Up   Home   Historic Sites   Models   Heraldry   Puzzles   Garden   Links

Gabions (Click thumbnails for larger images)

Materials & Equipment

Cocktail sticks, Scrap foam

String, Dry sand

PVA

Craft knife, Side cutters

Hot glue gun & glue

Coin, Marker (Sharpie)

Stage 1

Cut six cocktail sticks in half.

Stage 2

Draw a circle on a scrap piece of foam. I drew around a 5p coin, and used a piece of a foam food container, but any scrap foam should work.

Stage 3

Set aside one of the half-size sticks - the reason for this will be shown later. Poke the other 11 into the foam at  roughly equal spacing around the circle.

Stage 4

Either trim the points from the sticks or add another layer of foam to hold the sticks securely in position. This won't be an issue if you used thicker foam.

Stage 5

Poke a hole in the centre of the base, and thread the end of the string through it.

Stage 6

Weave the string around the circle between the sticks. Provided you used an odd number of sticks, the string will automatically alternate sides as you go up a layer.

Stage 7

Continue weaving until you reach the desired height - somewhere around shoulder level on the miniature looks about right. Cut the string.

Stage 8

Weave the end of the string around the sticks and secure the end with a small blob of PVA.

Stage 9

Stage 10

Whilst the glue is still hot, sprinkle a little modelling sand onto the top. 

Stage 11

The sand didn't stick very well for me, so I added a couple of drops of watered-down PVA.

Stage 12

Whilst the PVA was still wet, I added a drop of black ink, then set the piece aside to dry and cool.

Stage 13

Once dry, trim the tops off the sticks with a pair of side-cutters, leaving a short stub protruding.

Stage 14

Peel the foam off the base of the model, then trim the end of the string and the points of the cocktail sticks.

Example

The finished gabion with a figure for scale.

Archery Target (Click thumbnails for larger images)

Materials & Tools:

String

Plastic shot glass or similar container

PVA

Paint & brushes

LEGO blocks

Craft knife

Scissors

Stage 1

Mix a small quantity of PVA with water in a plastic shot glass. About 70% water / 30% PVA works well. A few millimetres in the bottom of the container will be enough.

Stage 2

Cut a piece of string around 38cm / 15" long. Place the string into the glass to soak in the glue mixture and leave it for a few minutes. You can add paint to the mix at this stage, but it will dry with a slightly shiny finish.

Stage 3

Place the end of the string on some Lego blocks as shown.

Stage 4

Add more blocks, trapping the string in position.

Stage 5

Begin to form the string into a spiral. Work steadily and press the string flat from time to time.

Stage 6

Once your coil is the right diameter, trim the end and form the string into a neat circle if you can. Set the piece aside to dry thoroughly. This may take several hours, even if you place the model on a radiator or other gentle heat source.

Stage 7

Once dry, separate the Lego blocks, and remove the disc of string. Carefully cut the "tail" from the back of the disc.

Stage 8

Undercoat the string disc in an off white colour. Allow to dry.

Stage 9

Paint concentric circles on the target in contrasting colours. I used black for the bulls-eye and red around the edge, but you can choose your own if you prefer.

Stage 10

Once dry, you can glue the target onto a stand - instructions below.

Archery Target Stand

Archery Target Stand (Click thumbnails for larger images)

Materials & Tools:

Archery Target

Coffee stirrers or strip-wood

PVA

Paint & brushes

Craft knife

Needle file

Stage 1

Cut four lengths of coffee stirrer with angled ends as shown. The length of the pieces should be about 45mm / 1.75" for 28mm scale.

Stage 2

Lay two of these pieces with the tops aligned as shown. Mark and trim the stick. Repeat the process with the other pair of wood strips.

Stage 3

Glue the strips together as shown with a little PVA, to make two identical front leg pieces. Set these aside to dry for a few minutes.

Stage 4

Cut a piece of coffee stirrer to about 36mm / 1.4" in length to form the cross-bar. Mark and remove a small arc of material to hold the target.

Stage 5

Glue the two front legs together at the apex.

Stage 6

Attach the cross-bar with the cut out centred, making sure to keep it parallel to the base of the stand. Allow the glue to dry thoroughly.

Stage 7

Cut a back leg at the same angles as the front leg as shown. You can join two pieces of coffee stirrer, as above, or use a slightly thicker piece of strip-wood.

Stage 8

Using the point of a needle file, make a series of indentations around the front of the frame to represent places where arrows have missed the target.

Stage 9

Stain all the wood with a watery mix of black and brown inks.

Stage 10

Once the stain dries, glue the back leg onto the rest of the stand assembly.

Stage 11

Once dry, glue a target onto the support-frame.

Archery Target

Practice Dummy (Click thumbnails for larger images)

Materials & Tools:

String

Coffee stirrer or strip wood

Cocktail stick

Bamboo skewer of thin dowel

PVA

Flock or static grass

Razor saw

Craft knife, scissors

Stage 1

Cut a length of kebab skewer to around 35mm / 1.4".

Stage 2

Cut four angle braces from the coffee stirrer.

Stage 3

Drill a hole to accept a cocktail stick about 10mm / 0.4" from one end.

Stage 4

Push a cocktail stick through the hole and trim the arms to about 12mm / 0.5" in length.

Stage 5

Using a small amount of PVA, attach the angle braces to the kebab skewer, keeping them level with the base. Allow to dry.

Stage 6

Tie the end of the string around the crossing point, and wrap it around the skewer, slowly building up the shape of a body and head.

Stage 7

Trim the string to length and secure the end with a little PVA. Allow to dry.

Stage 8

Drag a razor saw gently across the sting to roughen up the surface. Add some nicks to the wood with the saw or a craft knife.

Stage 9

Apply a little PVA to the bottom of the post and braces, and add a little flock or static grass. This step should help the model appear to be fixed in the ground, rather than sitting on top.

Stage 10

This dummy is moveable, but if you wish to have one fixed into your baseboard, then you can leave the post a little longer, and probably do without the braces.