Now with added Blue Cow!

The file is a little rough and ready but if you follow the directions for the normal cow you can make your very own blue cow !

With thanks to Michael42er and Smelter, I present a slightly updated version of the nodding cow which now includes both a nodding head and swaying udders! Check out Michael42er’s YouTube video of his version. Thank you both for the inspiration.

Members can download the parts for free at the link above.

Print out the parts onto thin card. (230 micron / 67lb)

There are three verions of the cow in the file, holstien, jersey and line only. Print out the version of your choice or all three for a mini-herd. Note that the second sheet in the two coloured versions has both a back and front. Print out the front, flip the card over and return it to the printer and print out the back.

Score along the dotted lines then carefully cut out the parts.

Glue the tail to the back of the body.

Fold round and glue together the head hanger

Fold round and glue together the udder hanger.

Line the end of the head hanger with the back of the body and glue it down.

Similarly, line up the udder hanger with the back of the body and glue it on top of the head hanger.

Glue together the two halves of the neck.

Glue the neck tabs to the neck hanger. Make sure there is no glue of the crease line so that the neck will move freely.

Glue the tab at the end of the udder to the udder hanger.

Make four coin parcels using offcuts of card and small 20mm diameter / 4 gram coins. UK one pence piece are perfect for the job.

Glue two of the coins to the pendulum as shown above.

Fit the other two coins between the udders so that the two udder sides stay parallel and the coins are just above the main body of the udder.

Fold the body round and glue it together.

Fold over the four legs and glue them together to make double thickness card. Once the glue is dry carefully cut out the legs.

Glue the leg stiffeners into place on the backs of the legs. Notice the leg stiffener for the front legs is the one with two crease lines. The stiffener for the back legs has only a single crease.

Glue the back legs into place making sure that they are lined up with each other and vertical. Notice that the top of the legs stick up a couple of millimeters above the top of the body.

Glue the front legs to the body. Stand the cow on a flat surface before the glue is dry and make sure that the legs are level.

Finish off the model by gluing the head to the tabs on the front of the neck piece. Line up the bottom of the chin with the end of the tabs.

Move the cow, even slightly, and the head nods and the udders swing. Charming!

Also available in Jersey Cow livery!