How to Make a Throwing Dart Looking Like an Helical Rocket Out of Foam Clay
Intro: How to Make a Throwing Dart Looking Like an Helical Rocket Out of Foam Clay
Storyline
Hi everybody,
So the more I looked at the pictures, the less I was convinced that people will only see a rocket... And worth it I crafted it with a pink coloured material... cannot be more obvious, right captain?!
Sorry for that folks... I did not mean that...
That is the reason why I cartoonised the picture here. Nevertheless, this is a funny backdraft :D I found
I wanted to build a screw like tube at first and this idea of making a dart that when thrown could turn on itself along the central length axis. Actually I did a hollow rocket too much larger, It worked quite well too. This trials were parts of a bigger project. So the next parts comes soon enough.
Maybe it is not that new for you and looks like craps but it is quite easy to craft maybe 30 min of simple tasks have to be achieved on two days. And then you can play with this home made toy which is very much harmless, even if you throw at someone. (Ok you feel the impact, but if somebody throw at you a sponge... it is quite close to that)
And please do not target the eyes... Do not throw at somebody right! be sane play safe!
Just a mention on the contents of this instructable-->attribution non commercial sharealike.
You can re-use my texts and my pictures, modify or whatever, if you do so please cite the author, my work or even better put a link to this instructable. I would appreciate your cooperation :) In addition if you have any comment or improvement that you would like to share with me please do it. I would like to make a gallery of rockets at the end of this instructable, If you craft one, send me a picture :)
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STEP 1: Inventory
The list is on the picture but basically you need the following
-CD case and a support to make rolls
-the cosmetic paper towel and glue onto the large pen.
-The foam clay of Fimo or any other brand (I think hobby time proposes a similar product) I will not give any further brand names in the following. But I am not working with those companies ATM.
I cannot tell how the foam clay is made but this is an interesting material. It would be very interesting to preprare those myself :-P Maybe in a later tutorial right!
-Time for drying (overnight at room temperature OR close to a heat source (like a good home heating radiator) in couple of hours) Drying here means also the foam clay is getting hard and cannot be shaped anymore.
STEP 2: Step 1: Create the Rocket Body
-First Apply glue over the pen with the aid of a sponge for instance, roll tighly the pen in paper towel, press firmly.
This glue can be dissolved with water...You can even do your own glue from starch...Just research instructables.com for nice tutorials on this topic: own glue making!
remove the excess of paper towel that do not stick to the pen.
Please notice the parabolic shape of the pen, this is already a nice help for shaping.
-Second: Take a piece of foam and apply over the pen evenly by pressing it over the shape and by rolling if necessary. You need to press with your hand all around the pen at the same time, otherwise you will face the same problem as I. The shape became loose, and I needed to restart from the beginning.
-Third try to get the final parabolic shape, when you are satisfied, let it dry.
STEP 3: Step 2: Shape the Rocket
-You need to prepare two thin wires of foam clay that are really thin and even.
You can use a syringe for such clays, it costs above 10 bucks. There you can obtain a really well defined wire.
If you do not have, then do like me:
-Use a cd case and a hard plan surface and roll a piece of foam in between... It is quite tedious, but it works just fine.
I did a 2 legs rocket here so two wires are needed, but I also realised a three les rockets with three wires.
Very important apply water with a paper towel all over the dried surface of the rocket body. This will helps to seal the parts together. I experienced that, it works pretty much like magic.
-Place the two wires like indicated on the pictures (the distance between both must be equal to the diameter of the rocket body and to one wire). Place the rocket body sothat you get a 45° slope.
-Roll the rocket body over the wires by applying little pressure (not too much to keep their shape and volume mostly intact) and following a path sothat you get an helix.
---> otherwise you can make a rocket rod, or a rocket stone... sounds interesting too chummer... but I still prefer the helix ...<---
-Shape the rocket helix by A) humidifying the object B)using tools -or your fingers- to arrange the form like you expect.
Let it Dry - Once dry you can remove the maximum of paper towel from the inner part of the rocket, Water helps to get rid of it ant of the glue. Let it dry further.
STEP 4: Step 3: Playtime
So this is quite obvious again...
But you will need a "large" drinking straw that fits the inner part of the rocket
Do I really need to give you some game to do...like throwing the farest,
Try with mentos and cola to power your rocket....
Try to change the shape- try to find the best shape for a perfect screwing flight... Inspire yourself by rugbyballs...
Good luck with that...
That's all folks!