Introduction: Army Man Bowl
Have you grown out of some of your old toys, but still want to keep them around for memories? Maybe it is time to turn them into something new. This is NOT my original idea. A similar bowl was originally done by one of my favorite artists, Dominic Wilcox. For this project, you will need a steel bowl, a heat gun (or blow torch), and a bunch of plastic army men. If you want to color the inside, you will also need some paint.
Step 1: Bring on the Heat
Start by heating up the bowl with your blow torch. It's a good idea to do this in a ventilated place, as to not kill too many brain cells. You'll only be able to heat up small areas a ta time, since steel is really conductive and the heat will dissipate quite quickly.
Step 2: Recruitment
Start by placing a few men a ta time on the top of the bowl, and then move outward. I found it helpful to use some masking tape to hold on the men as their feet melted. Once you are satisfied with the amount of men on your bowl, you can lift off the whole platoon, at once.
Step 3: Paint
I didn't have quite as much success as Mr. Wilcox with this project, and the inside of the bowl had some unsightly burn marks, so I painted over them with acrylic paint.
Step 4: The Final Result
I don't recommend using this bowl for liquid as it has tons of holes in it, but it would make a decent fruit bowl if the paint is nontoxic.
11 Comments
6 years ago
haha that is awesome :)
6 years ago
Wonderful! Have you considered an Army Man Helmet. Now that's Comedy/Art.
Reply 6 years ago
Ideas like this represent one of the reasons I love Instructables so much. Thanks for sharing your thought.
6 years ago
This is awesome. I love it. I also like the original artist's creation as well as the suggestion made by mchau2 below.
Reply 6 years ago
Glad you like it. Post a photo if you make one.
6 years ago
Oddly-Uber-Cool !!! :-)
Reply 6 years ago
Thanks!
6 years ago
Do you have a rough idea on how many little soldiers you used? I absolutely love the idea! Thanks for giving credit where it's due!
Reply 6 years ago
Glad you like the project. I don't know exactly how many I used. I think I bought 1000 soldiers, but I didn't use all of them.
6 years ago
ever consider making 2 hemi sphere and a ball deco? or a hemi sphere light shades?
Reply 6 years ago
Love the idea. You should totally make one!