Make Your Own Bendy Toy

I was inspired by the rubber origami instructable to play around with Plasti Dip. One of the things that I chanced upon turned out to be a great deal of fun and so I'm posting it here in order to spread the cheer.

This is a quick and dirty way to make your own bendy stick figure toys. They provide hours of fun and entertainment. Really.

Step 1: Go get stuff

To do this you will need:

- any metal wire that will hold its shape when you bend it
- tinfoil (optional)
- Plasti Dip (available in any hardware store)
- a hot glue gun (optional)
- a drying rack (or something to hang a wire from)
- a well-ventilated work area

Comments

[wannabeinventor]

Would you say this is a good project for beginners? I've been looking for a good instructable to begin with and this is the coolest ever! Thanks for posting it :D

[Kevvixx]

NOW THAT IS AN INSTRUCTABLE! GREAT JOB! BEST INSTRUCTABLE I'VE EVER SEEN!

[Brother_D]

gol I've always wanted to do this.

[wannabeinventor]

lol, that's hilarious :D I've gotta save this instructable!

[nhl]

Thanks for this great idea!  Just made 42 of these using magnets on the hands and feet, as well as a bunch of magnetic accessories to go with the figures. Passed them out to my fifth graders today for Valentines Day.  They loved them!

[kcls]

42?!?!?

[nhl]

 42 bendy figures, thank goodness not 42 students.  I wanted the kids to have 2 figures each.  I only have 21 students this year--the smallest class I've ever had.  Next year back up to 28!

[wannabeinventor]

I love that number! I plan to make some soon as gifts for Christmas. :D

[Jerrsh]

What kind of wire did you use? I wanted mine to be a little thick (about the size of the wire used on a coat hanger), but still be bendy. Any suggestions?

[randofo]

Use aluminum armature wire. Comes in a variety of sizes and can typically be found in art supply store. It is for creating bendable clay models. You can also just buy aluminum wire from mcmaster.com and it should be roughly the same.

[patriots8888]

these are good for stop motion if you at clay to them

[TheStott]

that's really cool

[kei10]

This is looking awesome.
Sadly my country doesn't have such tools and materials found easily.

[Clayton H.]

they look like xkcd characters.

[bionicleman123]

 can you use the plasti dip spray on the stick figure instead of the regular plasti dip?

[Clayton H.]

Ah, I remeber when this was put on the make magazine wed site of to the side where they display some of these projects and when I saw this there, that is what got me hooked. Thank You for making this.

[smallman98]

what\ does plasti dip do. do i absoulutly have to use it?

[smallman98]

oh

[randofo]

It gives it the rubbery coating. Otherwise, you just made a wire figure.

[carpfluff]

Is there anything i can use instead of plasti dip? I couldn't find it.
P.S.- A long time ago, Klutz had these things with magnets. There was a dog, a guy named Joe, and a girl. I used to have them until they broke. I think these will hold up longer. :)

[JakeTobak]

I made one of these when I had the PlastiDip out to fix my controller. Here are some images of mine from when it was drying, before I cut off the hook, and the finished product. It looks a little odd in the last picture, but it has a better pose on my desk and looks fine.

[randofo]

Cool! I've been meaning to make more of these for a while. They're kinda fun to have around.

[Chuck P.]

Awesome i'm buyin plasti dip asap. Idk if they sell it at home deopt, that's the problem.

[JakeTobak]

It's been about 7 months, so I assume you've already checked the store, but the plasti dip website lists retailers and Home Depot is one of them, as well as Lowes and Ace Hardware.

[Brother_D]

Well, the instructable said any hardware store, so you should be good.

[jady]

Love your bendy toy very much! Thanks for sharing. I would like to know, how well can you stretch the plastic? Will it crack or over bend?

[awk81292]

u know what u could do to the arms and legs is put magnetic paint so you can stick to metal.

[Hatake07]

yea thats a good idea the real brand name bendy toys do that. but i dont think the paint is magnetic i think the wire inside is. you should also tell us how to make our own accessories for the bendies! ooh! ooh! and the collectible tins too

[Hatake07]

dude you are a genius!

[vinnyboberino]

you're my hero

[Epeoples]

sniff..happiness...sniff ___________(___ ( swords 4 all!

[Epeoples]

no wait...

[Epeoples]

better.

[Chuck P.]

or maybe at Mihaels Craft store?

[kiss my donkey]

I love that place

[whiteoakart]

Cool- So simple. Looks like a good source for stop-motion animation characters. You might also try hotmelt gluing little round rare earth magnets on the feet before dipping, then they can scale your refrig AND you have an entry for the refrig magnet challenge!

[dombeef]

yea

[A.C.E.]

lol. u should have done that urself. put the magnets on the back of the feet, or bend them back so you can see the whole thing. nice instructable too. now to get some plasti dip...

[ZenThruCraft]

this is great!

[Quickdraw]

what kind of wire can be used?