Hot Hobbies & Toys Posts
How To: Make a bridle and fly-line for your kite
You can't fly a kite without a bridle and fly-line, so let this instructional how to video show you the ABC's of kiting. For this project you will need: garbage bag, wooden dowels, cloth tape, ribbon, scissors, magic marker, yard stick, and a pencil. Have fun creating your kite with an adult helper.
How To: Make a catapult out of office supplies
Looking for something fun to do with all those office supplies you've been stealing from work? Or maybe you just want to goof around in your cubicle? It's possible that you are an honest, dedicated, hard worker, but whatever the case may be- no judgement, just a video guide to making an office supply catapult.
How To: Make a prop sword out of an aluminum bar
This will still hurt if you swing too hard! If you need a realistic looking prop sword, you can follow along with this tutorial to make the prop out of an aluminum bar. You'll need a couple power tools as well, so be careful around them!
How To: Make a spear out of foam for boffer larping
Build a spear for boffer larping! This video is aimed at Dagorhir, but you can use it for any boffer larp. You'll need foam, duct tape, a sharp bread knife or saw knife, a Sharpie, a Nerf football, cloth tape and fabric to cover it.
How To: Make a balloon mermaid
Another creature of the sea that you can add to your repertoire is the Mermaid, half woman, or man, and half fish. If you've got a little girl who loves the Little Mermaid, or are going out to do a party or what have you, you may be asked to make one. In this video you will get a full walkthrough on how to create a mermaid using a few balloons!
How To: Make a diorama waterfall
If your son or daughter is planning on making a diorama for a classroom project or just because, making a cool water feature can be a great idea. Using real water may be fine and all, but if you want to prevent any kind of mess from happening, you can build one using materials that give a water like feel. So in this tutorial, you'll be finding out how to make a diorama waterfall from scratch. It's great for dioramas and is sure to be a much better fit than actual water. So good luck and enjoy!
How To: Construct a kite messenger
This next video tutorial is going to show you how to make a cool kite messenger. If you don't know, a kite messenger is a little boat that fliesup a kite string to the kite. It then releases and comes all the way down the string. It's a cool little project that is sure to take up any time that you or your kids may have. So check it out, pay attention, and enjoy!
How To: Make your own April Agate balloons
In this free ballooning tutorial, learn how to make your very own multi-colored balloons (agates) by using a very simple (but difficult at first) technique called "the blend". The blend actually rips apart the balloon while melting other parts together. Tip from Mr. Fudge: "Do NOT use the whole balloon. It makes it too difficult and you end up with large lumps in your final product."
How To: Make a simple balloon snail
In this video, learn how to make a balloon snail! This snail is a perfect addition for a street entertainer act or someone who does birthday parties. Bring the snail to your next party and hopefully make some extra tips! Your Balloon Man, Mr. Fudge, is full of balloon tricks! Be sure to find other balloon videos on WonderHowTo from Mr. Fudge teaching everything from animals to planes! In a few twists and a few ties, you'll be an expert balloon artist in no time!
How To: Twist a three-balloon bunny rabbit
Learn how to twist a three balloon bunny rabbit with help from this instructional! Use whichever colored balloons you'd like for this bunny rabbit, just don't make the bunny ears too long. This is a great balloon creation to learn in time for Easter or a spring-themed party! Your Balloon Man, Mr. Fudge, is full of balloon tricks! Be sure to find other balloon videos on WonderHowTo from Mr. Fudge teaching everything from animals to planes! In a few twists and a few ties, you'll be an expert ba...
How To: Fly a RC helicopter using cyclic and rudder controls
Mikey shows you how to use the cyclic controls on a 6-channel helicopter radio controller. Cyclic controls move a helicopter forwards and back, as well as side-to-side. If you're comfortable with using the rudder controls, you're ready to move on to the cyclic control, usually found opposite of the rudder controls on the radio controller. The control is easiest to use while the helicopter is in the regular orientation, with the tail pointed towards you. Mikey also demonstrates how to use the ...
How To: Start & break-in a new Nitro Engine for an RC Plane
This video tutorial shows you how to start and break in a new Nitro Engine for an RC Plane. 1. Block the carb and rotate the prop to prime the engine.
News: YouTube's Hottest Bubblegum Blowers
And by hottest, I mean most popular. These ladies have got skills. I want to be as good as them, and I've already begun my research. If you're also interested in joining the ranks of hottest bubble gum blowers, go here for some beginners tips.
How To: Make a homemade spin toy with a button and string
If you've ever found yourself bored and not knowing what to do, this video tutorial might help you out. See how to make a homemade spin toy with a button. Just get out a pair of scissors, a large button, a glue stick, string and a small piece of paper and you can begin building this time consuming button spinner toy, time consuming as in not hard to make, but fun to play with.
