

How To: Build hot air balloon out of a garbage bag
This is a simple and easy tutorial, and anybody can build a hot air balloon out of a garbage bag by following the instructions in it. All one needs is a garbage bag, some stiff industrial wire and fire starter bars. The important thing, according to the author, is to judge how many fire starter bars will be required to make the balloon rise without melting its plastic body. First, two long wires are twisted together in the middle to make an 'X'. A smaller wire is twisted onto the middle of th...

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: Build a looping rolling marble machine with magnetic elevator
Wow! No longer do you have to buy those huge marble machine roller coaster toys — you can DIY one! This video covers the materials, tools and techniques used to make a homemade rolling ball marble machine. If you haven't seen this rolling ball marble machine toy in action yet, WATCH IT. It's a looping rolling marble machine made with wood, rebar tie wire and polyurethane tubing, featuring a magnetic elevator.

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: Refill your Zippo with lighter fluid
In this video, learn what to do when your Zippo runs out of fluid. You won't be able to get a good flame or perform any tricks without a totally full Zippo and in this clip, you will get a step by step on refueling. Follow along and stay safe and strong with your flame.

How To: Modify a Nerf Firefly toy gun
In this Hobbies & Toys video tutorial you will learn how to modify a Nerf Firefly toy gun by replacing the barrels with CPVC and adding a new spring. You start with the power blaster and open it up. Remove the turret by removing other parts as shown in the video. Remove the screws from the turret and pull it apart. Cut off one side of the front end of the turret. Now cut 8 x 3” CPVC barrels, wrap black tape around one end and ram them into the back of the turret. Then pull out the plunger, ...


How To: Turn a 5MW laser into a 100MW laser
Tired of that dinky little 5MW laser? Turn the power up and convert your 5MW laser into a 100MW laser? A small amount of modification can produce a significantly stronger light coming out of your laser. You will need a small screwdriver (such as a jeweler's screwdriver), needle nose pliers, a soldering iron and some bonding glue to do this properly. This video tutorial will show you exactly how to turn your 5MW laser into a 100MW laser.

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: Take apart a laser pointer
Have you ever had a combination of extreme boredom and an unrelenting curiosity? If so one thing you may have attempted to do is to take apart or "de-engineer" a common office laser pointer. In this online video we are shown how to take apart a cheap laser pointer. It should be noted if you are going to attempt to do this you should only try it on a laser pointer that is inexpensive so your loss will not be great if you should make an error.

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: Build your own Japanese katana out of foam
If you're looking to play a samurai or other Japanese inspired character at your next boffer larp, this tutorial is for you. You're shown how to build a foam katana using duct tape, a razor blade, measuring tape, cloth athletic tape, DAP contact cement, liquid craft latex, fabric to cover your blade, rope, fiberglass core, and of course, foam!

How To: Make your own mylar balloon
Mylar balloons are the best party favors. They are big and shiny and last longer than normal latex balloons. In this tutorial, learn how to make a mylar balloon at home, from scratch. Stop spending so much money at the party store, and next time you have a big event, make your own! Not only will you save money, but it will give your party a cool personal touch.

How To: Make a Lego minigun
This is a Hobbies and Toys video tutorial where you will learn how to make a LEGO mini gun. For making this toy, you will need the LEGO mini gun kit. The mini gun consists of eight parts. Probably the pieces do not have names. So, the kid who is demonstrating in this video keeps referring all the parts as pieces. You first take the long grey piece and put a small light grey piece on top and push all the way down. Then you take another similar piece and fix it at the top and leave it aside. Th...

How To: Build a rubber band powered mini car launcher
What is it about boys and toy cars? Speed, motors, and lots of fun! In this video, Kipkay shows us how to make a mini toy car launcher that is powered by rubber bands. Make sure an adult supervises this project, as power drills are required. Once it's completed, your kid will have a blast with his or her Hot Wheels and some rubber bands. Don't forget to download the PDF of the project before you start.

How To: Make an easy switch blade knife
This is an easy to follow step by step video explaining how to make a switch blade out of easy to find objects. This is not a real knife but still has the function of a switchblade.

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: Turn a paper clip into a jumping toy
Forget school boredom again… a mere paper clip will keep you entertained in study hall, all the time! This video will show you how to make a cool little jumping toy with a paperclip of any size. It's shaped like a triangle and jumps pretty far!

Star Wars: A New Hope LEGO Chess Set
WonderHowTo World LEGO People points us to an amazing chess set made with LEGO Star Wars characters.

How To: Make popsicle stick fences
If you've got a tiny farm, you're going to need some tiny fences. Don't shell out your whole allowance for a fancy store bought fence set. Instead make your own fences out of popsicle sticks. This video tutorial demonstrates how to create stalls and stables so your miniature farm animals won't escape.

How To: Build Lego guns
Watch this how to video to learn to build 5 Lego guns. This tutorial will show you all of the bricks you need then how to put them together.

How To: Build a Lego car
Watch this how to tutorial to learn to make a Lego car. This Lego car is very simple and doesn't use many bricks, but it is used as a base for more advanced models.

