How to Make a Paper Jet-Plane-Liked Speakers

This is a cartoonified paper airplane model. From the "engines" comes not the noise but the music!

This Instructable is going to show you how to construct the airplane model with some simple triangular components, how to install speakers in, and how you can customize it to make it your speakers.

In the following steps, details are often shown in pictures and their tag notes-- not only in the papagraphs. Therefore pay attention to all these explainations.

Skim through this Instructable before you start, so that you will know where you can make your changes and choises.

I got the idea to make special speakers long time ago. I considered classic speaker-in-a-box a bit boring. Therefore I asked myself a question: what the two plate-like speakers be? Eyes? flowers? wheels? I chose the jet engines on the airplane.

The next thing to consider was: what kind of materials should I use? It must be a high-plasticity material. I immediately thought of wood and metal-- but I didn't have the skills and tools to handle them. At last, between plastic bottle and paper, I chose paper.

Paper is easy to handle (with scissors, cutter, ruler, and hand), and it can give a special texture.

How did I think of the paper triangle stacking method? I just did an owl with it several months ago, and the paper owl was on my table.

1) 3.8cm X 6.7 cm thin, rectangular papers: about 250 red ones and 290 yellow
-Should be thinner than common A4 paper
-Make more extras, at least 10 per each color, for backup

Option: you can choose your own colors

2) A black and a white construction paper

3) A set of two mini-speakers with a diameter of about 2 to 3 cm (or a set of loud headphone)

4) Glue

5) A pair of compasses

6) A pair of scissors

7) Ruler

8) Tape (optional)

9) Cutter

Take one of the rectangular papers you have prepared.

1) Fold the rectangle paper in half
2) Fold it in half again
3) Crease and unfold
4) Fold the "wings" downwards
5) Turn it over
6) fold the outer tips in
7) fold the "legs" up
8) Fold the triangle in half
9) Done

I will call this basic component a "triangle" in the rest of the steps.

It may be easier to follow the diagram below:

Get two red triangles. Glue them together at their tips as the red circle indicated.

Keep going until you get a whole circle of 7 red triangles and 8 yellow.

Option: if you would like a larger airplane, add more triangles to the base (the same in step 7).

Turn the circle over.

Insert a triangle to the base as shown below.

What we are doing is to insert 14 more to make it a "ring".

Notice: After you have built 3 rings on the base, your circle may look like a plate. If so, press at the center with your finger to make it look like a bowl, and then it should hold still.

Stop after you have built 6 rings on the base. Your product should look like the picture below. Make another identical one. They are going to be the jet engines.

After that, make a new base of 17 triangles, 9 red and 8 yellow. it will be the fuselage.

After you have built 11 rings on the larger base, there will be a special ring. While one of the end of the triangle is pointing out in normal ring, it will point in in the special ring. This special ring elongates the fuselage to be a cylinder (rather than a ball-shape object).

After a special ring, switch back to normal ring. Pause until you have done 3 normal rings above the special ring.

The last ring is a special ring. It is the same as step 8, but you will only need 9 triangles for it. Follow this pattern-- insert one triangle, skip one (leaving a gap), insert one, skip one, and so on, as shown in the picture below.

Insert one triangle to another and glue them together. This is a stabilizer.

Make three stabilizers.

Now, insert the stabilizers, two horizonal and a vertical, to the back of the fuselage. You just need to find the ideal gap and push the stabilizer in. See the picture for details.

Cut two semi-circles with a radius of 3 cm from a piece of black construction paper. Roll them into cone shape. Glue one cone at the back of each engine.

option: you can change the size of the cones

Position a speaker in the hole of each engine. You can remove several triangles in order to let the cord comes out from the side. After that, put the triangles back.

Option: after the speaker is well installed, you can use glue to keep the engine firm, preventing the speaker or the triangles from getting dislocated.

The cord will lead to the fuselage. Similar to step 14, you can remove some triangles from the fuselage before you let the cord in.

Make the cords come out from either the front or the back of the fuselage; they will lead outside to the other components of the speaker set (for example, placed in a box under or next to the airplane).If you use headphones, it won't be a problem. (If the rest of your speaker components are really tiny, you can fit it in the fuselage.)

The wings are very similar to the stabilizers.

Take 8 triangles and link them in a roll (as in step 12) to form a "bar".

Make a total of 4 bars and we will use them in next step.

The gaps recommended for inserting the bars are shown below.
(The cords and engines are removed in this picture for clear illustration.)

It is the same for both sides.

The tips of two bars are inserted to a triangle.

Use construction papers, black and white, to make the cockpit. Cut them to a desirable shape and glue them together.

Glue the cockpit to the front of the fuselage.

The cords under the wings can be glued or taped to the wings.

The engines can be glued to the wings and/or the fuselage. If it is not firm enough, make a stage (with a piece of cardboard or a plate) and fixed both the fuselage and the engines to it.

And... the airplane is basically done! It is time to enjoy music!

Oops! I forgot to remind you checking the speakers-- make sure they work before you put them into the airplane.

1) Better choice of colors than me-- red and yellow is the best I can buy here in Africa where I make this model (there isn't even blue or white for thin paper!)

2) Better glue control than me-- I left too much glue marks on the plane!

3) Better cord placement-- it seems my cords are keep staying out of place

But anyway, it is fun to make this airplne model from scratches!