How to Make a Windmill Cube

Use a picture of a real windmill as inspiration.

Making a craft model windmill is a creative way to express your passion for architecture. Beginning in the 12th century, English designers mastered windmill construction to harness the power of wind and use it for energy. Windmill cubes act as a base for the windmill propellers to stand erect and spin. Once your craft is completed, take it outside into a steady breeze and watch it work.

Things You'll Need

• 4-by-4 inch shipping box cardboard pieces (6)
• Permanent epoxy
• 1/2-cup sand
• Straight-edge knife
• 10-inch jumbo plastic straw
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup flour
• Pot
• Medium size bowl
• 1-by-4 inch newspaper strips
• 1-by-4 inch white paper towel strips
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brush
• 4-by-4 inch piece of construction paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Toothpick
• Wine cork

Instructions

1. Fit and bond five 4-by-4 inch shipping box cardboard pieces together with permanent epoxy to create a three-dimensional cube. Pour 1/2-cup sand into the cube for weight. Fit and bond the sixth and final cardboard piece to the cube with permanent epoxy.

2. Cut a 3/4-inch letter "X" shape into the top of the cube with a straight-edge knife at center. Insert a 10-inch jumbo plastic straw into the cube. Stuff a 1-by-4-inch strip of paper towel into the top of the straw.

3. Boil 5 cups of water and 1 cup of flour in a pot for three minutes to create a paper mache mix. Allow five minutes for the mix to cool. Pour the mixture into a medium size bowl.

4. Soak a 1-by-4 inch newspaper strip into the mix. Press the strip into the cube. Continue until both the cube and straw are covered in one layer of newspaper. Repeat this step with paper towel strips. Allow four hours for the cube and straw to dry.

5. Coat the cube and straw with acrylic paint. Allow two hours for the craft to dry.

6. Draw two diagonal lines, in the shape of a letter "X," from one corner to another on a sheet of 4-by-4 inch paper. Cut 3 1/2-inches deep along the trace line from the top right corner toward center. Repeat with three additional cuts on the remaining trace lines.

7. Adjust the paper so one of the 4-inch edges faces you. Pinch the top right tip of the paper. Pull the tip toward center to create a pinwheel-type loop in the top quarter of the paper. Glue the tip at center with white glue.

8. Pinch the bottom right tip of the paper. Pull the tip toward center to create a pinwheel-type loop in the right quarter of the paper. Glue the tip at center with white glue. Repeat this process twice more for the bottom and top left tips of the paper. The windmill propellers are now complete.

9. Poke a toothpick through the center of the propellers. Stick the back end of the toothpick into a wine cork. Bond the wine cork atop the jumbo straw -- in perpendicular position to the straw -- with permanent epoxy.

References

• Boowa and Kwala: A Windmill
• DLTK Kids: How to Paper Mache
• Windmill World; History of Windmills; Mark Berry; April 24, 2011