Popsicle stick crates

[Mister Thrice]

While delving into the myriad of 1/16 scale, uh, things, I've discovered a large variety of things I must have, and more that I can build. Among these trifles is things like watch towers, and bridges. A case to carry my tank which actually looks like a bunker that has hangar doors... I'm losing myself here... All of my silly arts and crafts have a new purpose...

While I wait for many many parts to show up, (for the tank, the truck, the mods, etc.), I began helping my girlfriend and her two girls building fairy houses and such for an upcoming birthday. Getting back into the groove of popsicle stick craft, I quickly began making crates. These are the 4 I've come up with, so far. Please keep in mind that they are my first, and are not finished! I need to figure out something to represent the nails (because I'll be confuddled if I actually drive steel wire into these tiny boards!) and then I need to finish them by drilling out holes for rope twine handles and then finish them, i.e. stain, paint, aging, etc.

The only thing I tried a bit different here is I blow torched the first crate. Because I can. I know, I know... Too much torch, bruv... I know...

Hope you enjoy the weird. I do that, a lot. These were tests. Now I need a bunch to load up the soon-to-be-SETI-truck...

[jee]

looks cool.

Think about the big advantage of making this crates: if you put everything in a crat, your desk will be very tidy

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I think your crates are all fine. I especially like the one with the .50 cal. in it. (Does anyone know if the real .50 cal. MGs were/are packed this way?)

For weathering, I have used two products. I am uncertain of the availability of the first, as the Testors line here in the US is under relatively new ownership and undergoing changes.

1) Testors CreateFX Enamel Stain #79300 for small projects and 1/16 scale weathered wood.

2) Driftwood Weathering Wood Finish http://www.DIYDriftwood.com for a whole crate to fit a 1/16 AFV (such as the type Torro sells with the tank in it).

[Barmonkey]

Nice work with the crates. You might try staining them with tea or coffee.

You have me thinking...like I need another project...JEEP in a crate!

[Mister Thrice]

Jee - Kind of what I was thinking! Everything in a crate looks good for picture time too!!

Herr Dr. Professor - Thank you! I honestly thought they crated up most guns this way, though, they probably crated up a few per crate rather than the single like I've done. I know that it looked good in my head and not too shabby in the... popsicle sticks...

I will look into those products, as I'm quite eager to get dozens of these things built. I do want this RC forklift too, as I've been a class 7 forklift operator for some years now, so naturally popsicle stick pallets and crates aplenty are going to be mandatory. I'm working on the stereotype cube crate with 45 degree angle corners with the little square centers. They are pretty typical of the shipping world, and I can see needing a few dozen of these, too.

Barmonkey - Yeah, it's just weird how many places and things you can do with this... As I'd said, I started doing this again for a fairy garden birthday coming up, and I've been pumping out fairy doorways for the girls to paint and decorate, then you put it on a tree or a rock or somesuch and it's instantly a fairy house. But then I got that idea for the first (super torched) crate and, well, now I will be buying a few bags of popsicle sticks from dollar tree this weekend....

Back to the crates I get. Got my heat sink with motor fan for my 1/18 'Pit Lord' rc truck, and it's probably capable of about 75 m.p.h. now, but without that fan, it wouldn't be able to maintain any speed for too long. Plus I gotta figure out this framework for the walker bulldog, it's harder to do things at the deadest quiet parts of night... My heat gun is too loud, so is the girls' hair dryer... Lighters are inefficient, and baking plastic stinks up the whole apartment... Stupid diurnal humanoid schedules...

Thanks for the kind words, all!

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Barmonkey: "You might try staining them with tea or coffee." Yes, and that would be much cheaper to do, too. Duh, why didn't I think of that?

Mr. Thrice (I am afraid to ask three times what): Keep at it! Show us pictures. I like your ideas for Popsicle crate photos. Have fun at the junk---unh, Dollar Tree--store. And get that forklift!