Lamps in Toyland

The completed lamp is now here.

What can you make from a $2.99 Goodwill lamp and $8.56 in toys? Why not a lamp!? I saw this really cool lamp a few months back and filed it in my mind under "Wow!". Last night as I was walking around Goodwill I looked at a bag of random toys and thought maybe it was doable. I picked up 3 bags of miscellaneous toys and a cheap ugly lamp (that needed a good scrubbing) and then stopped on the way home for 4 bottles of super glue and a can of primer.



The glue I used is Loctite Super Glue Gel Control (4 bottles). I've never used it before but it was recommended by the guy at Home Depot for this project because it wasn't so runny. It was PERFECT! Not runny, didn't cover anywhere I didn't want it to, it's NOT stuck all over my hands and it filled a couple of small gaps to hold it all together nicely. (I do not get any product compensations or anything, I just really love the Gel Control glue they make)



To make assembly easier a few of my little plastic friends had to lose their tails (poor things) and several had to lose the little plastic bases that help them stand up. The snake got shortened as well. The rest of the pile here is pieces of my 59 cent dinosaur. I cut a big fat hole in the middle of him so he would fit around the lamp and stick out to the front and back. I figured that would give me a nice base to build on.



Here is the pre-primered structure of it.



This really isn't a hard project, just a little time consuming. I spent 3 or 4 hours last night chopping up pieces, trying out arrangements and gluing. To give you an idea, here is the order in which I did the big pieces. The big dino was first (with a hole cut to fit around the lamp) and glued really well. Then a couple toys on the sides (gray robot and orange dino) I wanted a few pieces to stick out so I had toy #4 (that gold robot) with flat feet on the big dino and glued his flexible hand to the lamp base like he was leaning out. Pirate filled in the front space and Wolverines stance was perfect for the other side, etc. Just keep trying and you'll find a toy that's the perfect fit (most of these took a while to place, hence the 3 or 4 hours of assembly). After you get all the big pieces on then you go back and fill in with the little ones to cover your holes up.



Another side shot:



After giving it a little while for the glue to fully set (it recommends at least 5 minutes) I took it out to the garage and hit it with the primer.



A few close ups:







Project Costs:
$2.99 Lamp
$8.56 Toys
$12.06 Super Glue (Walmart is about a dollar cheaper per bottle than Home Depot on this)
$3.77 Can of primer

$27.38 Total (I already have the top coat paint and sealer left over from another project. If you don't then add about $5.00 to the project total)

Tonight I will hit it with the spray paint and then it will need some dry brushing for a little dimension and a sealer. I'll post pics as soon as I can! (The completed lamp is now here.)