Hot Hobbies & Toys Posts
How To: Create a simple mold to cast a toy duplication
If you have a toy you love SO much, this video will show you how to create a simple mold so you can duplicate it! This simple how-to tells you what you'll need to get cloning today. This video will also tell you what can and can't be cloned.
HowTo: Turn a Lighter Into a Lightercycle
The english version of this how-to is found here. Little did I know, that lighter in my junk drawer has a bad ass motorcycle inside it, just burning to get out.
How To: Make a basic hotwire cutter for cutting foam
Hobbyists from many different hobbies, from model aircraft to tabletop wargaming, all need to cut foam, and that means a hotwire cutter. If you have the DIY bent that goes along with most of these hobbies anyway, check out this video for a guide to making your own simple hotwire cutter for basic foam cutting.
How To: Make a replica Yukki Cross Artemis scythe from Vampire Knight for cosplay
Watch this video for instructions on making the Yukki Cross Artemis scythe from the anime / manga Vampire Knight.
How To: Craft a mini ice cream charm from polymer clay
Here's one way to get your fill of ice cream without the calories. These miniature cupcake charms are adorable and can be used to adorn charm bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.
How To: Create a working paper magazine for a Colt pistol
This tutorial shows you how to make a working magazine out of paper for use with a Colt M1911 .45 pistol. You will need many sheets of plain white paper, glue them together and then add some aluminim for reinforcements.
How To: Build a motorized gyrocar with a gyroscope and everyday household objects
Build your own miniature gryocar from a toy gyroscope in this fun little project with Kipkay and make it ride on skinny tracks! All you need is a toy gyroscope, a spraypaint canister top to fit the gyroscope assembly, and some assorted parts that you could probably find around the house (or at your local hardware store). Ask your parents for permission first!
How To: Use the correct tires for the temperature and improve RC performance
Optimize vehicle performance by knowing the differences between the different tires available for your RC vehicle. Each type of tire (commonly referred to by the red dot, blue dot or green dot) is optimized for a specific operating temperature range. Knowing about the different temperatures and what tires are best suited for them could be the difference between first place and second. Find out more in this instructional video.
How To: Install a ProLine universal shock kit and power stroke system in an RC car
Upgrade the shocks on your RC vehicle to new aftermarket parts with this informative video. This video details how to install the Universal Shock Mounting kit with Proline Power Strokes. Tools needed for this install are a 5.5 driver and a 2.0 hex.
How To: Strap your RC tires with duct tape to improve traction
If your RC car tires are lacking some of the rigidity you'd like them to have, check out this video to learn how to strap your tires. You'll need some duct tape and a flat surface, ad then you'll be back at the track ready to eat up the competition with better traction and stability.
News: An Abandoned Bar, Two-Feet-Tall
Lori Nix's teeny, tiny, incredibly laborious, detail-oriented dioramas are, in a word, insane. We've seen an amazing diorama or two... but these are eerily obsessive. And creepy- all the spaces are depressed, abandoned, and in terrible disrepair.
News: Polar Bears Play Bloody Game of Soccer With Snowball Spycam
Blizzard Cam, a 40 mph mobile spycam on skis, spies on a group of adorable polar bears (um, minus the blood stained faces) as they devour a pile of remains. Operated remotely, Snowball Cam is released from the Blizzard if scientists detect the bears may attack the device. The decoy can roll across most terrains (even up hill), and easily distracts the bears into a game of soccer. From a BBC TV program on polar bears.
How To: Install 17mm hex adapters into a short course truck
In this video, 17mm hex adapters are installed on a Short Course truck. Installing these adapters allows a greater range of wheels and tires to be used on your SC racer vehicle. Squirrel of ProLine demonstrates the installation technique.
News: Apple Engineer Builds Fully-Functional Ancient Computer With LEGOs
Apple software engineer Andrew Carol built a fully-functional replica of the Antikythera Mechanism, the world's oldest known scientific computer. The 2000-year-old analog device was used by the ancient Greeks to predict the year, date, and time of future solar and lunar eclipses accurately to within two hours. Carol put together the 110 gears (made with 1,500 LEGO Technic parts) in just 30 days. See how it works below. For more information, check out Fast Company's interview with Carol.