How To: Use Superglue and baking soda to fix model cars
A quick tip that can be used to create solid joints and fill gaps in scale models. Learn how to easily fix flaws in model toy cars with basic household items.
How To: Create a reborn baby doll
Check out this video to learn how to create reborn baby dolls. Reborn? You can make the perfect child with your own hands.
How To: Collect antique crock pots
If you've never collected crock pots before, or even if you've started and just need some pointers, this is a good series to watch. It goes over what to look for, where to go and how to choose antique crock pots for a collection.
News: How to Make Tinfoil Cars
In this video, I show you how to build tinfoil cars for crushing with toy Monster Trucks. My son Eston and I love monster trucks. One of the most exciting things when you go to see monster trucks live, is when they crush cars. Problem is, when you use your hot wheels or matchbox cars with your monster trucks, they don’t get smashed. So the realism isn’t there.
How To: Build a Simple High-Powered Water Rocket Launcher
There are plenty of things you can use at home to make your own rocket, like sugar, matchsticks, or even trash. They may not be as impressive as a real rocket, but they can still be a lot of fun. In this video, How To Lou shows how he made a high-flying water rocket out of some basic materials like PVC and a soda bottle. As Lou points out, the bigger your soda bottle, the further it will go. He used 1/2" PVC pipe, valves, and connectors, as well as some brass adapters. He added an air compres...
News: This Jet-Powered, RC Dragon Can Fly Over 100mph—And It Actually Breathes Fire!
WonderHowTo has seen its fair share of dragon-related projects, from dragon wings, to dragon kites, to less-complicated origami dragons, but we've yet to see anything quite like this. Radio-control plane builder Richard Hamel built this incredible seven-foot-long, fire-breathing dragon using a JetCat P80 turbine and a 50,000 volt stun gun, with a 2.4-gigahertz touchscreen radio controller to fly it.
News: Magnets, Sticks, and Sugru Combine to Make an Awesome DIY Construction Toy
With just sticks, some magnets, and a bit of Sugru, you too can be the proud owner of an awesome set of magnetic construction toys! The idea is very straightforward. Simply bond magnets onto the tips of thin sticks using Sugru, but the results look like a whole lot of fun.
How To: NASA Engineer Shows You How to Build a Mini Curiosity Mars Rover Out of LEGOs
You might have seen our post on this last week: It's a working reproduction of the Mars Curiosity Rover made with LEGOs, but it's a bit complicated for anyone without a decent amount of robotics knowledge. Plus, you need to have some Mindstorms NXT and TECHNIC parts lying around. If you want something a little simpler than programming a working LEGO rover, you could always build a scaled model of the MSL out of regular LEGOs. Not only is this easy to build and looks great, but the step-by-ste...
News: Full-Sized Mechanical Skeeball Machine Built Entirely Out of K'Nex—And It Works!
If you played with K'Nex as a kid (or still do), you know that it can take a lot of those tiny little pieces to build something. Just imagine how many it must have taken to make this full-sized, fully functional, coin-operated skeeball machine with a mechanical score counter. Instructables user Shadowman39 (aka Kyle) spent an entire year building this masterpiece. It's the same size as the ones you see in arcades, and it's coin operated, too. But don't try to feed it your pennies, it knows th...
Baby Voldemort: The Creepiest of All Harry Potter Reborn Dolls
Demented newborn baby? No—creepy "reborn" baby modeled after what Lord Voldemort would look like straight from womb of his pure-blood witch of a mother. As if reborn babies weren't disturbing enough, artist Tracy Ann Lister has gone and created a slew of ultra-realistic baby dolls fashioned after the characters from the Harry Potter series. It was bound to happen someday.
News: 160-Piece Arsenal of Life-Sized LEGO Weapons
The LEGO Life-Size weapons flickr group has 160 LEGO constructed weapons- guns, knives, bombs and more. A selection below, click through to view more.
How To: Make a cheap DIY laser vortex for fog machines and lightshows
A laser vortex is a basically a tool and allows you to make a circle of red laser light quickly and easily for creating lightshows, especially useful when combined with a fog machine. This video will teach you how to make one for cheap out of parts your can find at any hardware store.
How To: Paint your American Girl dolls' nails
In this video, we learn how to paint your American Girl dolls' nails. First, stand your doll up and then dip a tiny paintbrush into nail polish remover. After this, put some nail polish onto another tiny brush. Then start to paint the toes using the tiny paintbrush. If you make a mistake, just use the other brush to remove the nail polish. Don't put too much polish on the brush, or it will get messy and turn out badly. Repeat this process on the fingernails when you are done with the toes. Fr...
