How to make a tin soldier at home

• July 4, 2019
• Crafts
• Natalia Penchkovskaya

Soldiers for boys' games can be made from absolutely different materials - from wood and ice cream sticks, from paper and cardboard, cut out of wood or poured into a mold using tin. In this article we will look at how to make soldiers with your own hands. These are simple options that even schoolchildren can handle making.

You'll learn how to quickly create an army out of cardboard toilet paper rolls and paper straws. We will also consider ways to sculpt soldiers from plasticine or clay, and also tell you how to properly pour tin warriors in self-prepared plaster molds.

To make uniforms for a man with a weapon or simply in military uniform, a variety of materials are used. Then the blank needs to be painted in the chosen colors, be it a modern warrior or a soldier of an ancient army. A child can show his imagination and decorate his uniform with any small details.

Depending on the type of base material, gouache or acrylic paints are chosen; tin men can simply be sanded and rubbed with felt so that the soldier shines like a mirror.

How to make a paper soldier? Video lessons

And our article today is about boys’ toys. It is probably difficult to find a boy who did not play with soldiers as a child. In the minds of most of our contemporaries, they, that is, soldiers, are perceived only as children's toys. But, firstly, this is an overly simplified approach, and secondly, many famous people, already quite adults, were not ashamed of their passion for small toy warriors. Their list includes the French monarchs Louis XIV, Napoleon I and Napoleon II, Russian commander Alexander Suvorov and his contemporary Emperor Paul I, German composer Johannes Brahms, English writer Robert Stevenson, English Prime Minister Winston Churchill and many others, famous and less famous personality.

What does military topics include?

Even girls today know that the military theme is, first of all, different military equipment and weapons:

• tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs);
• military trucks;
• ships and submarines;
• aircraft;
• guns and gun (missile) installations;
• machine guns, machine guns, pistols and other weapons.

But if you look at the topic a little broader, then also include in the list soldiers of various branches of the military, nurses and military doctors, orders and medals, military equipment (caps, caps), auxiliary equipment (binoculars, daggers) and even the eternal flame, which is a symbol in memory of all the soldiers who fell in battle. As you can see, not only tanks and airplanes can be made for holidays that reflect the military glory and power of the Russian army. There is wide scope for creative imagination and applied skills.

Creative works in various installations can depict either military actions or monuments of military glory.

But even to recreate a three-dimensional picture of battles, you need to learn how to make different combat vehicles, soldiers and weapons. Even kids in kindergartens participate in exhibitions dedicated to May 9 or February 23, making various crafts together with their mothers or fathers. Below we will tell you how to make various military equipment from different materials.

How to make a tin soldier at home?

Tin is a low-melting metal. It ranks fiftieth in the periodic table. It is quite widespread in nature, in particular, ore for its production is actively mined in the Laptev Sea.

Tin

Man began to use tin back in the Bronze Age. In particular, it was used to produce bronze. Nowadays, it is used as solder, coatings, etc. In addition, tin is used in jewelry and in the manufacture of toys, for example, tin soldiers, etc.

Tin casting process

The melting point of tin is only 231 °C. But its boiling point is within 2,300 °C. The temperature at which the metal will be melted can be achieved at home.

That is, it is quite possible, of course, subject to certain rules and safety precautions, to perform tin casting at home. In industrial conditions, special centrifugal casting machines are used for tin casting.

To make molds, gypsum, alabaster, epoxy resin, silicone and, of course, metal are used.

Tin casting process in industry

Creating a form is perhaps the most important process. First you need to create a sketch of the future model. After this, the model is made from polymer clay. To apply small parts you must use an awl.

Another, no less important process is the production of injection molds. When manufacturing it, it is necessary to ensure that the correct connector is present.

It is needed so that the finished casting can be removed without causing damage to the product itself.

Silicone tooling for tin casting

Making equipment from silicone will require more material and time. This is because it must be subjected to a vulcanization process.

But as a result of all the hassle, multi-turn equipment for casting tin products will be obtained. If the future part is quite complex, then it will be necessary to provide for the presence of embedded parts.

We must not forget about the air ducts; air must escape through them as the mold is filled with tin.

