thanks so much for the info (except, perhaps, the one about making a woman out of papier mache...face it guys...she'd never be able to clean house or make the coffee) I think I'm going to give it a go....going to use the glue mentioned and paint afterwards with something waterproofish....one advantage to the rickety old cardboard case I have now is that all of the airlines I've traveled have allowed me to carry it on as it looks to risky for any other cargo store.