How To: Make little people out of candy for the holidays
This is a budget friendly gift you can use to give out during the holiday season - make little candy people! They're easy to make - all you'll need is some lollipops, platic wrap, small assorted candies, and some decorative ribbon.
How To: Mod a G2 pen for better spinning
If you're serious about spinning pens, you probably already know how awesome spinning with a modified one is. The G2 is great by itself, but stretched out like this it looks cool and spins great. Watch the video to learn how to make it.
How To: Swap the light kit from a Peter Fish Illuminator to a Duncan Freehand Zero
If you prefer the light kit from the Peter Fish Illuminator yo-yo but the action of the Duncan Freehand Zero, you're not alone and you've found help. This video will teach you how to swap the light kit from the Illuminator onto the Freehand Zero for the best of both worlds.
HowTo: Capture Superman Footage With an RC Plane
Although Team Black Sheep issues a "Do Not Try This At Home" warning, they also offer full instructions for building "the ultimate Ritewing Zephyr", an RC plane that is so badass it can do this:
HowTo: You Killed Kenny Doorstop
Instructables user BrittLiv uses a moldable silicone called sugru to sculpt this awesome doorstop of South Park's miraculously indestructible Kenny McCormick.
How To: Solve the Rubik's Cube intuitively without algorithms
Check out this three-part video tutorial on how to solve the Rubik's Cube intuitively and without algorithms. With this method there is no need to memorize complicated algorithms. Crack the Cube with sheer brain power, if you can. No one said you had to be a genius to solve a Rubiks Cube, you just have to have a little common sense and patience.
HowTo: Make a Jenga Pistol
Not only will this wood-block pistol make you the terror of your next family activity night, it'll actually improve your Jenga game! Through science! For, you see, the faster you can knock a block out of a Jenga tower, the shorter the amount of time over which it can exert a frictional force on its neighbors. Which means the whole kit-and-caboodle is much less likely to come tumbling down. Want one? You'll have to build it yourself. Which is fitting because the word "jenga" actually means som...
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.
News: Harry Potter Freak Spends $30,000 Recreating Magical Chess Set With 100,000 LEGOs
It took him a year to build and about $30,000 in parts, but Steve Hassenplug has created a truly magnificent robotic chess set, inspired by the magical chessboard in the first Harry Potter movie. Quite a task, but Hassenplug did an incredible job!
How To: Craft a "Harry Potter" Lumos wand that lights up
How cool would it be to be a wizard and conjure light out of thin air? While this tutorial won't instruct you in the wizarding arts, it will teach you how to make a very cool "Harry Potter" style Lumos wand that lights up on your command.
News: Barbies and Nazis Revive Beaten-Left-for-Dead Coma Victim
Meanwhile, back in Marwencol, the SS took me, tied me up and started to cut me... The SS had me tied up. The girls went into the church. They eliminated the SS. Her coming and saving me proved to me that she loved me. So, this is my wife, Anna.
News: Hermès Does Fingerboarding
Fingerboarding has never looked so high fashion. Gracefully orchestrated advert by Hermès.
Bacarobo 2010: Video Highlights from This Year's "Stupid Robot Cup"
Can a robot be dumber than a toaster? For the answer, look no further than Bacarobo—a yearly contest that showcases and celebrates and the world's dumbest, most adorable robots. Each year, ten robots vie for first prize. Each year, only one bot wins. Who took the title of Top Blockhead in this year's competition? That's something you'll want to see for yourself:
How To: Do the most amazing hairstyle on your American Girl
In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn a new hairstyle for your American Girl doll. You need 4 clips and a brush. Take your thumbs in her hair and wrap a circle in the crown of her head. Brush that part out, twist it around, and poof it up. Take the clips and put it on either side of the poof you've just made. You can leave it like that if you want or continue and take a small piece from the side of her hair and begin braiding it. Bring the braided piece across the back and clip the b...
How To: Do woven pigtails on your American Girl doll
In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn how to do woven pigtails on an American girl doll. Start by parting the hair in the middle down the back and put one to the side in a pony tail and on the other side, take a section from the top and twist it. Then take another small section and twist. It does get harder as it goes on because you're not able to hold on to everything. Make one more piece of hair twisted as well. Now take all 3 pieces and tie them together. Now put the remaining hai...