An important element of the design of the equipment is the hole through which the filling will be performed. If it is small, the metal will flow too slowly and the solidification process may begin before it is completely filled.

Before casting begins, the mold halves must be joined together and placed between a sheet of plywood. The sheet must be at least 12 millimeters thick, and the size must exceed the dimensions of the metal mold.

Upon completion of assembly, the entire structure is tied together with a rope.

Two half-forms between sheets of plywood, tied together with a rope

Casting technology is not very complicated; it makes sense to prepare the metal for pouring after the final assembly of the mold. To do this, it needs to be warmed up well. Once a yellowish film appears on its surface, we can assume that the tin is ready for pouring.

If the metal is overheated, a blue or purple film will float on the surface of the melt. The molten metal is poured in a thin stream. In this case, you can lightly tap the housing to remove air.

You can open the mold only after the cast part has completely cooled. To remove the casting, you need to use forceps.

You must be prepared for the fact that the first product received will have some surface defects.

The machining sequence is as follows. First, the flash is removed. So, they call the excess melt that flows into the seam of the mold. A scraper is used for this. Side cutters are used to remove the sprues. For final processing of seams, use abrasive sandpaper with the finest grain (zero).

Tools and materials for casting

Tin is almost an ideal material for casting in both domestic and industrial settings. What materials and tools will be needed to produce the mold and perform casting. To make the mold you will need sealant and plaster. The first will be used to make the equipment itself, and gypsum will be needed to make the frame into which the technological equipment will be installed.

Tin Casting Tools

In addition to the materials mentioned above, you will need simple metalworking tools - files with different sections, pliers, a soldering iron, etc.

Tin casting molds

For the manufacture of injection molding equipment, materials such as gypsum or silicone are used. It all depends on the part and its purpose. The simplest one is gypsum. To make it you will need a wooden box, some plaster and a piece of metal tube.

Creating a snap-in is performed in several steps:

1. Preparation of gypsum mixture. It should resemble thick sour cream in appearance.
2. The mixture is poured into a pre-prepared box and leveled.
3. To obtain a half-mold, you need to take the part and immerse it halfway in the prepared plaster. A similar operation must be performed with the second half of the part. As a result, 2 half-forms will be obtained.
4. The halves must be connected, or fastened with locks, or simply tied together with a tight elastic band. A prepared metal pipe must be inserted into the place through which the molten tin will be poured.

In principle, the injection molding equipment is ready for use. The molten tin can be safely poured into the resulting mold.

What is the difference between gypsum forms and others - the main thing is that they have less durability. If their surface is not prepared, then such equipment can withstand one or two cycles.

Main methods of tin casting

In industrial conditions, there are several technologies that make it possible to quickly and efficiently produce castings from tin and its alloys.

The most popular is casting in a centrifugal machine.

The essence of this method is quite simple: molten metal is fed through a system of gates into molds located around the same axis and rotating at a certain speed. Their rotation causes the creation of a centrifugal force, which presses the incoming metal inside the mold.

Before pouring, compositions can be applied to the working surfaces to facilitate the removal of the finished casting from the mold.

Main methods of tin casting

In industrial conditions, there are several technologies that make it possible to quickly and efficiently produce castings from tin and its alloys.

The most popular is casting in a centrifugal machine.

The essence of this method is quite simple: molten metal is fed through a system of gates into molds located around the same axis and rotating at a certain speed. Their rotation causes the creation of a centrifugal force, which presses the incoming metal inside the mold. Thus, excess gases are eliminated from the body of the future casting. This engineering solution makes it possible to obtain metal with a fine-grained structure. Casting is performed in metal molds produced in a factory. Before pouring, compositions can be applied to the working surfaces to facilitate the removal of the finished casting from the mold.

Toy soldiers - ancient toys

The history of the soldier goes back more than 4 thousand years. The oldest of them were found in the tombs of ancient Egyptian pharaohs. Made of wood, the figurines represented the guards protecting the deceased ruler in the afterlife.

