Champagne Cork Iron Man

by sjroth

18K12136

Intro: Champagne Cork Iron Man

Pretty soon then new Iron Man movie will be coming out, so now that people are getting excited about Iron Man again I thought it would be a great time to make an Iron Man Corky. 
When I planned my Iron Man I didn't want to make him ordinary like the others Corkies. Iron Man doesn't have any special item, so I wouldn't have to worry about making an accessory.
I then realized that the most obvious thing to do was to make the arc reactor actually work. 
Here's how I did it.

STEP 1: Materials and Supplies

Supplies:
  • Hacksaw or breadknife
  • Tape
  • Woodglue
  • Red sharpie
  • Fine black permanent marker
  • Ballpoint pen
  • Gold permanent marker
  • Craft knife
  • Solder and Soldering iron
  • Work mat
  • Metal glue (I used UHU metal)
  • Pencil
Materials
  • Disposable aluminium food tray
  • Champagne Cork
  • Concave LED (a regular convex LED will work too, but won't have the same effect)
  • Battery holder contact plate
  • 1.5V button cells
  • Miniature 3-pin switch
  • Some sort of dowel or stick to make the battery cover.
  • Regular tin foil

STEP 2: Prepare the Cork

Once you have the cork you need (check out my previous Instructable on Corkies on how to choose the right one), you're going to have to cut it in half. I used a bread knife and a hacksaw, but what would be most effective would be a band saw. The cut doesn't have to be exactly in the middle -- in fact, because I cut mines more to one side it was much easier to carve out the inside. Carve it out as shown in the picture. Make sure it's deep enough for all the parts to fit in. Don't cut out too much though.

STEP 3: LED Wiring

The circuitry for the reactor is really simple, but can be a pain to solder together because the parts are so small. Solder the switch to the LED, and the LED to the battery plate. Make sure that the cathode and the anode of the LED are on the right side.
Glue the wiring into the cork to stop it from moving around. Then, glue the two sides of the cork together with wood glue. Now the switch should be accessible on the back, and the LED visible from the front. Let it dry overnight.

STEP 4: Iron Man Suit

Now comes the hardest part: the Iron Man suit. First, flatten the foil from the disposable food tray to get rid of creases. Then sketch out what you will cut out. The parts really depend on the cork you are using, and will need some improvisation.
To make a nice hole for the LED I used a hole puncher.
Glue the pieces on with the metal glue.
Use regular tin foil to wrap around the head -- the food tray foil is too thick.
I also outlined all the lines and pieces with the fine black permanent marker to make them more defined.
Don't forget to put the wooden disk from the dowel/stick in the bottom to stop the batteries from falling out.

STEP 5: Done!

That's it! Have fun with your Iron Man Corky, and don't forget to post a picture of your own in the comments!

For more instructions on making a Corky, check out my previous Instructable here:https://www.instructables.com/id/Corkies-Champagne-Cork-Figurines/

34 Comments

ElCubano 10 years ago

Hey sjroth wanna see mine? :D

sjroth 10 years ago

Sure, post them!

SkyPink2 10 years ago

Me and my physics teacher are having trouble finding this battery contact holder plate and we tried searching it on google to find it. I was wondering where you purchased it and if there is an official name in which we can purchase it thank you

Mr. tony stark 11 years ago

just finished my fourth one, this one is war machine. however, i have now run out of watch batteries and have to stop. hope you like this new one!

sjroth 11 years ago

Nice one. I was thinking about making the War Machine.

Mr. tony stark 11 years ago

now there's three of them! one has a white led, and the other two have blue. the big one is a champagne cork and the others are wine corks.

Mr. tony stark 11 years ago

even though I have posted to already, here is my good one with thick foil and an LED. the first is with it on and the second off.

Mr. tony stark 11 years ago

You have the name of the LED wrong. It is a convex shape, not a concave one.

sjroth 11 years ago

Nope, it's right.
Convex means outward, concave means inward. The LED I used is curved inward, therefore it is concave. While the regular convex hemisphere LEDs emit the light in a narrow cone, concave LEDs are really useful because they spread out the light evenly. That's why they are often used for Christmas lighting.
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/glossary/term-full.php?t=concave_vs_convex
http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/2089/what-is-the-advantage-of-a-straw-hat-led
And here's a closeup image of a concave LED, so you get what I mean: http://www.jjwgroup-led.com/UploadFiles/20108101702995.jpg

hertzgamma 11 years ago

Oh yes, you have my vote. I've always wondered what the corks can be reused for. And there is one more idea from you!

Mr. tony stark 11 years ago

here's another one! this time I used foil, but still no LED. I had a little trouble with the mas, but it turned out alright.

sjroth 11 years ago

Great! Hint: you might want to use some thicker foil next time, like the foil from a disposable food tray.

Mr. tony stark 11 years ago

I just noticed that the flash made the pics all washed out so here is a better one

jdrushton 11 years ago

Can you make all the Avengers? I think most would be easy, except maybe Thor? Maybe Black Widow might be hard too, how would you make sure it looked like her?

sjroth 11 years ago

I was thinking about making all of them, but I realized most of them wouldn't work out. The Hulk would look way too small with only one cork, and using several wouldn't really work out either. Hawkeye doesn't really have any trademark besides the bow, quiver, and blue eyes (unless I made the Marvel comics Hawkeye, but I'm guessing you're talking about the movie). And I can't make Corkies female. I'm not being sexist or anything, it's just that they look way to fat, and too masculine. It would also be really hard to get the hair and the face right.
However, I am planning on making Captain America, Loki, and Thor, so you can look forward to those.
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