Brass Plug Person

This instructable is on how to make one of the pins from a standard british plug into a small person. I think it is a fairly easy instructable,but I am unsure because this is my first one.

These are the tools you will need.

Vice
Small Flat Head screwdriver

Needle files

Hammer

Centre punch

Wire Cutters

Pliers

Hacksaw

Permanent marker

Scriber

Corse and fine sandpaper

Paper

Materials you will need.

Standard British Mains Plug

3mm thick neodymium magnet (If you want to make it into a fride magnet).

Depending on the plug you use, you may be able to simply unscrew the plug to get the pins out. It is quite esay to pull the copper bit off the bottom of the pin.This may leave a small hole (see the last step for ideas on what to do with this).

Once this is done the plastic insulation needs to be taken off. I do this by cutting into the plastic horizontally all the way around . Be careful not to cut into the brass. Then I use a screwdriver to prise up the ends and then I cut it with a set of wire cutters. You can use any method to get the plastic off but be careful not to cut into the brass, so that it is easier to finish later.

For this step you will need a needle file. Put one of the needle files up against the base(you will be removing material from the black section on the photo).The base is the end of the pin that was inside the plug. It will form a base simalar to a trophie stand as you work through the steps. Use either a square rectangular or a triangular one, depending on the size of your files.Use an edge that has about a 3mm thickness. File the edge till It is about 3/4 of a millimeter lower than the rest of the smain section. Do the same on the other side.

This step is mostly the same as the previous step,exept that it is at the other end of the pin (see the picture). The thickness that you leave this section will determine what your persons face will look like. If you leave the head wide, then it will have a more cartoony look,if it is thinner then it will look more realistic. Do the same on both sides.

Round the edges of the head, using a triangullar or sqaure file. Put the triangular file against the top of the arm section, so that one of the corners on the file willbe removing material from the corner where the head section joins the top of the arms (one of the pictures shows the material that is being removed). If you are unsure about how much to remove, you can look at the picture in the previous step to see the diffrence.

This part is the main part that will make each figure unique. I decided to have a helmet with a spike, but you could have anything that you want (even no hat at all). I started by marking out the shape that I wanted with a premant marker. If you have a scriber it is better to use that as the markings don't rub off.

Use a hacksaw to get rid of the metal either side of the spike. Put the figurine vertically in the vice and cut down. Try to avoid holding it in the vice by the base when cutting or filing because it can bend the metal if you put too much force on it. Be carefull not to take off too much and remember to take into account the thickness of the saw blade when estimating how far in you make your cut. Hold the figurine horisontally in the vice and cut down so that the cut meets the other one.This should remove a small rectangular section form the top. Do the same on the other side.

Round the top of the hat off using one of the larger files till the hat is a semicircle.Then file the spike till it is slightly lower than the rest of the hat (see the second picture).Round the spike on all sides so that it is evenly shaped.

Hold the person in the vice horisontally by the top and use one of the files to round the leg section. Flip it over and do the same on the other side. Hold it by the base and do the same for the hat. It should look something like the picture, depending on whether you used the same hat idea or not.

Put the person on the edge of the vice or surface that is good for hammering on.Then use the center punch to punch the eyes.The picture shows where to punch if you are unsure. This is easier to do with an automatic center punch and your person will have a diffrent look depending on how close together or far apart the eyes are. I did not put a mouth on mine but this could be easily done by scratching one on with a scriber or a center punch.

Keep the person on a good hammering surface and punch two dots on the torso section (it doesn't have to be two).You can also keep the person here for the next step.

Put the screwdriver with one end against the base so that half of the leg section is on each side. Hit it with the hammer so that it leaves a dent. This will make it appear to have legs.do the same on the back. If you want your person to be wearing a dress or cloak, skip this step. In this step I have my person in the vice. This made it esaier to hold but it bent it slightly. If you can hold it not in the vice then it is better to do it that way but if that is too fiddley then you can put it in the vice.

Hold your person in the vice. For this step you will need to put some paper between your person and the vice edge so that it doesn't get any dents. If your person is very rough, you can start by filing it gently with one of the smaller files. Sand the person on all sides (don't forget the bottom) starting with corse sandpaper and moving down to the finer ones. For a final polishing I use normal paper.

In the first step you may have made a hole in the base.This hole can be drilled out to 3 mm and have a magnet put in (they are fairly cheep if you buy them on ebay). If you made enough with diffrent hats ,you could make a chess set. There are some other pictures here,of another one that I have done,one that went wrong and one that is not yet compleated. It broke at a later stage because I bent it by filing too hard. There Is also a picture of the magnet in the bottom,and it in use on the side of a fridge.

They also make great accessories for lego people if they are
the right width.