The terracotta guard from the mausoleum of the ancient Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang is known throughout the world. The full-length figures of his bodyguards are made with the highest detail, and the face of each is so individual that there is not the slightest doubt about the portrait resemblance.

In the Middle Ages, European kings and nobles became interested in playing soldiers. This was perhaps the only social stratum that could afford such pleasure, because the material for making figurines was most often precious metals. The games themselves had tactical and strategic aspects - in them, future commanders learned the basics of controlling military units.

In the XVII – XVIII centuries. More than one self-respecting royal court could not do without a collection of miniature warriors. And at the beginning of the 19th century, toy soldiers finally became available to the general consumer and reached the masses. This is connected, oddly enough, with the spread of cheap earthenware. Before this, most European tableware was cast from tin. But earthenware technology turned out to be much more economical, and tin foundries simply could not stand the competition. In search of a new market, they turned to the production of tin figurines. And so the textbook tin soldier was born. This happened in the German city of Nuremberg, and the first soldiers among collectors are called that: Nuremberg miniature.

Remember, Andersen: from one tin spoon - 25 soldiers? If you compare it with the products of modern factories, you will be surprised at the size of the spoons of that time. But surprise will be premature: the spoons of that time were no larger than the spoons of today. But the soldiers, on the contrary, were inferior in parameters to their descendants at the beginning of the 21st century. The Nuremberg figures were flat, no thicker than 3 mm, and the height of the foot soldier was approximately 30 mm. So it's no surprise that one spoon yielded two dozen tin-resistant ones.

Subsequently, three-dimensional figures appeared, more interesting, but also more expensive, and the most expensive among mass products were made completely collapsible. Russian artist of the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries. Alexander Benois recalled that he perceived the appearance of just such collapsible soldiers as a real holiday.

In the twentieth century, the range of raw materials for the production of toy soldiers expanded significantly due to polymer materials. After World War II, toy soldiers became one of the most popular items on the toy market. During the same period, military-historical wargames (military-tactical games with soldiers) were gaining popularity. Unlike similar games of the Middle Ages and Modern times, they are now dedicated to specific events in military history, be it the Spartacus uprising or the Battle of Stalingrad. The main contingent of wargamers are not children, but young people aged sixteen and older.

At the same time, collecting soldiers is also developing - both ancient ones from a hundred and two hundred years ago, and modern ones, produced specifically for collectors.

Be that as it may, the spirit of Andersen’s soldier did not burn out in the flame of the stove, but continues to warm the hearts of millions of “soldiers” around the world.

Toy soldiers

How to make a soldier with your own hands from paper or plastic mass? It's simple:

You can depict soldiers, cut them out and glue them to previously prepared stands. The advantages of this method are the ability to create a large number of any soldiers in a short time and complete freedom of action - you can make warriors from completely different eras.

A sleeve can be used as a base. She will be a soldier. First we depict the face, then the limbs and camouflage uniform, and add insignia. You can also cut out a tiny machine gun (or any other weapon) and fix it on our figure with twine or thread.

Among children's and youth's crafts and compositions on a military theme, plasticine figures stand out. In this way, you can produce more than a dozen soldiers, add previously made weapons - and get a whole composition (the capture of the Reichstag or the defense of Stalingrad).

Such a composition can already be considered a model of the Second World War, because it depicts a specific event. For entertainment purposes, it is worth adding decorations to the site with troops and equipment - destroyed buildings, trees and other vegetation.

Tin casting process

The melting point of tin is only 231 °C. But its boiling point is within 2,300 °C. The temperature at which the metal will be melted can be achieved at home. That is, it is quite possible, of course, subject to certain rules and safety precautions, to perform tin casting at home. In industrial conditions, special centrifugal casting machines are used for tin casting. To make molds, gypsum, alabaster, epoxy resin, silicone and, of course, metal are used.

Tin casting process in industry

Creating a form is perhaps the most important process. First you need to create a sketch of the future model. After this, the model is made from polymer clay. To apply small parts you must use an awl. Another, no less important process is the production of injection molds. When manufacturing it, it is necessary to ensure that the correct connector is present. It is needed so that the finished casting can be removed without causing damage to the product itself.

