Here's a quick download for you to try. This is a experimental mechanism (if that is the right word) which will be used in a more complete kit at a later date. It does work though and is rather fun!
The swanee whistle is a whistle with variable pitch. Pull the slider in and out and the pitch goes up and down. Download and print out the file from the end of this blog post, it is free for anyone to try.
It is a simple model but must be put together carefully and accurately. I printed out the parts sheet onto slightly heavier card than I usually use. 280 micron.
Score the dotted lines, cut out the air hole then cut out the parts carefully.
Fold the outer tube round and glue it together accurately. Fit the cover over the end of the tube so that the bottom edges of the cover line up with the bottom of the outer tube.
Assemble the inner tube. Set both parts to one side until the glue is completely dry.
Fit the inner tube into the outer tube. It should be a close fit but be free to move in and out.
Blow through the hole between the cover and the outer tube and the whistle should sound. Pull the inner tube in and out and the pitch will change!
You might also be interested in:
 Cuckoo |
 Train Whistle |
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
The universal joint is a mechanism used to add a joint into a drive shaft, with the universal joint in place the drive shaft can be flexible.
Here is a quick to make model so you can see how the universal joint works. As a member you can download the parts at the end of this post, non members can download the model for a small fee.
Print out the three parts sheets onto thin card. Score all the and cut out the holes before cutting out the parts. Both these jobs are easier on whole sheets of card. Only cut out one hole in the support piece.
Glue the two dials into place on the fronts of the support pieces.
Once the glue is dry, cut out the hole fold round and glue the support together.
Glue together the two drive shafts...
...and glue on the end caps.
Glue the joiner plate onto one of the drive shafts
Add the other drive shaft to the other side with the tab at ninety degrees.
Thread the tabs from one base plate through the hole on the other base plate, don't glue it though, it needs to be free to move.
Using the grey areas for alignment glue the two supports onto the base.
Thread the drive shafts into the supports with the washers in place on the outside of the support. Note that the washers with the arrows are used on the dial side of the supports.
Assemble the handle in three stages as shown above.
Glue the handle to the end of drive shaft.
Once the glue is dry the model is complete!
Turn the handle and the driveshaft turns along its full length. Experiment by bending the base, see how the shaft still turns with a bend in it. There is a short-coming with the universal joint though.
Try this. Rotate the shaft at a constant speed at one end. While the shaft is straight the other end rotates at the same speed but add a bend and the shaft after the bend speeds up and slows down. Use the pointers and dials and you can see how angles change in a complete rotation. You'll notice that the greater the angle, the more noticeable the effect.
Car drive shafts use constant velocity joints rather than universal joints to overcome this problem. That'll have to wait until another model.
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
I designed this tortoise model earlier this year, it has been buried in the blog for a while now, the more articles get added to the blog, (nearly 300 now!) the fewer people see the earlier treasures so I thought I'd pull out a few models and add them to the show case where everyone can see them. It is a free download for member otherwise there is a small charge.
If you missed it first time round I hope that you enjoy it!
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
Here's a quick mechanism for you to download and try. If you are a member you can download it at the end of this post. It is a simple joint designed to move both back and forth and side to side. It could be used as the waist joint in a bendable character with friction locks to hold it in place once it is posed.
Print out two copies of the file below. I used two different colours of card. Glue the two sliders back to back, notice that they are rotated 90 degrees to each other.
Glue the two hinges inside of the sliders. Line up the end of the small part with the crease in the slider.
Make up the two bodies.
Glue the ends of the bodies to the hinges.
Place the slider covers over the sliders and glue them down. Make sure you don't get any glue on the slider. Otherwise it won't slide.
That's it, let the glue dry. The joint should now be free to move back and forth and side to side. Now to work out how this fits into a working model.
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
Just so that you you know; the crow model is available for everyone to download for free, members and non-members alike.
Having linked to it from the front page I really thought that I should be make it easily available.
I hope you enjoy it.
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
(YouTube!) The Pneumatic Giraffe! An air powered model to download, print out and make. The finished model is a simple wooden crate marked with the words. "Warning! Wild Animal"
All looks perfectly normal until you blow in the airhole on the side of the great when, Woooshhh! A Giraffe flies up out of the crate to see what on earth is going on!
As a member you can download the model for free at the end of this blog post. None members can download the file for a small fee.
The Pneumatic Giraffe comes in two versions, mono and colour, both of which are in the same file. Choose the version you prefer then print the parts out onto this card. 230 micron white photocopier card is perfect for the job.
