A STEM Project: A World War II Airplane Carousel With a Spitfire, Messerschmitt, Japanese Zero and a Wildcat

World War II Airplane Carousel - 

US Spitfire

World War II Airplane Carousel - 

British Wildcat

World War II Airplane Carousel - 

German Messerschmitt

World War II Airplane Carousel - 

Japanese Zero

World War II Airplanes- Top left, Japanese Zero, German Messerschmitt 

Bottom left - British Spitfire and a US Wildcat

This World War II Airplane carousel moves manually when a gear is turned.  There are four aircraft represented in this design. They are a British Spitfire, a German Messerschmitt, a Japanese Zero and a US Wildcat. The Spitfire and the Messerschmitt were used over Allied territory in Europe.  The Japanese Zero and US Wildcat were used in the Pacific theater.

To make a WWI version (red canopy above) refer to my previous blog posting https://papercraftetc.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-stem-project-world-war-i-airplane.html

To make the carousel, use the directions in this blog posting.

https://papercraftetc.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-stem-project-making-airplane-carousel.html

I used 65 lb. foil cardstock in iridescent, blue, red, aluminum, green and gold from Michaels to make the airplanes and carousel. I used Cricut acetate for the center column of the carousel. I recommend using Aleene's Tacky glue and tweezers for the adhering the small tabs. I used mini brads from Michaels to attach the propeller to the engine so that the propeller could rotate.

Here is the PDF.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dt4ir_GeH6_bRm95CbDscOM5KHcfp6os/view?usp=sharing

Here is the .Studio file.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wISRsH1JY6hGoKL-gVxVPBQxYfKJdMvy/view?usp=sharing

Here is the SVG.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ob6_uAsNyJBz1l7b9VpJyy63l8lDsL8b/view?usp=sharing

All of the airplanes have the same construction.  I will show how to put together the German Messerschmitt. Follow these same instructions for the other three airplanes except for the US Wildcat where the embellishment is added to the tail after the tail wing has been inserted.

Layout all of the pieces. Make the embellishments by layering the pieces. Glue the corresponding wings and propeller together. Make the embellishments by layering the pieces. Glue the embellishments to the fuselage and wing.

Glue the embellishments to the fuselage and wing.

Bend the creases of the fuselage and apply glue as shown.

Use tweezers to adhere the glue.  Wait for the glue to dry before proceeding.

Slide the tail into place.  Glue and adhere the tab to the fuselage.

Glue the tabs of the engine together.  Make sure the tabs are dry before continuing. Using a brad, cut the prongs to size. Insert the brad through the propeller and fuselage. Splay the prongs as shown above.

Glue the face of the propeller assembly into the fuselage.

Glue the canopy first on one side. Allow the glue to dry before gluing and adhering the other side. Glue down the front and back of the canopy.

Completed Messerschmitt.