​For the show, I knew I had to recreate the climactic 'Opening of the Ark' scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, complete with terrifying beams of energy, melting Nazi heads and the lid of the Ark spiralling up towards heaven, before returning to earth with an almighty Dolby Digital, THX, bone-shaking thud.

On stage.

By myself. 

What could be simpler?  

You can see in this clip from the show exactly how I tackled it...

I obviously made the lid of the Ark myself, and it occurred to me that if there are any super die-hard Raiders fans out there (and I suspect that you probably are, or you wouldn't be reading this), they might like to know how to make an Ark of the Covenant lid of their very own. And so, here are some step-by-step instructions to ensure that you too can be the proud owner of this magnificent replica movie prop made from SOLID GOLD-coloured cardboard.

                                                                                                  ARK LID INSTRUCTIONS
You're going to need:

• 3 x gold cardboard rectangular serving trays. You can get these from catering or paper products / party supply shops. If you happen to be in Melbourne, where I live, I know for a fact that you can get them from Astoria Paper Products. (Because that's

          where I got mine.)

           
                                                                                  Now, here's what you do:

1. Print out the angel shape template (on A4 size paper), and cut the template out. 
2. On two of the serving trays, on the non-golden side, trace the outline of the angel figures, twice. Like this: 

3. Cut the four shapes out. 

 4. Using the tape, stick the 4 angel shapes together, back-to-back. You should now have 2 angel shapes that are gold on both sides.

5. Now we need to invert the 'lip' of the third gold tray, so, at each of the tray's four corners, use the scissors to make a cut inwards to edge of the lip.
​
6. Fold the four lips out and down from the tray, and stick them in place. The lips of the tray should now be inverted, so that the tray looks more like a low platform.

6. Fold the bottom tabs on the 2 double-sided angel shapes inwards, and tape (and/or staple) them to the centre of the tray.

​​ 9. Now take the crowns, and cut off the top bits, so they look like this.

​​10. Flip them upside down, cut them into four lengths to fit around the edges of the tray, and then tape them around the edges of the tray, like this....

And there you have it! You can spray paint the underside of the lid gold, if you think anyone's going to see it. I did, because of course in the show it had to spin majestically up towards the heavens (with the help of a black stick I'd attached to the underside of it). 
​
NOTE: Of course, you could also make the base and the angel figures out of normal cardboard, and then just spray-paint them gold.... I just happened to be lucky enough to find these golden coloured serving trays in the first place.

Your very own cheap and cheerful Ark of the Covenant lid replica, for less than $15!

​If you do feel inclined to make it, I'd love to hear how you get along (and to see a pic of your finished product).

See you next time!

​Stephen.