Mini Piranha Plant

Hello again.

This instructable was created out of a general lack of other Piranha Plant instructables. Last time I posted, I made a functional Piranha Plant that could fire bb pellets at people. While that was a cool project, it was a rather large piece and not everyone would be inclined to wiring it. So instead I made a more decorative piranha plant, one that doesn't take up so much space, and can be made in a day (maybe two). This plant stands at about 6 inches (152 mm) tall, and 3 inches (76 mm) wide from leaf to leaf. Its head is about 2.2 inches (56 mm) wide. So yes, this is a desk decoration.

Most of the pieces are 3D printed, so you should be good. But you will need a few extra things.

• A hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Liquid glue (Elmer's Glue)
• Red paint
• Green Paint
• White Paint
• At least 4 toothpicks

You will also need to print out one copy of everything in the .zip file, but two copies of the lips file. The .zip file contains all the .stl files needed.

This step could be done afterwards, but if you are like me and get worried about getting the wrong color on the wrong piece, then it's best we paint all the pieces individually before we put them together.

The head pieces are both a solid red, spots will be added after we put them together. If you want to put a second coat on the head piece, I would refrain from doing so until after you attach them since you will have to paint over the glue. You could also just hold off on painting this piece completely until they're attached.

The lips and the toothpicks are white.

The pipe is a sold green.

The vine is a slightly lighter shade of green. So mix your green with a little bit of white to get that shade.

You will have noticed a small hole on both halves of the head. This hole was made in order to make it easier for the head pieces to align. So stick anything you want in there, or leave it empty. I put in a piece of folded paper.

After aligning it, you will hot glue the pieces together. Don't worry about getting it smooth the first time, just make sure that they're put together. And don't forget to glue the front either.

Once they are glued, use the side of the metal tip of the glue gun to smooth out the edges. You should get a similar result to the 4th picture.

This is the part where you can add the second coat of paint to the head now (or maybe your first). This is to cover up the glue and the obvious slit to a less obvious slit.

The lips are a little problematic. I say this because while I was putting it together, it had a tendency of popping off before I could get the glue on it. So, you will have to hold the lips in place and hot glue it to the inside of the mouth. Once you have done that, you should be fine.

Also, you will now use your liquid glue to glue the lips to the outside edges of the head. Try to get it into the crease with either a paint brush or simply pouring a ton and wiping off the excess.

You should have noticed that the lips are not attached to each other (If they are, good for you and move on to the next step). In order to attach them, I used a small drop of hot glue to fill in the gap. Afterwards, paint it white and you should be good to continue.

Unfortunately, I didn't exactly measure the teeth. The length of the teeth protruding out of the mouth is about 10 mm long, so the total size is about 14 mm for the smaller edge teeth, and 17 mm for the larger center teeth. I would recommend cutting a size first and jamming it into the hole to see if it's the right size. If it looks about right, then cut out a few more and put them all into their respective tooth holes. Pour some liquid glue onto the teeth and wait for it to dry.

This can be done in whichever order you want. You can attach the head to the vine and then paint the spots, or paint the spots and then attach the head to the vine. I attached it first and then painted the spots.

In order to attach the head, pour some liquid glue into the hole located on the back of the head. Now jam the vine into the hole. You will notice some of the excess show along the edges, that's fine. You can leave it or wipe it off, either way it'll dry clear.

Now, the spots are always a bit difficult, but do what you think is best. A few big spots, and a few small spots and you'll be fine.

Now, place it in the pipe and hot glue the edges. Done.

You're going to need a piece of paper. You can either paint it green, be painted in green, or have one that's already green. Apparently, Piranha Plant leaves are very similar to American Holly leaves. As you can see, I did not know that and I cut out my own design. The leaf is about an inch and a half long, with a stem that's about one fourth of an in long. It is also about an inch wide. So, once you've cut out your leaf, hot glue it to the vine and fold it to your liking.