Silicone tooling for tin casting

Making equipment from silicone will require more material and time. This is because it must be subjected to a vulcanization process. But as a result of all the hassle, multi-turn equipment for casting tin products will be obtained. If the future part is quite complex, then it will be necessary to provide for the presence of embedded parts. We must not forget about the air ducts; air must escape through them as the mold is filled with tin.

An important element of the design of the equipment is the hole through which the filling will be performed. If it is small, the metal will flow too slowly and the solidification process may begin before it is completely filled. Before casting begins, the mold halves must be joined together and placed between a sheet of plywood. The sheet must be at least 12 millimeters thick, and the size must exceed the dimensions of the metal mold. Upon completion of assembly, the entire structure is tied together with a rope.

What you need to get started

First of all, materials and tools. Suitable for military crafts:

• plastic (bottles and individual pieces);
• paper (cardboard, match boxes);
• wood or plywood;
• fabric and foam rubber;
• plasticine;
• scotch;
• glue.

The tools you will need are scissors, felt-tip pens or paints with a brush. Woodworking may require a jigsaw and sandpaper.

When working with them, be sure to use protection - gloves and goggles to avoid injury. Compliance with safety measures is strictly necessary!

Army made of cardboard tubes

You can make an entire army of warriors out of toilet paper rolls or kitchen napkins. The shape of the crafts remains unchanged, cylindrical; variety is introduced by small details of the costume and changes in the appearance of the hussars.

It’s easy to make soldiers at home using the model that can be seen in the photo above. These are old hussars in tunics with cross belts and medals made of colored paper with appliqué. People differ not only in the colors of their uniforms, but also in their age. Some only have a mustache, while others have a long gray beard. It’s also interesting to fantasize about the high cockades on the shako.

Popsicle stick soldier

Let's figure out how to make soldiers from thin and flat sticks. To create one person, prepare three identical blanks. You will also need a glue gun to connect them together with the end part. This will be the head, torso and legs. To create arms, one stick is cut in half and attached to the sides of the body, departing the length according to the size of the head from the upper ends. When the glue has hardened, the resulting figure can be additionally sanded with fine sandpaper and painted on both sides with paints.

Before you make soldiers, think about their purpose. If they are made for a child's play, then you need to make a solid base so that they maintain an upright position. This craft can be made as a Christmas tree decoration or as a pendant on the handle of a children's closet door. For this purpose, a hole is cut out on the top for threading the ring.

Fairy tale or reality? How to create an army of toy soldiers

Remember Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"? So, all this is not fiction, but reality. Today anyone can make their own tin soldier with their own hands. I was lucky too. Mikhail Kosachev’s master class on making these same toys, which took place at the museum and exhibition center on Spasskaya.

Gifts from spouses to each other

First of all, you should find out what to give your half for a tin wedding. Most often, the wife is given various jewelry on her wedding anniversary. It is clear that for a silver wedding you need to give silver, and for a gold wedding, gold, but what should you give if the wedding is tin?

There are two possible solutions here. First, there is a tin-based alloy called pewter. It is used to make jewelry and tableware. Pewter has been used in jewelry for many centuries; jewelry made from this metal was even discovered in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. So, you can buy jewelry made from this alloy as a gift.

The second solution to the problem is as follows: purchase any decoration that your wife might like. And to maintain tradition, you can buy a metal box made of an alloy containing tin and put a gift in it.

Keeping in mind the second name of the tenth wedding anniversary, you can complement the gift with a beautiful bouquet of roses.

You can also give your husband jewelry (cufflinks, tie clips, etc.) on his tenth wedding anniversary, if he wears them, of course. A good gift option is a metal flask with a set of metal glasses. You can consider the following options:

• metal stand for stationery;
• organizer with tin buckles;
• original tin ashtray or cigarette case.

You can choose any other gift, the main thing is that your husband is pleased to receive it. And you can complement it with a keychain and a small souvenir made of this metal.

Making tin soldiers at home

Are you here

Today, tin is a common metal. However, in the 16th and 17th centuries, it was quite rare and valuable, so Russia bought it from other countries. Tin was used to coat iron products to protect them from rust.

