Miniature

You can paint your plaster blue and coat it with a gloss, but there are easier ways to make artificial water for miniature dioramas, architectural models and war game terrain. Easy Water is a product made up of small plastic pellets that need to be melted and poured onto the m ...more

Check out this science video to see how to make a solar-powered miniature car. To make this solar-powered mini car, you'll need some balsa wood, a small motor, two steel rods, four wheels, four washers, a straw of any color, two gears, a solar cell, hot glue gun, a tape measur ...more

Check out this Make Magazine segment on building mini robots. Then you can move onto huge ones like Big Dog! John Park builds some lively and inexpensive miniature robots. Starting with a simple vibrabot made from a scrub brush, John assembles a solar junkbot and a slightly m ...more

Here's how to place grass into your diorama scenery. These tactics may be familiar to model train builders, but there are endless fibers that can create texture for miniature landscapes. Make grass for dioramas, Warhammer, architectural models and other miniatures.

The trouble with decorating cupcakes vs. cakes is that cupcakes offer a much more limited amount of space on which to pour on decor. But perhaps this just means you have to miniaturize everything. Make some fanciful, fairytale-like bees and ladybugs for your next batch of cup ...more

Easily turn your pics into table top style miniatures with this easy to create effect. This takes panarama photographs from afar and fades certain areas creating a toy scene effect. It's magical. Turn cities into model like images that resemble fantasy more than real life. To ...more

watch this five part instructional modeling video to make miniature trees for dioramas, architectural models, and game terrain. You can use expensive artificial leaves, or you can use this more resourceful method. Go outdoors and collect small twigs and dried branches to add t ...more

Want to put some electronics into your terrain piece or diorama? LED lights are great. You can use tiny watch batteries, which are small and efficient. LED lights are cheap, they come in colours, and you can find them in all kinds of broken gadgets. Watch this instructional vi ...more

This video origami tutorial shows how to fold a mini origami book designed by David Brill. Follow along with the instructions provided by the demonstrator and see how this little book is folded out of a single piece of square paper. Watch this instructional video and learn how ...more

There's no better way to celebrate the discovery of the New World than by recreating Christopher Columbus's three ships from the famous voyage— the Niña, Pinta & Santa Maria. In this short ship-building how-to, you'll learn a simple activity for you and your kids, where you'll ...more

Watch this video as it gives easy instructions on how to make a mini paper airplane that flies far. -Get a small piece of paper. 4X8" would be best. -Fold the piece of paper in half length wise, make sure you have a solid crease, and unfold. -Now fold one corner to the crease ...more

For great looking fog, you no longer need to go to the local film prop store or Halloween store (which is almost always closed 11 months of the year). You can make your own homemade version of a fog machine. Okay, it's not as strong as a electric-powered fog machine, but if y ...more

A quick and inexpensive method of making highly detailed miniature landscapes for model railways, diorama's or garden sculptures. This is a vivid scenery design lesson perfect for your train scenes or other mountain scapes.

Watch this three part tutorial to build a miniature ziggurat. Use pink Styrospan high density foam. Assemble this model of a step sided pyramid with a ruler, some glue and an x-acto knife. The pink foam is easy to carve and can be repaired with glue if broken. Part 1 of 3 - Ho ...more

The smaller your origami gets, the harder it is to fold, but not in the case of the lucky stars. The miniature 3D stars are easy to fold, and you just need a long strip of paper. You could buy pre-made strips of paper, or cut your own with scissors, box cutter or paper cutter. ...more

Decorate your cookies, cakes and pastries with these deliciously gorgeous miniature roses, from icing!

Even LEGO people get thirsty, and what better to quench the thirst than a nice cool can of soda pop? And what's the perfect way to get that cola to your LEGO men quickly? A LEGO soda machine! And believe it or not, this soda dispenser actually dispenses miniature soda cans! Wa ...more

Recently gained some weight (or lost a few pounds after getting yourself hooked on an intense exercise routine)? We've all been there, and know that your clothes probably aren't fitting the way they used to. But don't just throw your outdated threads into a plastic bag and tos ...more

In order to make bubbles for a miniature bathtub, you will need Amazing Casting Resin, Triple Thick, micro marbles/decorative beads, a dollhouse tub, and a miniature rubber ducky. You can purchase it in hobby stores: e.g. Hobby Lobby. Open it. Mix it well, according to the pac ...more

This video provides an introduction to building 15mm scale buildings for Warhammer or miniature dioramas. Simulate roofing shingles and with small pieces of cardboard. Create a haunted scene with real spider webs. Preserve tiny spider webs with a protective spray or make minia ...more

This series shows how to make a miniature rug on the sewing machine with thread painting which mimics Russian needlepunch. Variegated threads give a lovely blended look similar to wool hooked rugs. The threads used are YLI cotton machine quilting threads. Part 1 of 2 - How to ...more

In this two part video you'll learn the complete process for casting duplicates of a miniature figure. How to make the rubber mold in two parts and how to cast the miniature duplicate. A two part mold is the kind of rubber mold you make for complex minis like figures, warriors ...more

Here's how to make a great little portable stove from stuff you probably have laying around your house! It's perfect for camping, backpacking, and power outages.

Sick of the REAL world and all of its REAL problems? Well, with a few sheets of cardboard and some cool tricks, Indy Mogul shows you how you can build your very own miniature town!

