A little flair for my paranoia
I have a security camera that sits in a window and makes my home look unwelcoming. I started this project to bring some humor and whimsy to it—proof that my suspicious nature can have a playful side. I downloaded the STL files and submitted them for printing at Maker Space.
Creative modifications
The STL set was incomplete, and some parts required TPU filament—both costly and unavailable at Maker Space. Originally, I considered using a doll as a “hand donor,” but sculpting my own worked better. I improvised: sculpted the missing hands from polymer clay and fashioned legs from empty spools painted black with magnets glued to the bottoms. The magnets should have provided stability, mounted on a black-painted Altoids tin base, but ultimately did not do their job.
Challenges
Painting was a challenge. The top and bottom sprayed cleanly, but the two-toned midsection proved tricky—paint kept bleeding under the tape, even after it was wrapped in a plastic baggie. After several failed fixes, I finally found the exact matching color from the same manufacturer and patched it up.
Second major challenge-Stability I opted not to print the feet because they looked “off”. So I tried attaching wooden spools with glued on magnets to the bottom section. The balance was off and the structured tipped over. I tried larger spools, same result. I abandoned the idea of using the the bottom “legs” segment and setting the minion on top of an empty tuna canned coated in black spray paint. It works, it’s stable.
I tried printing the feet from the downloaded project and my suspicions were correct. They did not work with the project. I am happy with my tuna can.
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