Making a Toy WW1 Tank (German A7V Part 3)

British TankPart 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4 German A7VPart 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4 Hookay, entering the home stretch now. The rear of the tank has the same angle cuts as the front, but you don't have to worry about the center cut and dowel plug for it. Instead, the rear had two machine guns, one...

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Making a Toy WW1 Tank (German A7V Part 2)

British TankPart 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4 German A7VPart 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4 As I said in Part 1, this is a proof of concept/first try and although I had more than a general idea going in, I've found that a couple of things had to be done differently than I first expected. No biggie. Seeing...

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Making a Toy WW1 Tank (German A7V Part 1)

British TankPart 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4 German A7VPart 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4 A few months ago I made a toy British WW1 tank that was a big hit with the kid it was a present for. However, Toy Making Dad is haunted by the bittersweet vision of a kid having to play with a toy tank with no enemy...

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Making a Wooden Toy Dinosaur (Spinosaurus Part 2 )

So I have my idea, a Spinosaurus toy. Now, what? Well, I came up with a list of what I want him to do. 1) He is a biped, so I want his legs to be jointed and move on wheels just like the other dinosaurs. 2) His sail has to move like the dimetrodon toy but with a more horizontal than vertical...

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Making a Wooden Toy Dinosaur (Spinosaurus Part 1 )

So one day, about six or eight years ago, I came across this book with an amazingly specific title at my public library. Making Dinosaur Toys in Wood by David Wakefield. Here were decidedly wicked cool toys that just looked "right." All of them have neat actions built into their designs and...

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Making a Jacob's Ladder

I saw my first Jacob's Ladder when I was in the 2nd Grade. I was fascinated as it looked like one block of wood was tumbling down through the others to the bottom. The fact that you could do it again and again without reloading or resetting it in any way was just amazing. It seems like an illusion or...

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