Junk Robot

I decided to create a junk robot. This is a project anyone with household trinkets and trash can do. Junk robots are not supposed to function, they are more of an item for display but are still fun to make. Tech and robotics have always inspired me and I thought this was a more creative and unique way of showing one of my passions.

You need cardboard, a hot glue gun, a ruler, a pencil, scissors/box cutter, paint, and any items you find suitable to build limbs, a head, legs, and any other extensions.

Once you have everything, take your cardboard and use the ruler and pencil to draw your front, back, and side panels. Paint them in your desired color(just the side you want showing) and let them dry. Cut them out and hot glue them together to make your body.

Take the item you wish to be your head(I used an aluminum can) and paint it your desired color. Let that dry then hot glue on what you want to use for eyes, a mouth, ears, etc. If you wish for your robot to have a neck, you can use items such as a pvc pipe or a spring. But you don't have to have a neck. Attach the head with your hot glue gun.

You can add whatever limbs you like such as arms, legs, or even a tail! I just did the basic arms and legs. For arms, use a cylinder-like piece and attach it to the side of the body by using a socket, or just simply gluing it. Use any item you want for the hand but if you want it to look functional, use something that resembles a grabbing tool. The limits with legs are endless. They can be short and stubby, have feet or no no feet, or wheels. For wheels, you can build a wheel and axle and assemble it inside of the hollow body. If you don’t want wheels, find more cylinder pieces that will support the weight of the body. Remember, none of the limbs have to be matching!

Now, with the rest of your items, glue them on as you wish to add the artistic aspect to your robot. You can paint the parts, or leave them unpainted. You can build an antenna, a front panel like I did, or anything else you wish. You can even stick to a certain theme to give your robot a bit of backstory of life. I made my robot have a lot of wires sticking out and its front panel exposed to give it a feel that something might be wrong with it or its malfunctioning.

This is optional. If you want your junk robot to keep that junk aesthetic, then you don’t have to make it perfect. You can take your paint and cover up any mistakes, patches, or chipped paint to finish off your robot. Have fun and express yourself with this project!