Introduction: Biodegradable USS Enterprise
About: I am fashionable Trekkie
I made this model of the original Star Trek Enterprise for my dad, Instructables member masynmachien. Like all true nerds he is a big Star trek fan - while I am the living proof that not all Star Trek fans are nerds :-)
When Scoochmaroo launched the Father’s Day Challenge I knew I had to make a Photo Instructable on it.
I made the Enterprise out of “Play Corn”, looking closely at the plastic Enterprise models lying around in my father’s workshop. It is about 15 cm in length.
Play Corn, also known as Play Maize or Play Maïs is a crafts material consisting of small foamy pieces of corn starch. Play Corn is 100% biodegradable and coloured with natural nutrients. The coloured pieces can easily be cut with scissors and shaped by hand. The material is kind of stiff and very light, so you can make slender constructions. It is a safe and clean crafts material, also very suitable for small children. The builds are rather fragile, but easily repaired.
The main interesting property of Play Corn is that the pieces stick together with just a little water. Moistening the surface of the Play Corn forms a glue, making them stick together and to paper, wood and similar materials. Applying water is best done by shortly putting each piece on a moistened cloth, not to overdo it. This way the pieces keep their shape and the glue sets very quick It is tempting to use spit to glue the pieces together (especially for small repairs), but as saliva digests starch, it slowly destroys the Play Corn.
You can buy this material under a number of brand names, but you can also find the uncoloured version as biodegradable packaging material. The enterprise is mainly made of that type, complemented with some coloured ones out of a box from the crafts shop.
I photographed the result of my work on a sheet of black paper with some glitter stars spread on it.
This is my first Instructable. I hope you like it.
Daddy helped me translate the text to English.
When Scoochmaroo launched the Father’s Day Challenge I knew I had to make a Photo Instructable on it.
I made the Enterprise out of “Play Corn”, looking closely at the plastic Enterprise models lying around in my father’s workshop. It is about 15 cm in length.
Play Corn, also known as Play Maize or Play Maïs is a crafts material consisting of small foamy pieces of corn starch. Play Corn is 100% biodegradable and coloured with natural nutrients. The coloured pieces can easily be cut with scissors and shaped by hand. The material is kind of stiff and very light, so you can make slender constructions. It is a safe and clean crafts material, also very suitable for small children. The builds are rather fragile, but easily repaired.
The main interesting property of Play Corn is that the pieces stick together with just a little water. Moistening the surface of the Play Corn forms a glue, making them stick together and to paper, wood and similar materials. Applying water is best done by shortly putting each piece on a moistened cloth, not to overdo it. This way the pieces keep their shape and the glue sets very quick It is tempting to use spit to glue the pieces together (especially for small repairs), but as saliva digests starch, it slowly destroys the Play Corn.
You can buy this material under a number of brand names, but you can also find the uncoloured version as biodegradable packaging material. The enterprise is mainly made of that type, complemented with some coloured ones out of a box from the crafts shop.
I photographed the result of my work on a sheet of black paper with some glitter stars spread on it.
This is my first Instructable. I hope you like it.
Daddy helped me translate the text to English.
