The Desktop Fortress consists of 4 wall pieces and 1 keep/tower.
The steps are: CUT,  FOLD, and  GLUE !

Cutting:

To build your castle, cut along the solid outlines to seperate the individual pieces from your printed sheet. It is easiest to cut each piece out as a block, and then cut the details one piece at a time. You may use scissors for these big cuts, but a ruler and a hobby knife are the better choice for long straight cuts.This keeps your pieces even and straight.

Notice the triangle cut-outs along the bottom edges of the pieces. You will see that they "point" to the vertical dashed lines in the castle piece. The areas between the triangle cutouts are your base tabs. You must cut out these little triangles so that your pieces will fold along those dashed lines. Place the point of your knife in the corner of the triangle and cut away from the piece. Be sure to hold the piece firmly to your cutting surface so that it doesn't tear! Once you have cut all the lines, the trianlge should easily pull away from their points. At one end of each wall piece there is an end tab, for connecting the wall pieces together.

The battlements are created by cutting out the squares along the top edges. Remember to hold the piece firmly down "behind" your knife to keep the paper from creasing or tearing. You should work along the top edge making all of your vertical cuts, then turn the piece to make all of the finishing cuts in one line.

Folding

Now fold along the dashed lines. You can fold them all the same direction at first, just to get the creases started. Place a ruler along the dashed fold line and lift your paper to it. This helps keep your fold straight and even.To give your castle definition and create towers at each corner, you will need to alternate the folds back and forth.

Once your folds are established, you should dry fit the pieces before you glue them. This is your chance to make sure your edges will line up. The important areas check are at the top edge of a piece and at the base. Correct any sizing problems by trimming or re-folding.

Gluing

When you are satisfied with the alignment of the pieces, you can begin gluing. Start with the KEEP - the inner tower.

This can be a little tricky to glue. You have two directions to keep aligned as you glue the edge tab to the inside of the opposing wall: up-down (vertical), and in-out (horizontal). Before you touch the glued tab to the opposing face, decide which alignment point is more important to you - the top corner or the bottom corner - and start there. You will apply a thin bead - or several small spots - of glue along the edge tab, then smooth it with your finger so that it is a thin even coating. Now match the corners at one end of the piece, pinch them together, and pull gently as you match the other corners. You will have just a few seconds when you can slide the tab a little bit for fine adjustment along the edge. Once the tab is lined-up, press or squeesze all along the glued tab area for even contact. Set this aside to dry while you work on the next part.

To assemble the main wall, glue one wall piece to the next, end to end. It is a good idea to use your ruler as a straight edge to keep the tops aligned as you put the pieces together. Use the dashed lines at the ends to guide you as you overlap and glue the pieces. If you folded this end tab in the folding process it is easier to line up the end of the next piece as you glue. You can stand your wall upright between gluing to check for alignment before you continue to the next piece. Once you have all four wall pieces glued together in a long line, go along and re-fold all of your creases to reinforce their direction.
* Be especially certain you have folded your base tabs before you glue the last end to the beginning end!*
When you are happy that it is holding its general shape, go ahead and glue the last ends together so that you have a "RING" of castle wall. Take your time and don't be afraid to let the wall flop around a littl bit.

A piece of old shoebox - or cereal box or legal pad - makes an excellent base for a papr castle. Get your base ready now. Play with the size and shape of your castle wall to be sure it will fit on your base before you start to glue it down.

With the "RING" assembled, turn the whole thing upside down, and apply glue to all of the base tabs. You should lightly run your finger across the glue to ensure evenness and to remove any excess glue (too much glue can warp the paper). Now, pick up the whole thing gently by its diagonally opposing corners and turn it over. Set it down gently, so that you can adjust as you go around the edge. Allow one corner to touch your base surface, and slowly lower the entire wall into its final shape. You will have a few seconds to make subtle adjustments before the glue dries completely.

When you are satisfied with the shape of your "ring", firm the base tabs to the base surface. Use the handle end of your hobby knife, or a pencil eraser to press gently down along the base tabs so that they make good even contact with the base surface.

To finish your fortress, choose a place inside the ring wall for your Keep, glue the bottom tabs as before, and firm it down into its final place.

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CUTTING | FOLDING | GLUING

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