[thewriteguy]

A good question I’ve been asked is what tools did I use to make this U-Wing. And here they are -- not pictured are super glue and toilet paper.



Just as I wanted to keep the materials that the U-Wing is made of simple, cheap, and easily acquired (shipping boxes, food packages, etc.), this philosophy extended to the tools. There is nothing expensive, hard to find, or “exotic” about these tools.

The Sharpie marker was used to trace the template patterns onto cardboard sheets. The red pen was used to mark measurements.

Masking tape was mainly used to temporarily hold pieces together until they were glued. The tape would be carefully pulled off before pieces were glued together.

As for the glue, believe it or not, it’s just cheap school glue. I suppose a hot glue gun could be used, but I avoided using this, because hot glue tends to dry too quick for me to handle cardboard pieces, positioning them correctly before the glue dries. School glue is designed for paper, and that’s what cardboard is -- two thick paper sheets that sandwich a corrugated (fluted) sheet between them.

The coffee stirrer was used to spread the glue thinly across the cardboard, wipe off excess glue, or jab glue into tight spots. Toilet paper was used to wipe away excessive amounts of glue and also spread it.

The only other kind of glue I used was super glue. You should use this when gluing together the plastic cups that make up the engines, and when gluing plastic detailing pieces onto these cups. Don’t use super glue on the cardboard or paperboard. Super glue doesn’t work as well on paper and damages this material.

The glue stick is for applying the decal sheets onto the cardboard.

The white masking tape was used on various parts of the U-Wing to cover the ends of the cardboard and other detailing. I didn’t cover all exposed ends. This is mainly an aesthetic choice. (You can find white masking tape in the arts & crafts section of Walmart.)

The black electrical tape was used for the cannon guns.

A cutting tip: Cut your cardboard against two large-sized sheets of scrap cardboard. Even if you are working on a cutting board table that has a surface that can withstand cuts, you will get cleaner, straighter cuts if you cut against two layers of cardboard. This also helps to keep the blade of the utility knife sharp, since it won’t get worn out faster running against the harder surface of the tabletop.