How To: Do a super cute hairstyle on your American Girl
In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn how to do a hairstyle on the American Girl doll Mia. You need a brush, 2 regular sized bobby pins and 2 rubber bands. Start by brushing her hair back from her head and hold it with your hand. Using your finger nail start at about the corner of her eye and go up on each side. Pick up all that hair in the front. Turn her around and brush it out smooth and put the bobby pins in on each side. You can leave it like that or continue on. Part the back o...
How To: Do a clipped bun on your American Girl doll
In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn how to do a clipped bun on an American Girl doll. Start with your doll's hair in a pony tail. Right at about the crown of her head works. Take the piece of hair from the top and curl it and fold it under. Clip the part that you curled to her head. You can go all the way around until you get to the bottom and keep clipping. Repeat this process all around her head until it is to your liking. This will need lots of clips so make sure you have them!
News: Dissecting a Frog With LEGOs
You can almost feel the pain of Dave Kaleta’s outstretched, dissected frog (which is pretty incredible, considering it was constructed with those tiny, plastic bricks we call LEGOs). Kaleta's work of LEGO art was built for the MOCPages MOC Olympics.
News: Robo-Plants Respond to Human Touch
Japanese artist and visual designer Akira Nakayasu creates robotic plants that not only respond to human touch, but anticipate human touch.
How To: Do a hair headband on your American Girl doll
In this video, we learn how to do a hair headband on your American Girl doll. Brush the doll's hair out and then take a section from the bottom front of the hair. Twist this up and then do the same thing to the other side in the same spot. After you have twisted both sides, cross them both over to the opposite side of the head. After this, clip the side of the hair where the braid is left at. When finished, you will have a cute hairstyle on your doll! This work on any length of hair and only ...
How To: Do cowgirl pigtails on American Girl doll Nicki
In this video, we learn how to do cowgirl pigtails on American Girl doll Nicki. First, brush the hair out and then make a part down the middle so you have hair on both sides. Then, put one of the pigtails to the side. After this, go to the other side and brush it out again. Make this low and then tie a rubber band around the pig tail. To make it curly, you will take little pieces of the hair and curl them up with your fingers. Repeat this on the other side and then you will be finished with t...
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: Do a cute braided hairstyle on your American Girl
In this tutorial, we learn how to do a cute braided hairstyle on your American Girl. To start, you will first need to brush out the hair and then part it in the middle. From here, clip the right side of the hair and then clip the other side. Take the rest of the hair and tie it into a ponytail. From here, take the left side and start a braid, then do the same thing on the right side. When you finish, clip the middle hair into a bun and then clip the braided section in the back. This will fini...
How To: Make a fast and easy tennis ball trebuchet
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a fast and easy tennis ball trebuchet. This tool will throw tennis balls easily so you can hit them without having a partner around. This only needs a few pieces of wood and 2x4's along with dumbbells. There isn't a whole lot to this, it's very simple to build. Use two 10 lb dumbbells clamped with a hose clamp onto the top of a 2x4. Use a dowel to go through this, so it will help it rotate. Down at the bottom is the release mechanism and on the sides wil...
How To: Do a hippie hairstyle on your American Girl doll
In this video, we learn how to do a hippie hairstyle on your American Girl doll. To start, you will simply take the side of the hair and braid two braids into it. Pull these across the back of the head and then repeat on the other side of the head in the same exact braid. Next, you will pull these braids all together and then braid these together going all the way down to the bottom of the hair. Tie this off with a rubber band at the bottom. This will finish up your hippy hairstyle, enjoy and...
How To: Style hair on an an American Girl with long wavy hair
In this tutorial, we learn how to style hair on an American Girl w/ long wavy hair. First, brush the hair out and then grab the top left section of the hair. Split this into three and then twist these together. This will be like a French braid, but you will be twisting it as you braid. Continue this until you reach the bottom of the head, then tie it with a rubber band. After this, do the same thing on the other side of the head. Then, tie it with a rubber band in the back and you're done!