Soft Clay Wind Up Toys. Walkers and Chompers

Hi!

In this instructable I'm going to share a cheap and simple activity that can be used to keep children (and adults) entertained and help develop their sculpting ability.

This isn't a step by step "make what i made" instructable but more to act as insperation if you are looking for a quick and cheap activity.

So, lets make some soft clay wind up toys

Air dry play clay

A wind up toy

Toothpicks for sculpting (not pictured)

Clingfilm to wrap up any unused clay. it helps prolong the life but not forever.

Both of these came from the pound shop. The play clay was in a pack of ten. you can also get 3 packs of the chattering wind up teeth for a pound. after putting together this instructable I found that the chattering teeth were the most entertaining :)

And by walker i mean a toy that walks (and nothing to do with the fact i made a zombie one...honest)

I found smaller angular toys made it easier to coat and build on.

First coat the toy in a thin layer of clay and then start building bits onto it.

Things to take into account

Play clay is incredibly soft and sticky right out of the packet which can make it a bit challenging to sculpt but great for sticking bits together. you might want to do basic shapes to begin with and then add more detail after it hardens a bit (only a couple of mins)

If you have bits sticking out like the zombie's arms you may want to prop them up until it sets completely or they will droop

Dont make it to heavy. Even though play clay is very light it can still encumber the toy if you put too much on it

Again much like the walker the main thing is not to over load the toy with clay.

I found that if you keep the majority of weight to the front the eyes on this particular toy help to anchor the clay

Remember you can mix play clay to form other colours

As you can see from the photos you can make tonnes of wacky creations (thanks to the guys at Lambhill Stables for these:) )

I hope you enjoyed this instructable and as always thoughts/comments/criticisms and even pictures of your own wind up toys are welcome in the comments below :)

Enjoy