Champagne Cork Iron Man

by sjroth in Circuits > LEDs

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Champagne Cork Iron Man

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Pretty soon then new Iron Man movie will be coming out, so now that people are getting excited about Iron Man again I thought it would be a great time to make an Iron Man Corky. 
When I planned my Iron Man I didn't want to make him ordinary like the others Corkies. Iron Man doesn't have any special item, so I wouldn't have to worry about making an accessory.
I then realized that the most obvious thing to do was to make the arc reactor actually work. 
Here's how I did it.

Materials and Supplies

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Supplies:
  • Hacksaw or breadknife
  • Tape
  • Woodglue
  • Red sharpie
  • Fine black permanent marker
  • Ballpoint pen
  • Gold permanent marker
  • Craft knife
  • Solder and Soldering iron
  • Work mat
  • Metal glue (I used UHU metal)
  • Pencil
Materials
  • Disposable aluminium food tray
  • Champagne Cork
  • Concave LED (a regular convex LED will work too, but won't have the same effect)
  • Battery holder contact plate
  • 1.5V button cells
  • Miniature 3-pin switch
  • Some sort of dowel or stick to make the battery cover.
  • Regular tin foil

Prepare the Cork

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Once you have the cork you need (check out my previous Instructable on Corkies on how to choose the right one), you're going to have to cut it in half. I used a bread knife and a hacksaw, but what would be most effective would be a band saw. The cut doesn't have to be exactly in the middle -- in fact, because I cut mines more to one side it was much easier to carve out the inside. Carve it out as shown in the picture. Make sure it's deep enough for all the parts to fit in. Don't cut out too much though.

LED Wiring

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The circuitry for the reactor is really simple, but can be a pain to solder together because the parts are so small. Solder the switch to the LED, and the LED to the battery plate. Make sure that the cathode and the anode of the LED are on the right side.
Glue the wiring into the cork to stop it from moving around. Then, glue the two sides of the cork together with wood glue. Now the switch should be accessible on the back, and the LED visible from the front. Let it dry overnight.

Iron Man Suit

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Now comes the hardest part: the Iron Man suit. First, flatten the foil from the disposable food tray to get rid of creases. Then sketch out what you will cut out. The parts really depend on the cork you are using, and will need some improvisation.
To make a nice hole for the LED I used a hole puncher.
Glue the pieces on with the metal glue.
Use regular tin foil to wrap around the head -- the food tray foil is too thick.
I also outlined all the lines and pieces with the fine black permanent marker to make them more defined.
Don't forget to put the wooden disk from the dowel/stick in the bottom to stop the batteries from falling out.

Done!

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That's it! Have fun with your Iron Man Corky, and don't forget to post a picture of your own in the comments!

For more instructions on making a Corky, check out my previous Instructable here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Corkies-Champagne-Cork-Figurines/