Arrr! Paper Pirate!

ARRR!
Let's Make
A
PAPER
PIRATE!

NEW! A Mirror Site with a Shorter URL:
www.paperpirate.tk

The Sargasso Pirates, Pt. 3: Enter the Werewolf by PiratePhil

Avast, matey! From the creator of Download-a-Dinosaur , a fierce pirate has landed. He stands over nine inches tall and comes equiped with enough weapons to sack Panama City. All you have to do is print out the designs and follow the directions...

You will need scissors, glue, and clear tape. Some toothpicks and pipe cleaners are useful but not necessary. Clothes pins or paper clips can hold wet glued pices of paper together while you do other stuff. I use two pairs of scissors: a big one for most of it, and a short sharp pair for the details. Good light is a must. Sit with a trash bag between your knees to catch the trimmings. This is not a quick 30-minute crafts activity. It took me about THREE HOURS to make one. And with all the white glue, it is best to let it dry overnight. To speed things up, you can divide up the work if you have little swabbies to do your bidding (girls do the clothes, boys do the weapons, wait a tick! is that genderific stereotypicating?). Or spread it out over several school days. Kids can work on their paper pirates while you read pirate stories to them. Then give 'em treasures for first done, best done, most creative, and so on.

Ready? Let's go!

1. First, print out the head and hat (Click Here). Cut them out. Don't worry about getting the hair perfect. He can afford to loose a few locks and it is supposed to look messy. Divide the hair into thirds. Cross the two sides of hair under the middle piece. Glue them with a small drop of glue. Fold the middle third of hair down over them and glue. Then fold the hair down from the crown of the head. Ruff up the hair to make it look windswept. Head should fit over your finger. (Arrr!)

Now the hat. Be sure you cut out that the white round part in the middle. (A paper hole puncher is a safe way to get it started.) Fold up the back (with the lid on it). Fold the lid over at a right angle and fold the little flaps down. Then fold the two sides up. Put little dabs of glue on the tabs and fasten them to the sides. (One at a time is easier than both at once.) Let dry. Then stick it on your pirate's head. Don't glue it so you can take it off and show people what kind of hat it is. (A "tricorn" because it has three ("tri-") corners.)

2. Next let's make the body. Print out the body (Click Here). Cut it out. Cut along the lines into the armpits and both sides of the neck. Cut the legs apart and cut out the white area between the legs. Cut the small lines at the crotch. Roll the bottom of the sleeve up and the top of the sleeves down. Glue or tape the flaps to the sleeves. Roll the torso together, line up the sash, and glue or tape the flap down. Roll the legs in from the front and arouind from the back. Glue or tape the flaps at the cuffs.

3. Now the coat. Print out the coat (Click Here). Cut it out. Cut the lines into the armpits. Cut the collar down to the lapels. Roll the arms forward. Fold the collar sharply down. Roll the sides of the coat in. Then place the body into the coat. Roll the sleeves all the way around the arms and tape at the cuffs, elbows, and upper arms. Then carefully line up the lapels and put a piece of tape across them.Put an extra piece of tape on the inside to stiffin the connection up. Now the head. Put a drop of glue on the neck and slip the head over it. Press the face and neck together. Stick a pencil up the body and press the parts together from the inside with the eraser and from the outside with your finger if you have to.

4. Step lively now! Time for the boots. Print out the boots (Click Here). Cut out the parts as you need them. Start with the two biggest pieces. Cut straight in about a half inch on both sides where the arrow points. Wrap the uppers around and tape or glue together. Wrap the lower part around and tape or glue. Finish with the toe, which folds down and then underneath. Glue.

Now cut out the boot tops. Roll them around with the flap even with the top so it will flare out. Tape or glue. Then put glue inside the boot top and squeeze it over the boot.

Next cut out the piece with the heel on it. Fold the heel in at a right angel and round the sides forward. Put a thin smear of glue all over the white side of the paper and put in place, covering up the hole in thr boot and wrapping up both sides of the foot. Get this right and your pirate will be able to stand up on his own two feet.

Finally, cut out the bit with the buckle on it. Put a thin smear of glue all over the white side and place across the front. Boot done! Now put glue around the lower part of the leg and squeeze the leg into the boot, but don't get glue inside the boot on the outside of the leg because you might want to stick a pistol or a knife in there later. Pirate done! Go get yourself a cookie.

5. Now the extra fun part. You get to customize your pirate's weaponry and accessories. You get three flintlock pistols, one blunderbus, one large cutlass with scabbard, frog, and baldrick, one boot knife, and one big sheath knife and belt. Print out the guns here (Click). And the sword, knives, and leather gear here.

First make the sword, Cut out bowlguard "F" and blade and grip "I". Fold over "I" sharply, smear it with glue, add a toothpick, and let dry flat. Slit opening for the blade in the guard "F". Slide it over the blade and bend it around the grip, gluing it to the pommel. Let dry. The guns are easy. Just cut them out, fold them over, give them a thin smear of glue, fold flat and let dry. You can put a toothpick inside of the bunderbuss to make it straighter and stronger. Cut out the gunlocks and glue them above the triggers. The knives are easy, too. Just fold knife "A" lengthwise and knife "C" sideways. Give them a thin smear of glue and flatten and let dry. Knife "C" has a crossguard you need to fold back on itself twice to cover all the white up. Fold up knife sheath "D" three times the long ways and glue the over lapping ends together. Don't use too much glue. You want to be able to put knife "A" in and out of it. You can glue the sheath to the belt "G" after you put it on the body. Glue the belt to the back in the middle of the sash, but only to itself in the front as you want to be able to thrust pistols, knives, etc., through it. The baldrick "B" goes over the right shoulder and the ends overlap at the lower left side. Glue. The frog "E" needs to have a little slit in the middle of it. (An x-acto knife works great.) Glue the part above the slit to the baldrick. Make sword scabbard "H" like the knife sheath: fold it the long ways and glue the two long sides together. Slide it through the slit in the frog. Glue to the frog. Put a sharp right angle fold into the tip of the drag (that's the protective metal covering at the end of the scabbard). This will form a third balance point that will help keep your pirate from falling over backward.

That should do it. Tape or glue whatever weapons you want your guy to have in his hands and stick the rest into his belt and boots. Now go pillage something.

Want to buy the pirate in the picture? No time? No printer? No problem. By request we are now selling fully-assembled pirates complete with weapons.
Just send $19.99 by check, money order, or cash to

Phil Heiple
1615 N. 2nd Ave.
Upland, CA. 91784

Also accepting Paypal to philfear@rain.org

Also you can email me to see if the item is in stock or how long it will take.

More stuff by Phil Heiple:

Paper Models of Civil War Soldiers.

Download-a-Dinosaur.

Let's make a solar power generator for less than $300.

Let's make a bottle of Absinthe!

Copyright 2010 Phil Heiple. All rights reserved. Email to the Paper Pirate!.

Christmas Special! Buy our popular dinosaur book for only $5.99! Limited time offer.