Take-Away-Trash Time Machine. Pro Skills in Junk Modelling for Kids.

From Trash To Treasure:

The next time you're having a take-away, take a look at the stuff which is perfect for creative play... Coffee Cups need only a light rinse under the tap, and they could become the fuselage for a Time Machine! That wooden Coffee Stirrer you used for 10 seconds still has a useful second life as the material for a Mini Ladder. Paper Straws can be used for 'ducting' pipes. Wooden Knives, Forks and Spoons can be cut up to make Seats in the Control Centre. Sauce Pots might be too messy to be re-used, but perhaps you can pinch a couple to make into Rocket Engines. You may even get home and find Tomato Puree caps make good Dials, or those little Sushi Soy Sauce 'bottles' might look really cool as 'Oxygen Tanks' for your imaginary charters to explore outer space!

Oh yeah, did I say it was imaginary -- sadly, creators Mark Greenbaum; and myself, Jude Pullen -- we didn't crack time travel! But we most certainly have been taking Trash and turning it into Treasure, for our young sons, in the form of these comic series we call UnderHere! We came up with the concept and created the stories together, but Mark takes a lead on graphics stuff, and I take a lead on the making stuff.

Before Time Machines, There Was Goat and Llamas...

As with many great things, the partnership started off in Instructables! Making an epic 3D board-game called Goats Vs Llamas, which you can download, print, stick to delivery boxes, cut out, hot-glue together - and presto! You have an amazing boardgame with 1024 different game play permutations!

Why We Made A Free, Downloadable Comic To Inspire Creative Play.

This year, we created the UnderHere comic in a similar way, as a way to encourage kids to make stuff, but to give a story/narrative to fire up their imaginations, and give a motivation for the build to exist (it's hard to create from a blank page, as even adults know!).

Anyway, you print the PDF of the comic on Letter or A4 paper, at home, make one special cut in the middle, and fold it in a cool origami way (see video) - and it becomes an A7 pocket comic. It’s so small that any kid can stow it in their pocket, pencil case, or school bag, for when bus rides or other occasions get a little dull, they can enjoy the adventures of 5 ‘sweet’ characters as they get into adventures, and get out of scrapes by 'MacGyvering' their way out of trouble with ingenious use of Paper-Clips, Straws, String, and all manner of other found things. Whether you're in a Green Forest?, or Concrete Jungle - both are your playground to expand your imagination and learn stuff along the way, often through trial and error.

In Episode Two, the main story is that the gang needed to build a Time Machine to go back in time to right a wrong to one of their buddies (some weird science involving DNA and mind-altering saliva!). As one does, they make one from Take Away trash, and some hot-melt glue, and save the day in the Take-Away Time Machine! But not before the obligatory comic mishaps of getting it wrong before it becomes right! Same as films like Back to the Future, Flight of the Navigator, or any other time-related caper from our 1980s childhood we are so evidently revisiting as dads here!

Is This Another Anti-Screen Time Polemic?

We both have worked with toy companies, big and small, so have picked up a few skills along the way, but mostly, we are excited to see more kids do more physical, outdoor, imaginative, and resourceful play. It's a challenge against the immediate gratification of many digital distractions, but we're also keen to stress this is not an 'Anti-Device' tirade - we both work in at the forefront of progressive industries where tech is infused with creativity, but we also feel it's worth taking a stand against 'passive' play - we’d dub this is 'active' play... As it requires a little more effort than mashing buttons; the story is short and needs kids to 'take it further' in their imagination; and the builds are exemplars, and not things to be slavishly copied.

Mark & Jude: Seriously Silly.

We don't often flex about our credentials to kids, but in a time where creative professions are under threat from AI, we also feel we should say Mark and I (Jude) have been somehow living the dream of doing stuff the 'bots' can't, whilst still also being curious, like kids, about what new tech means for our processes: In short, you can make a living doing fun stuff... It takes work, and hustle, but it can be done! We feel kids should see and know that. We may not be riding around on Super Yachts, but we're also kinda thrilled to be making Leaf Boats, Time Machines, and Zip-Wire Gondolas with our kids in between the chores and challenges many parents have day to day.

Let Us Know What You Think!

We hope you enjoy these projects as much as we had making them. The website also has a section for uploading any 'fan art', or ideas you'd like to see, so please add any cool stuff in Comments or 'I Made This' please! It lets us know we're not just screamin' into the void, and kids are still capable of wielding a hot glue gun as readily as a playstation controller. Have fun!

~

Costs:

In the last section, I worked out that a Comic is around 10-12p per double-sided issue.

Disclaimer:

Sharp Tools are used. Hot Tools are used. Such things carry risks, and supervision is recommended, and even then, care should be taken as to when you feel your kid(s) are ready to use things. Although we've tried to make this as safe and kid-friendly as possible, we cannot accept liability of responsibility for any harm caused.

