Nike MAG Box

[TheNickFox]

The problem is that due to the method of construction, a flat box isn't really just a flat box. It would be a nearly completely unassembled box...at least in order to make it take up significantly less space for shipping purposes.

...at that point, just source your own materials and make it from scratch. :lol You'll do about the same amount of work and save a little bit of money.

-Nick

 

[MitasTouch]

The problem is that due to the method of construction, a flat box isn't really just a flat box. It would be a nearly completely unassembled box...at least in order to make it take up significantly less space for shipping purposes.

...at that point, just source your own materials and make it from scratch. :lol You'll do about the same amount of work and save a little bit of money.

-Nick

Then we need templates. For the box and the foam inserts. And if someone selling boxes is out of the question, that person could still make the stickers for people to buy. Lets not try to kill this too quickly though.

 

[TheNickFox]

I'm not trying to kill anything, I have a whole huge folder of research on this box, alone so I've gone through every building scenario. The problem with flatpacking is that the main four walls of the box cannot have their yellow cladding put on, until the four walls are glued together...and since that's very nearly the size of the completed box, you see where the problem comes in.

If I had the time right now, I'd probably start an interest thread. But starting a business tends to eat up a lot of "fun time."

Once I go ahead with my box, I'll share everything as best as I can, as I usually do to help everyone out.

-Nick

 

[MitasTouch]

If I had the time right now, I'd probably start an interest thread.

Well it was Taff83's idea to sell the boxes, so it would be unfair to take that away from him.

 

[TheNickFox]

I have nothing but respect for what Taff does...but multiple people can offer their own build of something for sale. That's sort of how this hobby works. We're making replicas of things, no one can really stake a claim to anything. If I wanted to offer up Iron Man helmet number 80000, just because others have already had the idea doesn't mean I couldn't do it as well.

Anyway, for people looking to get a head start and might want to build their own, here's a smattering of sources from my bookmarks to help get you started:

Binder's Board: Talas - Davey Binder's Board 20" x 30" Sheets (Forms the main body of the box, possibly doubled up for added wall thickness)

...also check out the rest of that site for glues, and bone folders.

For cladding, my best research says it could very well be a bonded leather material. You just have to find one that's thin enough to work as a book cloth. I'd start with this one (Since they offer a sample) and move on from there:

Amazon.com: 54" G531 Yellow, Upholstery Grade Recycled Leather (Bonded Leather) By The Yard: Arts, Crafts & Sewing

For a cheaper alternative, hit up a good art store and check out their paper selection...or possible try to find a wallpaper in the right color. (Good luck on that last one though, I've been looking) The disadvantage of using paper without a cloth backing (AKA book cloth) is that it is susceptible to damage and tearing through repeated openings and closings.

Part 1 of 5 of a VERY informative instructional box-building video: Making a Prototype Box Part 1 of 5 - YouTube

Then all you have to worry about is the closure/magnets, and that's nothing you can't solve with some small magnets and shim steel.

-Nick

 

[Taff83]

Nick thanks for your kind comment mate, i really appreciate it!
Your post is excellent, i will check this all out tonight over a nice cup of tea

Well it was Taff83's idea to sell the boxes, so it would be unfair to take that away from him.

Just to clarify, i don't want to sell any boxes rather source a company who can make them (at a decent price) then give you all the sellers details and all you would need to do is contact them direct say your after "Taffs box" and they can ship to you

More progress though, a company i have been talking to say they can do the box which would include the hidden magnetic lid but the only thing is that it would be a corrugated box, i am awaiting a email back to find out if it will be lined so in essence it would cover the ribbed effect making it still look identical to the mag box =)

As always i will post here when i get a reply, however if the price is still to high i think we should go with Nicks idea and make our own, if i could build a box i would post a shopping list and a step by step tutorial in this thread or a step 1-5 youtube tutorial so we can all have the fun in making the box, at the moment though i would prefer to get the box at a really decent price and that would save us all the trouble

 

[IxMAGICx1]

Feel free to use my stickers on the first page for any kits you guys end up making. :thumbsup

 

[TheNickFox]

I took a trip to Joann today and found a keepsake box that might work as a "close enough" substitute with a few mods.