Notice that the parts pages for the first three sheets of the colour version are marked front and back. Print out the front, flip the card over and return it to the printer then print out the back. Let the ink dry completely before moving on.
Solid black lines show where to cut. Dotted and dashed lines are score lines. Score the parts and cut out any holes with a sharp knife before cutting out the parts.
Fold round and glue together the neck piece marked #1.
Glue two tube stops into place on the grey areas. Two on each side to make a double thickness stop. This parts will stop the neck flying out of the giraffe when you blow into it.
Fold round and glue together the neck piece marked with #2.
Glue on the the #2 end cap then glue the second #2 tube stop on top of it to make it double thickness.
Glue together two #2 tube stops to make a double thickness. Glue them into place on the same side as the other tube stops but at the other end and inside - as shown above. Repeat on the other side.
Line up the two neck parts so that the small cut out is uppermost.
Carefully fit the #1 tube into the #2 tube.
Push it down to the bottom of the neck tube. Pull the neck in and out a few times to ensure that it moves freely.
Assemble the #3 tube in the same way with end cap and double thickness stop.
Fit the first two neck pieces into the third neck keeping the cut out . Move them back and forth to ensure everything is working smoothly.
Assemble the forth and final neck piece. This piece has internal tube stops but no end cap.
Fit the pieces together. Extend them and compress them a few times to make sure all is working well.
Glue the air tube into place on the #4 neck piece. Be careful to line up the crease lines with the end of the neck piece.
Glue the neck support into place.
Fold round and glue the two top tabs of the back sides to make triangular sections as shown. This will make the make the box strong and give it depth.
Fold round and glue together the box sides with the base piece as shown. Be as accurate as possible with your alignment.
Glue the neck and air tube assembly into place in the bottom of the box.
Glue the other side piece into place as shown.
Glue the long tabs of the two head sides into place on the head top lining up the end of the tab with the back of the giraffe horns.
Curve round and glue the rest of the head into place. Glue on the ears.
Fold round the tabs on the box lid and glue them down.
Fold round and glue the other sides to finish off the lid
Glue together the lid inner as shown.
Glue the lid inner into the box lid.
Extend the neck for easy access. Glue the head into place using the grey square for alignment.
That's it!
Once the glue is dry, blow through the hole in the base of the box and the giraffe will pop out of her crate.
Keep it on your desk at work and amaze your colleagues!
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
Mushroom is a paper animation model for you to download, print out and make. As a member, you can download the parts file at the end of this blog post. None members can download the file for a nominal fee.
The mushroom model is powered by pneumatics. Pump the piston on the side of the model and the mushroom lifts up revealing his eyes. Stop and the mushroom drifts back down to the box as the air leaks out of the box.
Download the model and lets get started making this fun and quirky model.
There are two version of the project in the downloadable file, colour and mono, pick the version to fit your needs. Print out the three parts pages onto thin card. 230 micron board is perfect for the job. You'll need a few basic tools to make this model. Scissors, ruler, a sharp knife, some PVA glue and a glue spreader. Carefully score along all the dotted lines and cut out any holes before you cut out the parts form the sheet. Both these jobs are easier on a whole sheet. Cut and score as accurately as possible for best possible results.
Fold up and glue the mushroom cap. Set it to one side as the glue dries.
Fold round and glue the stalk tube. Make sure that you line the ends up accurately so that there is no twist in the tube.
Fit the stalk tube into the box top and glue it into place.
Fold round and glue together the stalk.
Thread the stalk into the stalk tube. Glue the stalk base into place on the end of the stalk as shown in the picture.
Flip the stalk over and glue the stalk top into place as shown.
Assemble the cap stand as shown above.
Thread the cap stand down through the hole in the top of the stalk, glue the three flaps down.
Glue the grey area on the cap support to the cap stand. Let the glue dry thoroughly.
Apply a thin strip of glue to the cap support in the three areas arrowed above.
Fit the cap to the cap support. Line up the ends with the crease lines on the cap where the arrows point.
Let the glue dry thoroughly. The mushroom should be free to move up and down.
Glue the two box sides together. Glue the spacer to the box base as shown above. Glue the base to the box sides.
Glue the box top with the mushroom into place on the top of the box.
Assemble the two parts of the piston.
Glue the piston onto the side of the box as shown.
Pump the piston and the mushroom will pop out of the box!