Copyright:

For avoidance of doubt, this can be downloaded and printed for personal use (and gifting to friends), and used in schools of course. Please give credit / link back / tag when possible for credit and reach. Any commercial interest should seek permission from Mark and Jude first. All rights reserved.

Wanna Collaborate:

Any collaborations/work - get in touch! We'd love to hear from you. We also freelance on projects like this for other companies and brands. Find us at https://www.judepullen.com/ and https://greenbombdesign.com/ or via LinkedIn.

I grew up watching the TV show Bitsa, where two enthusiastic presenters, Caitlin Easterby and Simon Pascoe (link) made a staggering amount of cool stuff from 'Junk Modelling' (Junk in UK, is Trash in US, I guess).

Anyway, these have been salvaged from a few take-away places, some clean and unused (a lot of take-away joints give you cutlery, straws, and such regardless of whether you asked from them), and some you can of course ask for (I actually got given some clean chip boxes by McDs). The Coffee Cup washed clean with a little rinse, and left to dry. Of course one can combine these items with household waste/recycling, from yoghurt pots to cereal boxes, etc.

As for tools, you can use sticky-tape or doubled-sided tape, if you child really is not ready for Hot Melt Glue Guns, although I have also done a video discussing Tools for Kids if you're interested. Kid-Safe Scissors again can be used, but some Craft/X-Acto Knife work is objectively a little easier if an adult can supervise.

You can use any used washed and dried coffee cup, as shown. You can arrange the lid as shown but you may wish to add some blue-tack to 'stick them together' if you want to 'fly it around' a bit!

You can of course use it in the usual way it fits together (rather than inverted).

Straws are fine to reuse (even if you have slurped drinks from them), but I recommend giving them a dry-out, so as they cut nicely, without going squishy.

Cut them at 45 degrees (approx).

Use glue gun as shown to stick the two joints together as shown.

Tip: Take care with Hot Glue - it can burn skin! I use a small-tipped glue gun, rather than the typical ones, as they output less glue (even if same melting temperature) but this means the quantity does less harm if you get a bit on you, as is less likely to drop onto you. I also keep a little bowl of cold water nearby with my son, just in case, to put a burnt finger in quickly.

Once you have build a 'U' shape, you can adjust to fit, as of course the sides of the Coffee Cup are not straight but sloped, so you can adjust as shown so they match the slope...and then glue to the side of the cup.

Tip: You may need to 'squeeze out' the straws back to their original shape, as scissors tend to crush them a bit.

One can use any box, but Chip Boxes do work nicely as they have an unusual shape. Hopefully they they are not too greasy, but you can sometimes ask for free (unused) ones if you like.

Cut down to size as shown.

Trim approximately to fit to the curvature of the coffee cup.

Use offcuts of straws to act as 'intermediary' structural pieces, so you're not glueing a thin edge of cardboard, but instead a chunky bit of straw.

(You can also cut 'tabs' if you prefer, but this is a novel way to do it also, and uses up scraps).

You can of course cut this door with scissors, but you will have to accept cutting through the 'rim' of the cup to get the 'arc' done. If you can use a knife, you can make a nicer door, and also add some small cuts to allow it to fold in the right place as a 'hinge'.

This is optional, but offers a nice creative challenge for kids who are doing well so far and want to make a nice mechanistic part...

Take a small section of straw, but out a segment as shown, by doing two cuts about 1/4 of the circumference of the straw.

Take another slightly longer section of straw, and push that inside it so it 'snaps' shut around it, and holds it, whilst it can rotate by turning in place.

If you like, you can add 'edge details' as shown from offcuts, also cut to make 'C' shapes, to add on both sides.

Lastly, add an 'offset' at the back, from more straws, and this can then be stuck to the coffee cup.

At the risk of this getting pretentious, there is something I love about just 'playing around' with different random parts. I had no plan to add a Tomato Puree cap as a dramatic red 'dial' handle, but it just happened to fit perfectly into the oversize bubble-tea straw, so with a bit of glue I added it as shown. In many ways, this sort of thinking is what is needed more of in school, and something Bitsa really inspired in me - to try stuff out and now worry about it being right or wrong - this is still what I believe makes great designers and engineers excel, the willingness to try different combinations of things, and trust that something will 'look right', and seem obvious in hindsight.

As mentioned, this is a 'step up' from scissors, so do supervise if a parent, and try to take care with how kids learn to use knives. I have some tutorials here if interested. And a masterclass if you prefer a structured course, with the Design & Technology Association, UK.

Using a scalpel or craft knife makes for cleaner cuts and less 'crushing' of the straw's profile.

