Wood Manikin Figure Lamp with iPad

The internet is a wondrous place.

The other day I was browsing Twitter for interesting lamp designs (don't we all do this?) and ran across the Colgao lamp from enPieza! studio in Madrid, Spain. While their lamp is a bit more morbid than my standard home decor concepts, I found their use of a chromed light bulb in an anthropomorphic manner to be intriguing and knew I had to do something like that myself. Thus this guy was born after some experimenting and trying different ideas out.

I felt this guy needs to be doing something to emphasize the humanity aspect of the lamp for the full anthropomorphic effect. Originally it was going to be on the phone with a cup of coffee in the other hand, but at 1/6 scale those items are a bit too small. I went with the iPad prop, and it looks great. This is a 12" tall (1/6 scale) manikin, the same size as Barbie, old school GI Joe, etc. There are a lot of props available in that scale, and one of these days I'm going to get a scale guitar and see how that looks.

The manikin is fully posable, and the light bulb socket is candelabra (E12) sized and will handle up to a 30W bulb. While the chrome bulb looks awesome, I've tried a few others and they all have their advantages. Be aware that the exposed bulbs like this do get hot and can burn if you touch them after they have been on for a bit.

If you decide not to make your own but still want one, do not despair! I have them for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Please come take a look!

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Step 1: Tools and Materials

While you don't need a huge selection of tools you do need some.

Materials:

12" tall wood manikin - I've tried female and male versions and both work.
Candle lamp with on/off switch - make sure to get the on/off switch version
25W G16.5 chrome light bulb with candelabra (E12) base
a #6 flat washer - available in most hardware stores
black 2mm foam sheet with adhesive backing - picked up a sheet at my local hobby store
1/4" aluminum thin wall tubing - 0.014 wall thickness
black picture frame matte - or any thin solid piece of cardboard/chipboard. My first prototype used box scraps.
1/8" thick round elastic cord - I got mine by the yard at the local fabric store.
Acid-free craft tack - for attaching your props (like an iPad) to the manikin
OPTIONAL - LED Energy Smart Bulb - as bright on 10% of the energy and doesn't burn when you touch it.

Tools:

Precision screwdriver and plier set - if you don't already have this
Mini hacksaw - or some sort of small saw
Forceps
Forstner bit set - spade bits might work but I think it might mark up the wood too much
Bench Drill Press - drilling with a hand drill might be possible but difficult. I never tried.
8" wood handscrew clamp - a 10" would be fine
soldering iron - a basic iron or station would work fine
Rotary tool with flexible shaft - I find the flex shaft to make it easier to handle
Dremel 115 Bit - 5/16" cutter
Metallic Silver Sharpie - if you are making the iPad prop
Normal stuff like box cutters, scotch tape, ruler, etc.
Needle File Set - if you don't have one already
Hot Glue Gun with glue