13-1/2 inches by 5 inches, is cut and pointed at each end.

For the roof the children can get the measurements themselves. The long side of the ark is 8-1/2 inches, so that if the roof projects 1/2 inch on each side of this the length will be 9-1/2 inches. They must measure E F (Fig. 179); this will be about 2-1/2 inches. Now, the roof must cover E F and F G and project about a 1/2 inch beyond E and G, so that the width of the roof must be 6 inches. Therefore, they must cut a piece of cardboard 9-1/2 inches by 6 inches. Down the middle of this a half cut is made, along which the cardboard is folded. A stronger method is to cut the roof in half and hinge the two pieces together by a piece of paper cut and coloured to represent tiles; thus the roof will open and shut easily without breaking. The roof can be coloured or covered with blue paper.

When the body of the ark is complete, it must be placed on to the bottom, so that it stands in the middle. Two hinges on each long side will be sufficient to keep the ark steady, but hinges can also be made for the shorter sides. The hinges are more easily put on the outside, but would look neater if fastened inside the ark.

One half of the roof is fastened by paper hinges to three sides of the ark; the other half opens and shuts.

A strip of cardboard, the width of the door, is cut to form a gangway for the animals to enter the ark. Across this matches should be glued.

Very effective animals can be made from corks, as explained in Chapter VII. Easily made animals are the elephant, camel, giraffe, horse and donkey. The children will suggest other possible animals, _e.g._ a hedgehog, or porcupine, a small cork with pins stuck in it, etc.

Noah and his wife and children can be made from corks. A cork is filed round the narrowest end to form the head (Fig. 180). Eyes, mouth, etc., can be marked in ink. Round Noah is pasted a piece of coloured paper to form a cloak, open in front; this, with the help of match sticks for legs, enables him to stand. Half matches form the arms. A piece of round paper gummed to the head forms a hat.

Noah's wife (Fig. 181) has a piece of coloured paper round her body to form a skirt, on which she stands.

=A Dog Kennel= (Fig. 182). This toy is made of either cardboard or stiff paper, on lines similar to those of the Noah's Ark.

The bottom and the sides can be made from one piece, 7-1/2 inches by 4 inches (Fig. 183). Half cuts are made along H A and B C. In fixing the front of the kennel it will be noticed that the bottom and the sides project beyond it. The back portion can be fixed to coincide with the edges of the bottom and sides. The roof can be measured and fixed as described in the Noah's Ark. Planks can be indicated by drawing lines across the sides and the roof. The kennel may be fastened to two strips of wood, Y and X.

=A Shop.= This can be made like the Noah's Ark, except that the bottom will, of course, be a rectangle, and one long side must be left open. The children can turn cardboard boxes of different kinds into shops quite easily. Perhaps one of the easiest shops to make is the butcher's. The inside can be covered with white paper, upon which the children have drawn tiles in blue or green pencil. A little paying-desk (Fig. 184) can be made of brown paper and gummed to one of the walls. Tables can be made of cardboard, or of wood if the children have begun woodwork. Joints of meat drawn on cardboard, and coloured with red pencil, look very realistic when cut out. To hang these the children can hammer nails half way into a piece of stripwood and glue it to the wall. The joints can be attached to the nails by pieces of string.

Other toys that can be made in a similar way from stiff paper or cardboard are castles, houses, a sentry-box.

=A Wheelbarrow= (Fig. 188). This toy is made of cardboard of medium thickness. Fig. 185 shows how the bottom and the sides are cut out from one piece. Half cuts are made along the dotted lines. Small holes are made at D and C for the axle of the wheel.

Figs. 186 and 187 show the two ends of the barrow. Before placing them in position a little seccotine should be put round their edges; with the help of this and the slits they will be quite firm.

The wheel is about 7/8 inches in radius. It is mounted on an axle made of a rounded match stick or piece of cane. Two small pieces of cork can be filed to the shape of E and F in Fig. 189, and holes made through them. They are then slipped on to the axle on each side of the wheel (Fig. 189) to prevent the latter from wobbling. The legs are made of strips of cardboard about 1/4 inch wide and 2-1/2 inches long (Fig. 190).

A very slight half cut is made along the dotted line, so that part of the leg, K, may be bent straight when H is gummed to the side of the wheelbarrow.

Fig. 191 shows another method of making the legs. A half cut is made along the dotted line, H is bent back at right angles to K and is gummed to the side of the barrow. The slant of the dotted line is the same as the slant of the sides of A in Fig. 186.

This toy could also be made of three-ply wood with a fret-saw. The sides and bottom would then have to be cut in three separate pieces.