How To: Make a high-powered Nerf Rifle
This is a pretty brief tutorial on how to make your own Nerf Gun. This gun is air-powered and can shoot almost 200 feet. So, why buy manufactured Nerf Guns when you can build your own?

How To: Build a Lego Mario
The ultimate lego achievement for any Nintendo or Super Maro Bros. fan. Learn how to build Mario out of legos.

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: 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...

How To: Convert 2D Photos Into 3D Models
The video below demonstrates how you can convert you 2D Photos into 3D Models using 3Defy. You will need to follow these steps:

How To: Make your own slingshot from easy to find materials
Can you feel your inner Dennis the Menace trying to get out? Trying to recreate the early 90s bad boy Bart Simpson look? Watch these videos to learn how to make yourself a slingshot. This slingshot is made from materials that are probably laying around your house, but you will need some power tools.

How To: Build a coreless punch shield for boffer combat
Construct your own shield for use in boffer combat! This tutorial shows you how to construct your own large punch shield out of several layers of blue camp foam, a length of PVC for the handle, a measuring tape and some DAP adhesive.

How To: Make a quiver full of larp safe foam tipped arrows
This tutorial is a great guide on how you can make a set of safe, foam-tipped arrows. You'll need to start with some hobby arrows, metal washers, wall anchors, a small NERF football, a hot glue gun, glue sticks, measuring tape and a foam golf ball or blue camping foam.

How To: Make sanity reducing creepy Cthulhu tentacles
Now you too can build your own prop of eldritch horror! Guaranteed to induce a SAN check in anyone who sees it, this tutorial shows you how to build a set of flexible Cthulhu tentacles out of one inch furniture foam, half inch furniture foam, steel wire, pantyhose, one inch PVC tubing, epoxy and a jar of latex.

How To: Construct a basic boffer longsword using a foam noodle
This tutorial shows you a very basic method to create an effective boffer sword using PVC pipe, a foam noodle, duct tape and some open-cell foam for a stabbing-safe tip. You're also shown a good method for constructing the hilt. This is a great tutorial for anyone looking to make a foam sword for their favorite boffer larp!

How To: Make LARP-safe werewolf claws or monster claws
This tutorial shows you how you create a boffer larp safe pair of werewolf claws. Start with some basic heavy gloves, like gardening gloves, then cut out your claws from foam (at least three inches long!), and then follow along with the tutorial to end up with your own awesome monster claws!

How To: Build a couch with Legos
What's a house model if you don't have a couch in the living room, right? Where would the minifigures sit to watch TV? Can't be on the floor! In this video you will get a quick glimpse of the different bricks that you will need to complete the model as well as a detailed tutorial on the construction process all the way into a finished couch!

How To: Make a mini K'Nex pistol
This video tutorial is in the Hobbies & Toys which will show you how to make a mini K'Nex pistol. Chris Swartzentruber shows you how to do this in this video. First make the trigger mechanism with the green, white, blue and orange parts as shown. Next make the handle using the parts as shown in the video. One end of the handle is green and the other end is orange. Then you make the handle support, barrel, magazine, rod pusher and the firing pin as demonstrated. Attach the handle to the barrel...

How To: Make a rubber band powered car with CD wheels
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to make a toy car with CD wheels. The materials required for this task are: 2 thread spools, long piece of thing wood, 4 CD's, 2 screws, 2 washers and 2 bolts. Begin by drilling a hole in the spools and 2 holes in the wood. Then place a washer on the screw. Now place the CD on the washer. Then add another washer and secure it by screwing on a bolt. Now put the wheel through the first board of wood. Then put it through the spool and other wood board. N...

How To: Make a 300-style Spartan chest piece with paper mache
This is Sparta! If you find yourself yelling that line from the film and graphic novel 300 before doing all sorts of intense tasks, than this two-part video is for you. It will teach you how to make your own wearable replica of a Spartan chest piece out of cardboard and paper mache at home. Never be harmed by Persian arrow again!

How To: Build a LEGO fence
With this tinkerer's tutorial, you'll learn how to assemble a fence from plastic LEGO toy blocks, a design certain to compliment most any LEGO house. For a detailed walkthrough of the assembly process, watch this free video guide.

How To: Make a basic rubber band car
To make a rubber band car you will need one sheet of card stock, four paper clips, two binder clips, one plastic straw, 8 inches of dowel that fits into the straw, two pencils and one rubber band. You will also need four CDs or round pies of cardboard, tape, a ruler and a marking pen. First, unfold the paper clips. Then fold the card stock and attach the paper clips. Cut squares out of the card stock. Then, cut the straw. Attach it to the card stock. Affix the pencils to the card stock with h...

How To: Make a Lego sword
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to make a LEGO sword. LEGO consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts. This video is very short and only lasts for 35 seconds. It is very basic and easy to follow. This LEGO construction is very simple, fast and easy to do. There are only 3 pieces required to make the LEGO sword. It does not matter what color the pieces are. This video will benefit those viewers who enjoy pl...