How to Make a Sims Plumbob

"The Sims" is a PC game developed in the early 2000's, where players can customize fictional characters, known as "Sims", build their houses, plan their daily routines and activities, and manage their interactions with other Sims.

The Sims live in a fictional town, hold a fictional currency, and speak "Simlish", which you might have guessed, is a fictional language.

One of the most famous symbols of this game is the Plumbob. The Plumbob is a diamond-shaped halo above a Sims' head, intended to show that this Sims is currently controlled by the player, and is ready to be given instructions. The Plumbob's color and brightness also indicate the current mood of the Sims, from green, which represents a good mood, to red, which represents a bad mood.

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When I was a child, I used to play "The Sims" very frequently (if not always), and with a highly developed sense of imagination, I enjoyed making my own Plumbobs, and pretend as if I were a fictional Sims character. I loved it so much, that I even made myself a Sims costume with my friends, when I was in high school.

In this instructable, I will be explaining how to easily make your own Plumbob, and help you unleash the inner Sims inside you :)

To make the ultimate Plumbob, you will need the following:

• 2 green A4 papers*
• A headband
• A pair of scissors
• A pair of pliers
• An adhesive tape
• A double-sided tape
• Steel wire, with thickness between 0.5mm to 1.5mm, and length of 30cm**
• A printer

*If you wish to use a different color, to reflect a different mood for your Sims, this is possible too. In this instructable, I will be making a Plumbob for a Sims who is in a good mood.

**This can be bought in any store that offers products for home improvement and workshop.

Over the web, you can find dozens of templates for one half of the Plumbob. Just pick any of them, and print it twice, one for each green paper. *

*It is also possible to make the diamond without any template, using origami skills. Since origami is not my forte, we will be following a shorter route this time, but feel free to challenge yourselves if you want to!

For each of the copies, cut the template along the dotted lines.

First, fold inwards the rightmost triangle over the solid line that connects between it to the hexagon.

Then, starting from the rightmost triangle, fold every triangle to its' left neighboring triangle, over the solid line that connects between them.

Finally, fold every tab inwards.

Repeat these steps twice, one for each half of the Plumbob.

On the base of the pyramid, tape every tab using the adhesive tape.

Next, to close the circle of the triangles, tape the border between the edge triangles.

Repeat these steps twice, one for each half of the Plumbob.

Using the double-sided tape, tape the base of one of the pyramids with the other base.

To ensure that both halves are well taped to each other, you may cut several pieces from the tape, instead of just one.

Now that you finished making your Plumbob, it's time to make it hover!

Wrap one end of the wire around the top of the headband. It is recommended to make more than a single loop around the headband, as it will better secure the Plumbob above your head. However, make sure you leave a few centimeters of unwrapped wire, to create the hovering effect of the Plumbob.

Next, pierce the bottom of the Plumbob, slightly twist the other end of the wire, and gently slide the wire through the hole. The twisting prevents the wire from poking the top of the Plumbob.