The task was to merge two musical instruments into one and to build a model of it out of corrugated cardboard. However, both instruments should still be playable, i.e. have all the necessary parts. We had two weeks to complete the project and this time we were also asked to elaborate some details.

I decided to build a balalaika, a traditional russian guitar with a triangular body shape. Across the balalaika there is a trumpet that you can blow while playing the balalaika on your lap. It was especially difficult to shape the trunk of the balalaika out of the not so flexible cardboard. I shaped the tube of the trumpet by carving the cardboard lengthwise so that I was able to bend the cardboard. I also tried to include the traditional ornaments of the balalaika and to give the fingerboard a lot of detail. The two instruments are built in their original size.

Gallery