Cardboard

As long as you don’t get it wet or put it near fire, cardboard is a strong and versatile building material. The guys at Mini Gear show us how to make a number of nifty desktop vending machines using cardboard, rubber bands, and hot glue as their primary materials.

Cardboard and rubber band weapon maker Blackfish shows off an amazing build which looks just like a Glock 19 handgun, with working slide and firing mechanism, and an ammo clip filled with bullets made from crayons. After the action, he shows off how to build your own.

These interlocking modular display shelves are made from layers of high-strength cardboard using 80% recycled materials. They can be stacked like giant building blocks, and each shelf holds up to 44 lb. The blocks have both a black and a natural cardboard side.

The Q show off another one of their awesome low-budget builds, a robot arm that’s made primarily from cardboard and popsicle sticks, and controlled by plastic syringes filled with colored liquid. If there’s anyone we’d want to be stranded on a desert island with, it’s these guys.

The Q shows us how with just cardboard, a knife, a ruler, and some glue, you can make a simple sorter for coins of any denomination. To make one for your country’s coins, you just need to tweak the widths of the openings.

MudbrainsTvDIY gives us a brief glimpse at an amazing build – he replicated the T-800 arm that Miles Dyson had in Terminator 2. It’s made entirely from cardboard, glue, and varnish. If you’ve got about 7 hours to spare, you can watch how he built it, step by laborious step.

Obilab’s portable rhythm section folds down flat and fits inside a cardboard backpack, letting drummers set up impromptu jam and practice sessions pretty much anywhere – as long as it’s not raining. Listen to sample sounds at the bottom of their Kickstarter page.

It might look like a stool, but this is actually a book. Designed by Mike Mak, Bookniture’s cardboard honeycomb structure can hold over a ton, and folds up into a book for storage when not in use. Measures 13.5″h x 14″ dia when in use, 13″h x 7″w x 1.5″d when folded.

You’d think that a tent made out of cardboard wouldn’t be able to withstand rain, but KarTent’s 2-person recyclable shelters can survive up to three days in the wet stuff, making them perfect for outdoor festivals and other temporary uses.

Lexus UK worked with design agency NVDK, Laser Cut Works, and Scales & Models to create a full-scale, driveable replica of the Lexus IS sedan, using from 1700 laser-cut pieces of cardboard. We’re guessing it’s not as much fun to drive as the actual IS, but it’s still really cool.

Like Karton, Cardboard Furniture and Projects makes flat-pack, modular furniture made of cardboard. They’re water-resistant, lightweight and 100% recyclable. The shop can also customize your order with prints and different cardboards.

(NSFW: Language) Comic Book Girl Lindsay Ames puts her incredible cardboard Robocop costume to good use, reenacting a scene from the original film in her full paper regalia. Perhaps a better idea than a reboot of the franchise.

Designers Alrik Koudenburg and Joost van Bleiswijk set up this cardboard office space for ad agency Nothing. Clever construction bypassed the need to use screws or even glue to hold things together.

Made of recyclable cardboard, the boldly graphic Berlin Boombox is a DIY portable speaker with stereo amp that’ll be easy to carry while you bump your tunes around town. Just don’t get it wet.

The sequel to the special effects-laden film by Clinton Jones is more than six times longer than the original. It takes itself a tad too seriously but it’s still an awesome production nonetheless.

Home and office furniture made of 100% recyclable high-grade corrugated paper board. They are easy to assemble and disassemble, and can even be painted or varnished. (In Australia only for now.)

Give your feline friends something that they can practice their eventual overthrow of the Earth on, like this corrugated cardboard scratching post that looks like a giant skyline. Kittehs need goals too.

Although he wasn’t the one who made these tiny cardboard people, it’s photographer Anton Tang’s depth of field, angles and lighting tricks that make them look lifelike and adorable.

David Graham’s Move-it Kit is a recyclable trolley made of self-adhesive cardboard parts. Once assembled, it transforms into a one-off functional cart for parcels of many sizes and shapes.

Perfect for group hugs – or kills. Unfortunately, they’re sold out already, but maybe you can ask the creator to make some more. Or try to make a pair yourself. All you need is cardboard anyway.

This insane vehicle was made from PVC pipe, chicken wire, over 900 zip-ties, and a crap-ton of cardboard strapped to a pickup. Total cost: $450. Driving a cardboard tank down the road: priceless.

This incredible replica of a McLaren M8B race car was created by artist Chris Gilmour, entirely from cardboard and hot glue. The upcycled, but misspelled logo on the spoiler is a nice touch.

Don Lucho’s Casa de Karton, an apartment built entirely with carton and paper, includes furniture and other items found in a typical home. A carton car wreck can be found outside the installation.

Kiel Johnson’s giant Cardboard Twin-Lens Reflex Camera looks cool enough as he builds it in the time-lapse video above, but here’s what wowed us: it actually takes pictures.