I was getting some strange looks from the employees so I only snapped two pictures quickly:

And the UPC with dimensions:

As you can see the dimensions are damn close. The biggest issues:

-The flap is curved.
-That bow on the front.
-THE COLOR. :lol

But it is a magnetic closure flip top box of very similar dimensions! With a few mods, this thing could be nearly perfect.

...OH! And it's only $16.99!

Unfortunately, it seems to be in store only. I can't seem to find it online.

-Nick

EDIT: Here's a professional shot of these style of boxes (from the same company) I found, just to give you a better sense of their overall appearance:

 

[MitasTouch]

I took a trip to Joann today and found a keepsake box that might work as a "close enough" substitute with a few mods.

I was getting some strange looks from the employees so I only snapped two pictures quickly:



And the UPC with dimensions:



As you can see the dimensions are damn close. The biggest issues:

-The flap is curved.
-That bow on the front.
-THE COLOR. :lol

But it is a magnetic closure flip top box of very similar dimensions! With a few mods, this thing could be nearly perfect.

...OH! And it's only $16.99!

Unfortunately, it seems to be in store only. I can't seem to find it online.

-Nick

That's a great find, but it would require too much effort to mod to be right. Making a box from scratch would require less work and it would be more accurate. I'm really getting into the idea of Taff's tutorial thread he said he might make if he can't source a good company to produce them.

 

[Caloss]

It will take a lot of mod work to make that box look like the real nike box sorry for being negative but i tryed it about a year ago but nothing came out of it but a head ake maybe it will be different for you good luck..

 

[TheNickFox]

Opinions are always welcome, I'm just sharing different avenues that can be taken.

The quickest (and worst looking) mod I could think of would just be to paint the thing yellow and cut the bow off. :lol I wouldn't advise that one...

But a more realistic mod would involve stripping the cladding off of the box so only the raw binder's board remains, cut a new piece for the front flap, squaring it. Then clad it in yellow paper, vinyl, or possibly bonded leather. (Here's some vinyl by the foot as a cost reference: http://www.louisville-graphics.com/servlet/the-5898/24"-Wide-Brimstone-Yellow/Detail#.UWeN8nDKba4 and a whole 10' roll: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Roll-24-X...emovable-Wall-Art-Cutting-Vinyl-/220945306111 )

All in all you could make a decent box for around $30-$40 and some labor...without having to start from scratch. Then just add stickers and foam and you're golden.

You could always go further, cutting down the height of the box too, but I think it's uneccesary. You'd get 90% of the way with just one of these boxes, some scrap binder, bristol, or matte board and some vinyl. And for some that's good enough. People who want 100% accuracy...keep going, I can't wait to see what you make!

Again, opinions are always welcome, I'm just sharing what I find so that we can all benefit from all of the options out there.

-Nick

 

[TheNickFox]

Today, afterwork, I was driving past Joann and decided, "What they hell, let me grab on of those boxes!"

So I did, and here's what I've been up to for the last hour...

First I took off the ribbon and the tag:

Then I pried out the top insert piece (I'm not too concerned with little fragments of paper being stuck to either side since this will be invisible when I'm done) :

Then I continued my prying and took off the outer flap assembly:

I then cut off approximately 2.2 cm from the top of the main box assembly as well as the rear spine. (I just taped the spine in place temporarily to check the fit) You can see the scraps I cut off next to their original location:

Then I cut off the flap and peeled back the wrapping to reveal the magnet (It's actually inlayed really precisely...I was surprised by that) :

Then I cut a new, square flap from a piece of scrap matboard that I had lying around, and loosely taped it in place to check the fit:

I don't know about you guys but ignoring the color, that's looking damn close to my eye.

