3D Pen Glow in the Dark Plane!

Make a really cool glow in the dark plane with this project! The body of the plane is not glow in the dark, but the windows, jets, tail, and front are, and it looks even cooler to have the accents as glow in the dark. This project turned out pretty cool!

You will need:

-A Hot Glue Gun

-Drinking straws

-A 3D Pen

-3D Pen filament (glow in the dark and regular)

-Scissors

-A 3D pen mat or printer paper covered in masking tape

If you have drinking straws without the bendy part, you can skip this step. First, take out your drinking straws and scissors. Cut the bendy part off the straw, so that you are left with only the straight part of the straw.

Next, get your cut straws from the previous step and get out your hot glue gun. Squirt a thin line of glue down one side of a straw, then attach another straw to it so you are left with two straws glued side by side. Then, squirt a line of glue up the top side of one of the straws, and place another straw on top of it. Repeat with the other side so that you have four straws glued together in a square shape. Squirt a thin line of glue in the crack between straws, then place another straw in the center so that you have a pentagon-like shape made out of straws. Repeat with the other side so that the straws now look like a diamond-like shape. Cut one end of the thick straw stack so that all of the straws are the same length, then cut the straws to your desired length. This will become the fuselage of the plane, so make sure that it is the right length. Stick your glue gun into one of the straws, and pump the straw full of glue. Repeat with all the straws on that side, and squeeze the glued straw ends so that the shape is more cylindrical. Do the same thing with the straws on the other side so that the straw shape looks like a cylinder.

Next, get out your 3D pen. Put a regular non-glow in the dark color into the pen, then start to cover the straws. Draw around the cylinder and smooth it down by rolling the cylinder on the table. Keep drawing until the straws are covered. Don’t worry about covering the tips and ends of the straws as that will be fixed later.

Next, begin to form the plane nose. Draw around the circumference of the straw ends, and begin to build the sides up and towards the center. Build it up until the sides meet in the center and the nose is a little more than a quarter inch tall. Once the filament dries, you can extrude more filament on the tip of the nose and pinch it so that the nose gets a little pointy.

Next, start to build the rear of the plane. Draw a half circle on the bottom of the straw ends, then start to build it up at an angle so that it slowly builds to the height of the top of the plane. After the half circle shape is as tall as the plane, draw a “roof” on the shape by extending the top of the fuselage to meet the end of the back of the plane.

Next, draw out the outline of a plane wing in another color filament (still not glow in the dark yet). Once you have your outline, fill it in. Make another plane wing for the other side of the plane, then let it cool. When the plane wings have cooled, peel them off your page. Attach them to the plane by extruding a small ball of filament in the center of the side of the plane. Line up the center of the wing so that it is about in the center of the plane, then press the wing into the ball of filament. Reinforce the connection with more filament, then repeat for the other side. Next, make a pair of small wings that are about 1/3 the size of the big ones for the back of the plane. Attach them to the top of the back of the plane by extruding a small ball of filament onto the plane, then pressing the wing into the ball of filament. Next, make a tail for the plane out of glow in the dark filament. Draw out a triangle shape, then attach it to the top of the back of the plane.

Next, decorate the plane using the glow in the dark filament. Add the windows, doors, jet engines, and front window. You can even add an airline’s name to the bottom of the plane. Add a hanging loop to the top of the plane if you wish to hang your plane up. Enjoy your awesome glow in the dark plane!