What is a mobile?
You can make mobiles in many different ways out of many different things. A mobile is usually hung up outside in the open under the shed and moves slowly round when there is a slight breeze. It has to be well balanced. (Refer bellow to view an image of the mobile.) Here are some instructions for making a simple Tailplane Mobile. I have specially added Balto Flyer from Balto 3: Wings of Change as the theme. If you would like to make the Tailplane Mobile with your own decoration and coloring, I have added measurements for you as guide lines. You can just draw & cut them out, then add in your own coloring and design!

What will you need?
To make your own Balto Flyer Tailplane Mobile, you’ll have to prepare the following things:

• Some thread or strings (any color that you fancy will do).
• 6 pieces of thin card A4 size paper (as long as the hard paper can be used for printing with your printer).
• 3 canes or thin sticks 20cm, 30cm, 35cm long (the canes or sticks must be thin, the dark green canes you get from florists are excellent).
• Some plasticine.
• Cellophane tape.
• Glue.
• A pair of scissors.

Making a Balto Flyer Tailplane Mobile

There are three tailplanes altogether tied to each other using pieces of thread. Click on the first link bellow to open a new browsing window for a picture reference. Each tailplane needs a wing and a fin. These should be printed out onto the 6 pieces of thin card paper. The wings and fins drawings are shown in two pictures. Links to the pictures are provided below . Print out “Part 1” onto 3 thin cards and “Part 2” onto the other 3. To print out the drawings, right-click on the pictures and select the “Print Picture…” option. Then set your number of copies to 3 for each picture. Make sure your printer is connected and turned on with the 6 pieces of thin cards ready.

After printing out the drawings, cut out all the wings and fins according to the dashed lines. Then, glue “Side 1” and “Side 2” of the wings and fins together. This is to ensure that both sides have color prints. After the glue has dried up, cut a slot in both the wings and fins as shown using a thick bold line. Then, put them together so they fit across one another. Use the cellophane tape as a strengthener. Stick the tape around the joint between the wings and fins to hold the structure firm.

Next is to attach a cane or stick to each tailplane. Split each cane at the end for 8 cm. Stick the canes on both side of the fin about 2 cm above the wing, with some cellophane tape. If it is too difficult to split the sticks, then just attach them to one side of the fin.

Now you should have three tailplanes ready for making the Balto Flyer Mobile. To hang the mobile, start with the shortest tailplane. The shortest tailplane will be at the bottom while the longest will be at the top most. Cut out the counterbalance from the “Part 1” drawings. Fold according to the dotted lines and glue the counterbalance together to form a small box. Fill the box with plasticine to make it heavy. Attach the counterbalance to the other end of the shortest tailplane with the help of some cellophane tape. Find the balancing point by resting the cane on your finger. Tie a piece of thread to the cane at this point. When you are sure it balances well, glue the thread to the cane. For the second tailplane, replace the counterbalance with the thread you attached to the first tailplane. Find the balancing point and do the same by attaching another piece of thread. As for the third tailplane, it’s the same as the second. Tie a loop at the end of the last thread for hanging.

And now you have your very own Balto Flyer Tailplane Mobile! Hang it somewhere outside in the shed where the breeze can blow your mobile round. Do make sure that your mobile is properly balanced for the best results. All the best! Hope you will enjoy!

I would love to hear from you if you have successfully made your Balto Flyer Mobile. Kindly tell me more about your experience or give in any ideas or suggestions. Thanks a lot!