Super Mario Bros. Question Block

'NOTE I do not know for sure what this block would look like in reality. I am just assuming that there are bricks on the sides, since there are usually brick blocks on either side of it.

---

So we've all (hopefully) played the original Super Mario Bros. game at one time or another, and we had to jump to hit a block with a question mark on it. We usually got a red mushroom that made us grow. I ended up liking that block so much, I had to have my own, that I could take with me everywhere.

"If you do not have balsa wood, or would like a quicker version, hamgravy made a paper cut-out version, with my permission https://www.instructables.com/id/Super-Mario-Bros-Paper-Question-Mark-Block/"

What you'll need for this is:
--Thin balsa wood sheet
--Ruler/straightedge
--Knife (utility or X-acto)
--Tape

Youll also need to print off the sides of the block. You could paint it, but it was much easier for me to just print the sides off. I dont do good with intricate painting. Youll find the net I made below.

I apologize in advance for the blurry pictures. My camera is not the greatest.

For this, I thought that a 1 x 1 inch cube would be good, so youll need to cut 6 1-inch square pieces of wood (I chose balsa because its the easiest to work with, and I had it lying around).

I found the easiest way to do this was score the wood deeply with the knife, and then snap it.

I started off assembling the sides by taping them together (in a pattern like the one below), then I taped on only one side. I put a little bit of glue on the seams inside, and let it dry for a bit, and then I filled the inside with a combination of cardboard scrap and hot glue, to give it some weight. I let that dry, and added the top, cutting it so it would fit inside nicely, and taped and glued that in place too.

I dry fitted the sides of the block onto the wood, and I found that the edges of the paper didnt meet up close enough. I had some black spray paint lying around, so I put that on the block. It dried quickly, since there was so much tape on the block.

I used rubber cement to glue the sides on. The long strip was just long enough to cover 3 sides, and part of the fourth, so I glued that on, and put the front face on top of the partially coverd side. The other 2 sides should be put on with the thin white strip facing towards the front.

Now it is completely done. This turns out to be quite sturdy, once together.

To prevent too much wear on the block, I recommend wrapping it in a layer of clear packing tape. This will hold any lifting corners as well.

Please message me if you find anything wrong or have any questions.

Check back later to see some more Mario-themed things, or updates to this one!