Baron Wind Whirligigs Hound

One of my students motivated me to make my first Wind whirligig. They had to do one for my class and I was amazed at their results.

For this I chose one of my favorite characters. And I used the materials and tools I had around the house. So I used MDF instead of proper wood, but as a decorative element it works very well.

Materials:

-MDF or wood

- scrap wood.

-Paint and brushes

- Tracing paper

- Drill

- Pins, wire and a the spring of a pen.

- Hammer and nails.

- A jigsaw or a saw.

- A wire clothes hanger

- Glue

- A pole

- Pliers

i used tracing paper (the blue one) to trace the template of the Baron.

here i use different sizes of the print to make the Baron bigger than the house.

I hand draw the scarf for a natural movement.

i used a jigsaw to cut the baron from the mdf plank or board, and painted it white.

I draw the platform directly to the MDF using the width of a ruler. Made the shape for the axle to be at one of the ends and cut it with the jigsaw
After that, i drilled a hole horizontally

For the propeller i draw a circle on a piece of wood, and cut it with a saw.
I placed it on the vice and round it with a file, drill a hole in the center. And divided by 6 parts, and draw the width of the "blades" in it.

I draw the blades of the propeller on the MDF and cut it. (six of them) Later i glued the blades of the propeller to the circle, and let it dry for a couple of hours.

For the axle, i used a wire clothes hanger and cut it with the metal saw. Then put the wire in the circle and made a curve on the end of it. Drill a hole and insert the curve in it. i Put a little glue to keep it together and paint the whole thing.

First i glued the baron in to the platform and put some nails too.

For painting the Baron i used outdoors paint. White for the body, red for the house and the scarf, and green for the grass. I used a wood pole for the pole. :) Cut the width of the platform and painted green too.

I mixed the blue of the goggles with the green of the grass for mixing a military look mask/hat.

I finished the drawing by painting the black lines.

I passed the axle through the hole in the platform and put it in a vise for bending in first once, then another time, to become a drive shaft.

Then i glued a yellow wood bead.

I used little pieces of wire between the moving parts. I used a jewelry tool for this. First i make a loop in one end, pass it between the holes and make another loop at the end

You need the spring of a pencil, and some pins.
First i cut the pins in half leaving the pointy end, and made a loop at the other end. it look like a letter P.

I passed the pins through the springs, one on each side. Pin one end at the back of the head of the Baron, and the other to hold the scarf in an horizontal place.

Finally i fixed the spring with glue, and used the same P shape pins to hold a thin wire between the scarf and the drive shaft. So, whenever the propeller moves, will moves the drive shaft in circles, making the round up and down movement. And the scarf will move too.

:)

and this is how it turned out.

It wasn't a windy day, but I loved the blue sky.

Thank you