Tip: If you find you want to be more precise, you can add some glue first, allow to dry, and this creates a 'plug' so that a second addition of glue has a larger face to stick to (the glue plug), or one can pack with scrap paper also with the same effect. One can be as accurate or as casual as one wishes, the choice is yours!

As with many of the things I design for kids, I try to impress on them the somewhat 'rebel' [compared to schools] idea that you don't have to measure everything. This makes people 'precious' when you are *junk* modelling - so it's a bit of fun, not a real NASA space launch! And secondly, it takes so much time to measure all these 1.5cm 'rungs' of the ladder. Instead, cut one to a size you feel looks right, and then place this back on the stirrer, slide the scissors up against it, and cut - and presto - you have a nearly identical sized rung. Keep doing this, and you'll have about 10-12 of these, and you can then add them to one side, before sticking the other vertical piece in place as shown. Finally add this to the side of the coffee cup!

I'd call this a Relative Cutting Technique, and it's what joiners use - you 'cut to fit' rather than slavishly measure everything, you use the relative size of one thing to cut another. However, be sure to use the same piece, otherwise you introduce a 'cumulative error' and your 1st piece will be smaller than your 12th piece!

If you look at the other build, I used 'Sauce Pots', but I found I ran out this time, so just made some similar shapes from a cereal box, as shown. I added some caps for extra colour and detail.

I made the Control Centre from a Raisin Box, but it could be anything really.

I made the seats by cutting off the ends of wooden forks, which are often clean and unused really, as they are not in contact with food! (Makes you think, huh!).

Anyway, I then scored this such that I could 'bend' the seat, and I added some Hot Melt to secure it in place.

Lastly, I glued a piece of straw, and then fixed in place as shown.

If you like Sushi you'll likely have a few of these left over. Although there is talk of them being banned...so perhaps save them up now!

I got some nice coloured straws, and used these to add some 'hot' and 'cold' water pipes, perhaps - or they can 'mean' anything you want, of course! Same techniques used, fix into place as shown.

I had a few Soy Sauce caps left over also, so used these as 'controls' for the Control Centre. Stick on with Hot Melt.

If your wooden knives are greasy perhaps avoid this, but if not, and they are clean/unused - they might also make nice quirky details like this!

Bit of a grey-area here. For some parents you may not wish to conflate medicines and 'keep away from children' stuff, as a play thing. However, if like me, you have somehow acquired an unfeasible number of Calpol spoons, you may want to add them as another imaginative sculptural detail. Is it the Oxygen Scrubber, or an Escape Pod - who knows - whatever your imagination wants it to be!

It's hard to find a 'perfect' aerodynamic nose cone, but luckily kid's imaginations seem to not stress about such adult pedantry, so I found I can approximate one as shown, and my son was fine with this. I used a Sauce Cup, Puree cap again, and some Straw offcuts. Ta-da!

I may have been the one who ate this Haagen Dazs deliciousness, but I kindly left the stick for my son to use, and it made a good 'handle' to 'fly' the spaceship with.

It's a funny thing, but never underestimate the power of a handle or stick to make something feel more real. Its' why having a puppet on a stick or string is more satisfying than just having your hands move it from the outside, it feels more like you're observing it move, and suspends disbelief, in a way most adults forget, but kids really enjoy. Someone I know at LEGO probably has studied this and it has a name...I should ask.

OK, so that's it - you have the basic moves and techniques down. Not only have you made this cool model, but it should serve you well in future creative builds. Let your imagination go wild, and keep hoarding those fun little bits and bobs when you eat take away, clear out the fridge, or whatever.

Depending on if you have visited the website already, you'll find more builds like this! Enjoy!

So of course you have the comic, and then you have the inside/flipside, but we also left the comic not coloured in so you can do your own version.

So this is truly for the nerds, but also the cost-conscious, which most of us parents certainly have to be!

I keep an eye out for offers on Ink via tracking sites like CamelCamelCamel.com, and generally find I can get a large 15m Colour Cartridge for my printer for about £25. These allegedly do 400 pages, but taking this as marketing fluff, let's assume it's less than that, and I'd say we're looking at around 10-12p for an UnderHere comic, given the 'Inside' flipside guide is less ink-heavy. So it's not nothing, but it's also better than printing in a reprographics place which will charge you 50p-£1 as a rule.

If you use Amazon, then you NEED CamelCamelCamel in your life!

So this is the first and second generation I made for the comic, and for the video also. Somethings changed, but the general ideas are the same... but the point is, there is no 'right' way to do it, and some freestyling is fine! That's the point. =)

Thanks again, and please do drop us a line at https://www.underhere.world/ and do share any builds you made here on Instructables too!