The only major thing I'm going to do is to trim down the overhang of the outer flap assembly so it fits more flush with the edge of the box assembly. I'll have that done by tonight most likely. Then I'll start to test cladding materials. My girlfriend has already promised my some scraps of adhesive vinyl so I can see how well it holds, and I was thinking that in order to limit the chance of rips and tears by trying to remove the current cladding, I might just line the inside of the box with brown butcher's paper to replicate the look of the raw brown interior before wrapping it in its new material.

Thoughts?

-Nick

 

[Taff83]

Nice work Nick! Ye the structure and functionality of the box looks spot on, tbh you already have a better box than the v2's are in lol!! I think with a few more hours that thing is going to look sweet! Do you know if they have anymore boxes? Or can these be found online :?

 

[TheNickFox]

Nice work Nick! Ye the structure and functionality of the box looks spot on, tbh you already have a better box than the v2's are in lol!! I think with a few more hours that thing is going to look sweet! Do you know if they have anymore boxes? Or can these be found online :?

They're not online, but the store I went to had probably about 10 boxes of this size out on the floor...so I'm sure they have even more in the back. I don't know about other stores. I can always do a run to the other, larger Joann that's close to me to see if they have more out as well.

Overall, the box will be shorter and narrower than the RD box by ~2 on each side, but I just measured it and I have the height dead on. I still haven't ordered my V2's so I can't speak for that box, but my K-Mag box can't come close to a comparison to this. This box just feels solid.

...I also have ideas on how to emboss the diamond on the top of the box too. But that will have to wait until I do some materials testing.

-Nick

 

[Taff83]

This is starting to sound promising! Well if you pass the shop anytime and you see one available I'll easy PayPal you the cash + shipping and we could work on this together

 

[who45]

I did see yellow "fablon" in homebase last week in the wallpaper section, great for recovering anything and the perfect shade for covering the box ;-)

 

[TheNickFox]

This is starting to sound promising! Well if you pass the shop anytime and you see one available I'll easy PayPal you the cash + shipping and we could work on this together

Sounds awesome! The more people we have working on this problem, the better. So I can certainly do that. Shipping will be a bit funny...putting a box in a box. But if Nike can work it out, so can I! :lol

...and I may even have a coupon to Joann to help save a couple bucks for you.

I did see yellow "fablon" in homebase last week in the wallpaper section, great for recovering anything and the perfect shade for covering the box ;-)

If you happen to be back in there anytime soon, see if you can get a brand name and possibly the color name or some details on it so I can see what there nearest equivalent I can grab stateside is.

I have a sample of bonded leather on its way to me. If it's thin enough, I'd love to try using that, since it would give it such a "luxury feel" but I'm not holding out hope.

And I think I've gone about as far as I can with my dissections. So now it's time for material tests!

Here's where it stands for now. (The only difference is that I've trimmed the overhangs)

-Nick

 

[Taff83]

Sounds awesome! The more people we have working on this problem, the better. So I can certainly do that. Shipping will be a bit funny...putting a box in a box. But if Nike can work it out, so can I! :lol

...and I may even have a coupon to Joann to help save a couple bucks for you.
give it such a "luxury feel" but I'm not holding out hope.

And I think I've gone about as far as I can with my dissections. So now it's time for material tests!
Here's where it stands for now

That would be tremendous Nick thank you for that offer and it would be great to work with you and the others on this as a community to achieve the best box for these to date

Materials test for sure! That box is looking like it has great potential!

 

[IxMAGICx1]

Great work, Nick! Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[TheNickFox]

Thanks for the support and feedback, guys.

For anyone looking to build their own box from scratch, I've identified the style of magnet used in this box.

They're 1/2" sewing magnets just like the ones that can be found here:

K&J Magnetics - Products

Then you just need a small piece of shim steel (google around, I can't find a good supplier for small quantities at the moment) to go onto the other side of the box.

-Nick