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
The parts for this model are available to download at the end of this blog post. If you are member you'll be able to download them for free. Non-members can download them for a small fee.
The model comes on four pages, the first three need to be printed onto thin card. Thin photocopier card is ideal. Note that the pages are marked 'front' and 'back'. Print out the front page, flip the card over, return it to the printer and print the back on the other side. Wait until the ink is completely dry before continuing.
Solid black lines show where to cut, dotted lines are crease lines. Before cutting out the parts, score the dotted lines and cut out any holes. The more carefully and accurately you cut and score the parts the better your model will be!
Curve round and glue down the tab on the right hand end as shown in the picture. Assemble the rest of the body side as shown. Finish off by threading the centre tab through and gluing it down. Use the line drawing above to help with positioning.
Assemble the shoulder wheel as shown above. Note that there are grey lines on the long tab marking where the centre piece glues.
Glue the shoulder wheel to the body side so that it is free to move. It should be able to rotate approximately three quarters of a turn.
With the shoulder wheel lined up as shown, glue the paper belt to the top of the wheel. Use a narrow strip of glue so that the belt is joined to the smallest area possible.
Thread the belt round through the hole in the body side. Cut the belt to length and glue the ends together with the belt a loose-ish fit as shown above.
Repeat the same process with the other body side.
Fold and glue together the head.
Pull the belt down so that the shoulder wheel is pointing up as high as possible.
Apply a thin band of glue to the lowest end of the belt. (Arrowed)
Line up the base of the head with the base of the body side then press the glued area of the belt onto the head. Repeat the same process with the other body side.
Let the glue dry completely before carrying on but do make sure that the belt doesn't stick to the body side!
Glue the body front and back to the body sides - make sure that the head remains free to move.
Roll the arm cover round a suitable pen to curve the surface...
...then glue the arm cover to the arm underside.
Glue the arm ends to the shoulder wheel as shown above.
Glue the body covers into place on the front and back of the body.
Roll round and glue on the two eye tubes.
Curve the four leg parts round a suitable pen. Glue together two of the leg parts then glue them to the leg centre. Repeat the process on the other side to complete the legs assembly.
Glue the waist to the bottom of the body.
Glue the legs to the waist and the feet to the legs to complete the Beltbot. Once the glue is dry your Beltbot is ready.
I hope you enjoy it!
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
£2.00
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
Here's a simple but fun project I think that you might enjoy making. The mobius snake is a single piece model that rolls round and glues to make a snake eating its own tail. The twist being the twist in the paper which give the mobius strip its mysterious properties.
As a member you can can download the file at the end of the blog post. Print it out onto ordinary printer paper, cut it out and away you go!
Here is the finished model in all its simple glory. The mobius strip is a mathematical curiosity discovered in the 19th century - In its simplest form it is a strip of paper with a single twist glued into a loop. The weird thing is that, because of the twist the mobius strip has only one edge and one face. Trace your finger along one edge and without lifting it from the model you'll pass by both eyes before returning to your starting point!
Close up detail of the head.
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
£2.00
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
Continuing my ongoing project to bring up to date releases of more obscure models that were previously hidden away on the flying pig site I bring you... The Snap Up Squid! Now there's a hole in your life that you didn't know needed filling!
This particularly delightful model is quick and easy to make. Download the file at the bottom of the post, print out onto thin card and assemble. The elastic band powered squid folds flat and can be slipped into a book or large greetings card only to pop out when the card is opened to the delight of the recipient.
There are two versions in the file. Colour and mono. Print out your choice onto thin card. Note that the colour version is double sided. Print one side, flip the card over and return it to the printer then print the other side.
Score all the dotted lines then cut out the pieces.
Glue the lower flaps of the two body halves together.
Join the top flaps together. Fold the squid flat before the glue dries to make sure that everything is lined up correctly.
Glue on the tentacles with the suckers on the inside.
Glue the eyes into place as shown.
Cut out the small square holes for the elastic band. Cut open a long thin elastic band. Thread it into place as per the picture, a pair of tweezers is useful for this job. Tie the ends of the elastic band with a double knot so that is is tight enough to close the squid body sharply but not so tight that it crushes it!
That's it! Your squid will fold flat to fit inside a book or card and snap up when it is opened.
Just what you always needed!
Keep up to date: Receive the latest blog post by email
£2.00
Become a Member for free
access to this and other files on the site.See the Membership page for more details.
Already a Member? Log in Here
