Build a Webcam Teddy Bear

Step 4 Modify the eye and attach it to the camera

Although the eyes are made of a translucent plastic, it is not clear enough for the camera to look through. This means we need a hole in the eye. This is unfortunate as I was hoping to preserve the look of the bear as much as possible, but it is small enough that it is not noticeable at a distance.

The stem of the eye was cut off using a hack saw, and then a hole was drilled using a hand drill. It is about 5 or 6mm (1/4") in diameter, but the size will be depended on how close you can mount the camera to the eye, and its viewing angle. The hole should be big enough so that the eye does not obscure a significant amount of the picture. In my finished bear there is some obscuration around the corners.

Since the hole is being drilled in a translucent cast plastic, the inside of the hole will be rough and light coloured. This creates a problem since the light reflecting off the inside of the eye creates a halo effect in the camera which spoils the image. The inside of the eye has to be smoothed and painted black. I used mat-black model paint for this step.

With the eye prepared, pop the front cover off the camera (usually it is just held on by tabs, but may be glued) and glue the eye as close to the lens as possible using model glue (plastic cement). You may have to scratch the paint off the camera where you are gluing to make it stick. Be careful not to get any glue on the lens, and position the eye so that the lens is centered in the hole!