Monday, January 10, 2011

Stock of the Trade - Part 1

This blog entry will be the first in a series about "stock of the trade", of the craft parts I use for my wooden toy soldiers.

First up are basic stick: the flat toothpick, the coffee stirrer, the popsicle stick, and the large craft stick. All of these are the Woodsie brand.

First up ('A' in the picture) is the flat toothpick (or Craft Pick). These are approximately 3 1/2" long, 3/16" at the round end, the 'point' being approximately 3/4", and the whole being about 5/64" thick. I use the pointed end for a musket or sword, and the rounded end for a plume or scabbard. A fair number of these can be "bent", so will not be good for long parts.

Next ('B' in the picture) is the coffee stirrer (or Skinny Stick). These are approximately 5 3/4" long, 1/4" wide, and 3/32" thick and are flat on both ends. You can use these for feet or arms of smaller figures, and shoulder boards for larger figures. I haven't really used these as much, but they would also make good scabbards and small pieces.

Third ('C' in the picture) is the popsicle stick (or Craft Stick). These are approximately 4 1/2" long, 3/8" wide, and 3/32" thick. I have found a number of these to be concave on one side, which makes it good for gluing to a dowel. Some are also defects and appear "bent" (they are actually just cut or planed crooked). These used to serve as the basis for larger figures' feet - I use heart shapes now - but are still a primary component as they serve as the arm for larger figures, along with shako peaks and cartridge boxes.

Finally ('D' in the picture), we have the large craft stick (or Jumbo Craft Stick). These are approximately 6" long, 3/4" wide, and 1/16" thick. Note that these are thinner than the normal craft sticks! I have not used these for anything yet, but they will be used for my next experiment making a pickelhaube (see the previous experiment).

Next installment of Stock of the Trade will show two of the three types of clothespins you might try to use as the basis for a figure, along with some pawns.

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