Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/14/modeling-with-plastic-sprues.html
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When I was about 11 I saw Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, and started taking the “sprues” from my Zoids, cutting them up, and taping or gluing them back together to make post-apocalyptic vehicles for my GI Joe figures.
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The Borg cube ship was apparently made of hundreds of sprue-trees.
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Ooo! I get to be the first to point out that they’re “runners” or “trees”, not “sprues”!
(The sprue is the place where plastic is injected into the mold)
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The Pompidou Centre is made from the sprues (trees, runners) left over after they popped the Lloyd’s Building parts out of its frames as they assembled it.
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This year I made a personal New Year resolution to try a number of new hobbies (especially hobbies that don’t involve sitting in front of a computer). I’ve been thinking I might try out model building/painting and this video has re-inspired me to give it a shot.
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Sure. If you want.
While you were napping, language evolved. Deal with it 
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when my nephew was a teenager he made action figures from sprues and plastic clothes hangers. He would melt down the plastic with a torch. He would then cast the plastic into relief moulds he made in clay with foil impressed into the finished mould . The moulds were made with dental pick like tools, all without any measuring or plan, and many were required to make one figure. When assembled and painted, they looked like they came out of a factory in Japan.
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That’s impressive on a few different levels. Like the YouTube guy showing ancient survival/crafting techniques, but focused on action figures instead of flint tools.
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ya, he is adept at many crafts and can draw and paint…many years ago I got him a table at a local comic con…he used to do a lot of fantasy drawing and clay modelling (he used to make dragons with scales made from tiny balls of clay, one per scale). He wouldn’t go, has an aversion to monetizing his hobby . No aversion to carrying around a portfolio to show to women, though 
Now he mostly does fantasy dioramas
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I’ve dabbled in modeling and painting for D&D sorts of things but was never more than an enthusiastic amateur. Seeing the folks who excelled at it was always impressive. I may have to dig out my stuff and get back to dabbling!
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good for the soul, I’m sure. I had a friend in the '70s who transitioned from “toy soldiers” (I’m sure that term doesn’t capture what that pursuit is all about, but I don’t know a preferred term) to the then newish D&D. He had a pretty impressive collection of the former and was building a collection of the latter…blew me away.
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I’m familiar with the soldiers, though I don’t know a proper term aside from “toy soldiers.” That’s a good enough one for me. I’m wondering what 30 years away from the hobby has done to my hand steadiness…I’m anticipating some less-than-stellar knights and orcs in my future.
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my brother in law, who has now passed away, came back to modelling when he retired. He found good magnification made it easier to steady his hands . Something about feedback ?? He got one of those magnifying lenses on an articulated arm, with a fluorescent tube surrounding the lens.
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I recently just got back into models after many decades off. It’s a nice technical and artistic outlet to dissappear into for a while.
Like many hobbies, It’s also an efficient method to empty the bank account 
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Worth a shot. Thanks for the idea, and to your nephew for the inspiration!
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100%. Get yourself a head-mounted magnifier (sometimes called an opti-visor). They are life changing for small work like modeling and surface-mount electronics. You’ll be amazed at how steady your hands can be, even north of 40.
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Well, thanks to COVID I barely leave the house these days, so might as well spend some money on something
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