From this metal, Russian craftsmen created dishes with relief patterns, since soft, pliable tin could easily be processed with a chisel. After casting the product, the master decorated it with intricate patterns or an engraved inscription.

Today, the Moscow Historical Museum has various examples of tin utensils that have been preserved from ancient times.

Briefly about malleable tin

Metal tin has such a crystal structure that when it is bent, the metal crystals crunch as a result of friction against each other. This crunch is a distinctive feature of pure tin from its alloys, which do not emit sounds when bent.

It is possible to apply various decorative coatings based on tin or any alloy made from it at home.

At the same time, the question may arise, how to make tin yourself? It is extracted using electrochemical etching methods using an electrolyte solution, which you will need to make yourself, using pure tin and its salts.

Craftsmen can obtain tin at home in the following ways:

• Use chemical reactions to produce tin oxide and then melt it in a crucible. As a result, pure tin will be released.
• Obtain tin chloride, and then use electrolysis cans from cans with an electrolyte based on the existing chloride to isolate the tin.

How to get tin chloride at home?

A simpler and cheaper method for producing tin chloride is to use tin-lead solder.

1. You need to take concentrated hydrochloric acid, bring it to a boil and dissolve solder in it.
2. The next step is to strongly cool the solution, during which lead chloride will precipitate in it.
3. The resulting precipitate is filtered with decantation, and an electrolyte (which is practically pure tin chloride with a small amount of impurities) is prepared on the basis of the filtered solution.
4. Due to the rapid oxidation of stannous chloride, the resulting solution must be used immediately.

how to make tin chloride at home

How to get pure tin at home?

In order to make an electrolyte, you need to take a small portion of tin chloride as a seed. Later, after isolation, it will be possible to prepare a purer chloride solution. To do this, you need to take aqua regia or hydrochloric acid and dissolve the metal.

Pour an alkaline solution (9-10%) into a 7% solution of SnCl2 (chloridol), stirring constantly, as a result of which the formation and precipitation of a white precipitate - tin hydroxide - will be observed.

It is necessary to stir the solution until it becomes completely transparent, which will indicate the readiness of the electrolyte.

How to make tin at home? To do this, you will need a fairly large tin can (3-5 liters) and a lid made of dielectric material.

The cans have a tinned inner surface - that is, a layer of tin that protects the iron can itself from oxidation, and the food product contained in it from spoilage. Therefore, it is possible to extract tin from cans for reuse.

You need to remove the sticker from the jar and remove dirt from it, for which you need to boil it in a strong soda solution for 30 minutes. The following is done:

1. A carbon cathode is placed in the center of the jar.
2. Connect the anode to the can body.
3. Fill the electrolyte and connect the power supply (4V). To do this, you can take several batteries or a battery connected in series.
4. To increase the amount of tin produced, cut some old cans into pieces and pour them into the electrolyzer, but you must prevent them from coming into contact with the cathode. One medium-sized tin contains 0.5 g of tin.
5. The result of the experiment is the release of spongy tin at the cathode. It must be collected and melted in a crucible into a metal of a characteristic silver color. Why can tin be melted at home? Because it has a melting point of 239˚C, and iron, for comparison, has a melting point of 1538.85˚C.

about tin casting at home

Tin casting at home

Today, making small figurines and products from tin at home is not only interesting, but also quite profitable.

After all, many collectors are willing to pay a lot of money for a tin soldier, a model of military equipment, or just a souvenir.

Amateur artists who want to learn how to cast parts usually use tin for this, since it has the following positive qualities:

• Attractive beautiful color similar to silver.
• Tin is technologically advanced and has a low melting point.
• Plastic, easy to engrave and mint, “molded” with a soldering iron.

Cars

In a modern war, there is no way without a car. This means there is a need to make this model as well.

One of the original methods is the use of two-layer corrugated cardboard. This material holds its shape well and adheres well.

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Thanks to its rigidity, you can cut out the main parts of the car in advance and simply connect them in the desired sequence. The wheels can be folded from 2-3 layers of corrugated cardboard - for greater stability.

This technology is suitable for DIY assembly of any military equipment, including transport vehicles.