How To: Clean your American Girl doll's skin with a magic eraser
In this video, we learn how to clean your American Girl doll's skin w/ a magic eraser. First, soak your Mister Clean Magic Eraser and then squeeze the water out. From here, undress your doll and put its hair up. Then, take the eraser and rub it onto the doll's skin to clean it. Rub it gently and scrub any parts that are especially dirty. If this isn't working, add on some baking soda and scrub it further until all residue is gone. Continue to do this throughout the entire doll and then when f...
How To: Do a single French braid on your American Girl Doll
In this video, we learn how to do a single French braid on your American Girl Doll. First, brush the doll's hair back and make sure it's smooth with no bumps. After this, grab a small section of hair at the top middle of the head. Split this into three pieces and then start braiding like normal. From here, grab some hair from one side of the head and braid the hair sections over each other. Then, grab hair from the opposite side and braid the sections over each other. Continue to do this, alt...
How To: Flat iron your American Girl doll's hair
In this video, we learn how to flat iron your American Girl doll's hair. First, heat up your flat iron on the lowest heat setting it has. Now, brush your doll's hair so it doesn't have any lumps or bumps in it. Clip the to of the hair up and then take a small section from the bottom of the head. Then, squirt some water on the hair until it's wet. Comb through the hair and then run the flat iron through the hair very quickly. Run it through again if needed, then continue on to other sections i...
How To: Build a custom LEGO General Grievous Magna Guard from Star Wars
General Grievous was by far the coolest new character introduced in Star Wars Episodes I- III. If you enjoy LEGO and Star Wars, watch this video to learn how to build an awesome custom General Grievous Magna Guard bodyguard out of LEGOs.
How To: Build a stabbing tip for your boffer LARP sword
Most boffer LARPs insist that you add a safe 'stabbing tip' at the end of your foam sword or dagger. This tutorial shows you how you can make a safe stabbing tip using kevlar and foam, which you add to the core of your sword.
How To: Make a professional looking boffer weapon with latex inexpensively
Looking for a weapon making tutorial that goes beyond the foam noodle and PVC method? This tutorial shows you how to make a professional-grade sword using an ultralight core and latex. You'll also need a utility knife, a foam cutter and a dremel drill.
How To: Recreate Models of Christopher Columbus's Sailing Ships from 1492
Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas in 1492. In most of the New World, it's celebrated on the 12th of October, the day Columbus actually discovered the Bahamas. But in the United States, the holiday is observed on the second Monday in October.
How To: Make your own crazy putty out of school glue and borax
It stretches, it squishes... it's silly putty! You can make your own toy putty at home, using a simple recipe of school glue (don't get the washable variety), borax, water and food dye to add a bit of color. Mix and then let it dry out a bit. Silly putty!
How To: Give any item or prop a steampunk inspired paint job
The key to a good steampunk paint job is getting the distressted metallic look just right. This tutorial shows you how to add a lot of aesthetic appeal to your next steampunk prop mod, whether it's goggles, binoculars or something entirely different.
How To: Roll clay without a pasta machine
In this tutorial, we learn how to roll clay without a pasta machine. First, warm up the clay in your hands and put them between two flat sticks. Next, use a glass bottle or cup to roll out the clay. Make sure the bottle is on the paint sticks as you are rolling. This will leave your piece of clay thick but flattened out. You can make this as thick or as thin as you would like to be. You can do this several times and use different types of sticks or side holders to change how the clay looks, e...
How To: Tune a RC nitro Engine
In this video, we learn how to tune an RC nitro engine. First, you will need to adjust your needles. Make sure you know which way to go as you are adjusting them. After this, you need to find your high speed needle and find where you will hook up your fuel line. Lean the motor by turning a screwdriver into the barrel. This will screw your needle in and make the engine restricted to fuel flow. Now you will want to test out your engine to see how much lean you are getting. Make sure it's oiled ...
How To: Remove and perform maintenance on Nitro brakes
In this video, we learn how to remove and perform maintenance on Nitro brakes. First, you will need to make sure you have the correct size of screwdrivers before you begin. Now, you will proceed to remove the brakes from the transmission. Make sure to handle these with care and take your time. Set all the parts that you remove aside and in order so you don't forget where they are and where they go. After this, align your brakes so they work correctly, then start to replace all the parts that ...
How To: Detect an air leak in a Nitro RC engine
In this tutorial, we learn how to detect an air leak in a Nitro RC engine. Air leaks damage your engine which will take your tuning and completely void it. Now, take some soapy water and apply it to your engine and anything that is connected in between. Block off one end of the host where you aren't going to blow into. Find where you think the leak is, then make sure you don't have a cracked tank. Next, make sure everything is sealed and apply soapy water. Blow in the other end of the valve a...