Kipkay from Make Magazine shows us how to create a photographic illusion, making things look smaller than they really are with tilt-shift photography. Materials needed include rubber plunger, an oversized lens, a plastic body cap, a single lens (or digital single lens) camera, ...more

This is a video tutorial in the Education category where you are going to learn how to make a miniature vortex cannon. For this you will need normal plastic drinking cup, punching bag type balloon, black electrical tape, lighter, candle, scissors and a drill. Drill a hole in t ...more

This video shows you how to make an extremely realistic, miniature volcano. You can get the Ammonium Dichromate off of eBay for around $10 a pound; a pound will easily yield over 25 volcano demonstrations. This easy DIY pyrotechnic demo will amaze any audience. Don't you just ...more

Here is a quick and easy tutorial on making miniature trees. Watch this instructional model making video to get started with the traditional method using Woodland Scenics and learn some alternatives using found materials like wire and scouring pads. They look great and are per ...more

If your LEGO men are raring to get a rock band going, then who are you to stop them? With a few LEGO blocks, you can easily create some nifty instruments for them to start jamming with. In this video, watch and learn the steps to creating a guitar, bass and cello out of LEGOs. ...more

Learn To Hack a Glue Gun and turn it into a Small Electric Stove to heat up your food. Its cheap to make and very helpful for when you don't have anything to cook you food with. Find out how by watching this video. All you need is a hot glue gun and some paper clips. Watch thi ...more

Here is one method of making model brickwork and detailing wood for dioramas and miniature game terrain. Carve some light lines into a flat piece of balsa wood and coat it with a thin layer of plaster. This simple trick creates a realistic brickwork effect for miniature dioram ...more

Watch this ceramics video tutorial to learn a few ways to make a miniature pot using polymer clay. The two methods explained in this instructional video are the coil method and the pinch pot method. Both of the methods are easy for beginners to use in order to make a miniature ...more

So, AOL might not be mailing as many internet CDs as they did in the past, but chances are you have a few of those junk discs lying around. Chances are you have tons of junk CDs and DVDs laying around, not necessarily from AOL. And now... it's time to turn them into something ...more

Papa Tom teaches veiwers how to easily make a terra cotta roof for a realistic looking house for a diorama or school project. This is easy to do and provides incredibly realistic finishing touch to any plain old miniature building.

This tutorial video will show you how to start making an ice base for your miniatures. Lots of interesting effects can be made with this plexiglass process.

If you usually wind up playing Warhammer 40k on the same type of board pretty consistently, you should consider spicing up your pieces by giving them bases that look like the sort of terrain your favor. This video will show you how to make an urban environment base for Warhamm ...more

It's safe to say that not many people like hanging around bees. True, we've formed a sort of working relationship with them, raising them in batches and extracting their honey for our own personal uses, but with a sharp stinger primed and ready to go, they'd backstab us exploi ...more

This video demonstrates how to make a miniature ceramics mold using resin. The object being made is a small saucepan for a doll house. A product called "AMAZING Mold Putty" is used. It is non toxic and can even be used for food. It comes in two tubes. One is yellow and one is ...more

Watch this instructional model making video to make miniature plaster tile flooring for war game terrain. Add a thin layer of plaster for a smooth level floor for your game piece or diorama. The layer of plaster simulates concrete as is, or you can etch in tiles while the plas ...more

It can be intimidating to sculpt fantasy miniatures, even if you have some artistic experience. Working at that scale, every little mistake could be a disaster! But in this 15-part video tutorial, you'll learn how to make your mini figures turn out looking great, every time. ...more

In order to make Decorative Black Bows for cakes, you will need the following: sugar floral paste, a small rolling pin, a strip cutter, ruler, sugar glue, a paint brush, Roll the paste out really thin. Use the strip cutter to cut the paste. This will allow you to be certain t ...more

Watch this instructional crochet video to crochet a miniature holiday Christmas tree. Use any type of thread and crochet needle to complete this project. You will also need a tapestry needle to sew the Christmas tree into a hanging ornament. Add small embellishments with red y ...more

In order to make a miniature baby doll bottle to be used in a dollhouse, you will need the following: orange paint, white paint, a paintbrush, and a light bulb from a string of white Christmas lights. The light bulb must be a standard light bulb. It can't be a replacement bulb ...more

A few years back, the movie "Happy Feet" was hands down a favorite of kids everywhere. With masterfully choreographed high school band marching-like dance moves, loads of tapping, catchy songs, and Robin Williams' hilarious impersonation of a Latino penguin, the movie had a lo ...more

Learn how to make miniature teapots with polymer clay in 1:12 scale for dollhouses. Christel Jensen shows how to make a green pepper teapot.

Are you interested in doing a crochet project for the holidays? Watch this video tutorial to learn how to crochet a miniature Christmas stocking. For this Christmas crochet project, you will need some red and white yarn and a crochet needle.

In this video, you'll learn how to create and decorate a miniature boxwood Christmas tree. It's a fun and easy project you can do with your kids for the holidays. All you need are a few branches from a boxwood bush and some decorative materials to get started!

This year for Halloween, don't just settle for the normal cutesy pumpkin carvings — make these creepily charred and contorted miniature jack-o'-lanterns instead. Not only do these mini pumpkins look more menacing than your standard Halloween pumpkin, but they're dried out so ...more

In this amazing video, you'll see, from start to finish, the construction of a great fantasy wall diorama with miniatures all over the place. He'll go into detail on the materials, supplies, and other great things that he used to make this amazing masterpiece! Part 1 of 11 - H ...more

Before you begin on your kawasaki origami rose folding, you should probably master the basics first. Namely, if you're interested in folding floral projects, then it's best that you start with a simple project like this one. Check out the video tutorial to learn how to fold a ...more

These grass seed heads make great miniature cedar trees when painted. They are a little fragile for wargaming but great on model railroads. Watch this video miniature-making tutorial and learn how to make a mini trees out of grass heads for dioramas, models, and terrains.