A jeep or truck can be created from plasticine. At the same time, the wheels can either be molded or replaced with large black buttons. Plastic or cardboard parts – frames and bumpers – can be attached to the plasticine body.

How to make a mold for casting tin soldiers

The mold for casting tin soldiers is made of three components: two parts are plaster, and the third is a metal block.

1. Take a flat block of plasticine and press the sample soldier into it halfway, and press the metal block against the soldier’s stand as shown in Figure 1.

2. Make a fence from the walls of a matchbox and protect the plasticine blank with it - just stick it into the plasticine as in Figure 2. Make two or three indentations in the plasticine, as in the figure. These holes will be needed when joining the two halves of the future plaster mold.

3. Spread vegetable oil over the entire surface of the plasticine, the soldier pressed into it, the pits and the metal block, and begin making a plaster mold. To do this, pour gypsum or alabaster powder sifted through a sieve into a cup and, stirring, pour in so much cold water so that the mixture looks like liquid sour cream.

4. Slowly and carefully pour the plaster of Paris from the cup into the plasticine blank. In this case, you must carefully ensure that there are no bubbles. Due to the chemical reaction, the plaster will heat up a little and should be given time to cool - about 10-15 minutes.

5. When the plaster has cooled, carefully remove half of the plaster mold and take out the soldier.

6. The second half of the plaster mold is made in the same way as the first one already made, only instead of a plasticine blank, take the first half of the mold along with the soldier placed in it. Place a metal block on the soldier’s stand and stick a fence with plasticine (Fig. 6).

Lubricate the surface inside the fence with oil, fill it with liquid plaster, and when it has cooled, separate the halves of the mold, carefully remove the sample soldier, and leave the mold to dry for a week.

7. In order to pour tin into a mold, you need to make a sprue in it - a special groove that can be easily cut with a knife from the edge of the mold to the base of the figurine in both of its halves. Also, with the tip of a knife, you need to scratch scratches-grooves from the edges of the figure to the edges of the shape. These are airs, through which the air displaced by the molten tin will exit the mold. The airs should not be made too wide, otherwise the tin poured through them will flow out of the mold.

8. Before casting, place a smooth sheet of paper between the tightly clenched halves of the mold and a metal block for thermal insulation.

Paper soldier made from tubes

Before making a paper soldier, as in the photo below, you need to draw a detailed pattern of the torso and feet, cut out the details of the craft according to the template and assemble them into a three-dimensional structure using PVA glue. The warrior's legs and arms are made by rolling paper into a tube. The head, along with a shako or any military cap, is cut out of cardboard separately and attached to the back of the figure.

This version of the soldiers holds a vertical position well, so a child can move it back and forth across the battlefield or use it for a model for an exhibition at school. Knowing how to make soldiers from a pattern, you can glue soldiers of different sizes. For giant versions of outdoor figures, you can use large cardboard sleeves, for example, from linoleum or cling film, and assemble the body from corrugated cardboard.

Soldier - a toy for children and adults

And our article today is about boys’ toys. It is probably difficult to find a boy who did not play with soldiers as a child. In the minds of most of our contemporaries, they, that is, soldiers, are perceived only as children's toys.

But, firstly, this is an overly simplified approach, and secondly, many famous people, already quite adults, were not ashamed of their passion for small toy warriors.

Their list includes the French monarchs Louis XIV, Napoleon I and Napoleon II, Russian commander Alexander Suvorov and his contemporary Emperor Paul I, German composer Johannes Brahms, English writer Robert Stevenson, English Prime Minister Winston Churchill and many others, famous and less famous personality.

Plasticine warrior

Plasticine is an excellent material for bringing creative ideas to life. You can sculpt soldiers in any pose, add grenades or machine guns, pistols or a spear to their hands. In this art form, you can use many techniques - smearing and rolling, pressing and joining parts together.

As it hardens, the plasticine figure becomes harder. If desired, you can change the soldier’s weapon and add small details - put on a backpack, binoculars, or bandage him if he is wounded in battle. If the soldier is tired, the plasticine can be easily crushed back into the chest and sculpted into a new battle character.