14.1.18

R2-D2 - Star Wars crafts for kids

R2-D2  - Star Wars crafts

Thought we'd kick off 2018 with another simple Star Wars craft. I have lots of other ideas for this year, just need to find time to sit down and do them! Isn't it always the way.

I think you can probably guess what R2-D2 is made from... yes, it's a Kinder egg case. They're perfect because it sort of keeps the robot in proportion with all the other figures, and there's quite a little gang of them now! (You'll find instructions on the Kids' Craft Ideas page)

So, you'll need:
A Kinder egg case
Lolly stick (popsicle stick)
Cereal box card
Strong glue (like UHU)
White acrylic paint
Silver metallic pen
Black, red and blue permanent pens (like Sharpies)
Scissors

1. Cut the lid off the Kinder egg case.


2. Mark about 3cm in from each end of the lolly stick - you want pieces that are just about the same height as your R2-D2 body. Then cut these pieces off (best done by an adult). If you don't have a lolly stick, then use cardboard instead.


 3. Line the straight edge up with the edge of some spare cereal box card, and draw sloping lines either side (see pic below). Keep them even. Make two pieces the same.


4. Glue the card to the bottom of the stick pieces, then use the strong all-purpose glue to stick them to the side of the Kinder egg shell so they hang over the edge a little.
This kind of glue has a better grip when you're gluing to plastic, and things don't slip so much.
Let it dry on its back.




5. Once the glue's set, paint your robot white. I am not going to pretend plastic is easy to paint, it isn't. I'm always surprised when this isn't mentioned in projects. Acrylic paint is definitely better, but you'll still need to give R2-D2 two coats.


6. Time to decorate. We used the silver metallic pen to colour in the top and around the bottom rim. We also drew a silver line down each side, leaving a space at the top of each 'arm' for a blue circle.


 7.  Halfway between the silver top and bottom, draw a pencil line from one side to the other, then two vertical lines either side. Add a little silver 'control panel'.


8. The rest is very much up to you.. We used the coloured Sharpies to add more detail, but tried to keep it simple so it didn't get too busy. There are so many pictures to use as reference online. Here are a few photos of our finished R2-D2, for guidance.