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Empire State Building

fig. 1

 Cut out the large piece that will form the base of the building (fig. 1). The front and side walls are at right angles, but the rear wall of the building makes a slight angle. Fold the rooftops down and glue to the tabs.

Next fold the inside walls into a U shape with the printed windows on the inside. Line up the inside walls with the angled side matching the angled rear wall of the base. Glue the inside walls up into the base, carefully lining up the window lines on both pieces before the glue sets.

fig. 2
Cut out the second tier setbacks. Carefully cut around the tiny urns at the wall corners. You can strengthen these with a drop of supper glue before assembling the piece (see Tips). Fold each of the second tier setbacks into a rectangular boxes (fig. 2).

fig. 3
Assemble the third tier setback pieces in a similar fashion to the previous pieces (fig. 3).

fig. 4

 Then glue the second and third tiers on top of the base. Stack the tiers so that the inside walls are flush atop one another while the walls toward the outside of the building will make a stairstep of setbacks. Likewise the tiers with angled walls will be flush with the angled rear wall of the base (fig. 4). Make sure all the stacked walls stand up straight and square with one another before the glue sets.

fig. 5
For the next step, cut out the four tiny walls and platform for the tower (fig. 5). Valley fold the tiny walls (see Tips) and place each in its corner of the platform. Make sure the walls stand up straight before the glue dries.

fig. 6
Cut out the roof of the platform. Fold the tabs down and glue it in place on top of the four tiny walls on the platform (fig. 6).

fig. 7
Next cut out the top of the tower. You can strengthen the thin spires of the tower with super glue before folding them into place (see Tips). Fold in the two sides of the tower with tabs first, then add glue and fold in the two sides with the spires on top (fig. 7). Carefully glue the two sides of the spire together.

fig. 8
Cut out the four rounded crowns on the sides of the tower. Fold the the tabs on left and right sides of the crowns back at a 60-degree angle. Roll the long strip against a round object to give it a curve. Bend the strip down and glue it in place to the lefthand tab (fig. 8).

fig. 9
Next glue the tower to the center of the platform.

Then glue the four rounded crowns to the sides of the tower (fig. 9). Glue the shorter crown pieces to the platform on the sides with tabs. Glue the longer crown pieces to the platform on sides without tabs, so that the long end of the crown piece hangs down to match the lower level of the platform (fig. 10).

fig. 10

 Cut out and assemble the central shaft of the tower. Note the eight tiny eagle gargoyles near the top of the tower. With a tweezers, bend the gargoyles outward at a 45-degree angle and strengthen the fragile paper with a drop of super glue on the inside (see Tips)

Once the tower is assembled and the glue has dried, test fit the crown of the tower inside the shaft of the tower (fig. 10). Keep a long pencil or stick handy to push the crown upwards if it slips down too low inside the shaft. Add glue to the flat sides of the crown where they will fit inside the top of the shaft (fig. 10) and glue it in place.

fig. 11

 Score and cut out the walls of the short platform at the base of the shaft. Spread the wide tabs on the bottom of the tower out of the way so that you can place the piece in the right spot. Make sure to line up the windows of the walls on both pieces before the glue sets (fig. 11).

fig. 12
Next, cut out and fold the rear wall of the central section. The piece should fit exactly into the U-shaped inside wall you assembled in the first step. Note the light gray tint printed on the inside walls of the tiers for the placement of the wall. Line up the windows on the wall and the base before gluing the piece in position (fig. 12).

fig. 13

 Slide the completed tower piece into the U-shaped wall in a similar way as the last step (fig. 13). Make sure the windows line up on both pieces, and that the tower sits squarely on top of the third-tier rooftop.

fig. 14

 Finally, cut out the four tiny hood ornament details. Glue these to the four corners of the small platform in the middle of the tower (fig. 14).

At last your model of the Chrysler Building is finished!

Read more about the Chrysler Building

Copyright 2010 Matt Bergstrom