Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Nutcracker Mouse King Pull Toy Tutorial

More merry than menacing, this Nutcracker Prince foe 
measures 6" nose tip to rump, 2.5" tall and 2" wide. 
His body hides a golf ball that is exposed 
through a body bottom opening to allow him 
to be pulled across table or floor with attached cord. 
Decorations include dimensional ears and wavy tail, 
nose cone and whiskers, paws/body bottom panel overlay, 
ermine coat and tiny 2D crown. 
Pair with Nutcracker 3d Figure for a fun seasonal display.

ASSEMBLY: 1. Identify and cut the shapes:
A main mouse body panel (upper, front, back)
B body bottom panel
C & D side panels
E inner box ball container
F bottom body accent panel (with feet)
G tail accents left & right
H ear and inner ear, left & right
I mouse dimensional nose, eyes, whiskers
J crown accent assembly
K robe and ermine hem trim accents
2. Prepare main and bottom panels
by bending back on cross and tab
perforations. 
Attach body main and bottom sections at 
back tab.
3. Prepare side panels by bending back on all
cross and side tab perforations.
4. Position bottom tab/flange at corresponding
bottom side straight edge of joined panels from
step 2, and join.
5. Bend the side panel and under nose section
of body panel assembly so that the straight edge
aligns over the corresponding tab perf line,
and join in place.
6. Continue the process of bending the shapes
to fit the straight edge of center assembly to match
and align with the side tabs, and glue each in place
in sequence until all tabs are joined.
7. Repeat for the opposite side to attach ONLY center
tab (remaining tabs will be attached later).
8. Prepare the accent shapes:
a.) bend dimensional nose shape back on all
perforations, then
glue whisker shapes behind
triangle panels on each side of the
center triangle panel
b.) glue inner ears onto fronts of outer ears
c.) glue tail backside edges together,
but keep tabs at inner end free
d.) bend robe and ermine hem trim
back on perforations, then glue
hem trim onto robe
9. Insert tail tab end through back slot,
then bend tab outward on the inside of body
and glue in place to secure tail.
10. Layer back crown, contrast inner crown,
and front crown . . . 
. . . then place accent bar shape
onto front above tab as shown here.
11. Insert crown tab into top head slot
and glue in place.
12. Insert ear tabs into side head slots
and glue in place.
13. Bend ball container box as shown
to bring straight edges and tab edges up.
Overlay straight edges along tab perf lines,
and glue in place.
14. Insert golf ball "roller" into container box . . .
. . . then insert into body cavity . . . 
. . . and insert four tabs into body-bottom slots.
Bend tabs back and glue in place.
15. Bend remaining side edges into position
to attach to center tabs to complete
body assembly.
16. Position and attach body bottom accent shape
with smaller front feet toward the nose end.
17. Thread the pull string through the body opening
and out through the nose tip, using a large-eyed
darning needle.
(Note that our string has been tied to a small wooden
button "stop" to keep it from pulling
all the way through.)
Pull string all the way through.
Optional: glue string button in place inside nose.
18. Fit the dimensional nose around the
pull string in place on the body . . .
. . . to bring the straight edges to meet on the
body underside, and glue nose in place.
19. Attach eyes accents.
Position and attach robe, covering
the body finger access upper opening.
Here is the completed mouse pull toy.



3 comments:

  1. This is so much fun! What a cute idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did this little guy today. So cute! Your pictures were ok to follow, but some descriptions certainly would help, too.
    Thanks! My daughter will have a blast pulling it around. The cat already tried to kill it. Ha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment. I thought the text had been added weeks ago, shortly after the photos were loaded. Thanks for your comment so I would know they weren't there.

      Delete