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X-Craft Midget Submarine, 1943
Lego submarine. Lego submersible.
The Royal Navy built a fleet of midget submarines during 1943-1944, and these were known as X-Craft. They were designed to be towed to within striking distance of their targets, then would be released to use their own power to undergo various warfare missions. The X-Craft typically had a range of approximately 1500 miles dependent on how far the submarine travelled underwater or on top of the water. The X-Craft carried deployable side cargo armament containing amatol explosive. The submarine had a complement of 4.
One of the famous missions that these submarines were involved with during the Second World War was Operation Source - a mission designed to destroy the German Tirpitz battleship which was based in the fjords of Norway. They also operated on missions in the tropics.
This LEGO MOC model was inspired by the one built by brickmania.com. But as this was a little expensive for me, I built my own version. This version also features retractable periscope, opening external and internal hatches, moveable snorkel exhaust, MiniFigures, removable side cargo explosives, wet and dry compartment, helm and controls, engine room, moveable rear rudder and hydroplanes, plus a display stand.
I built several versions of the physical model first, then deconstructed the final model to produce a digital 3D model, which allowed me to produce detailed building instructions.
MOC specifications:
length: 470mm
scale: 1:35
year of construction: 2017
We also got to try a kiddie-style watermark (aka, the kind children do in school). It was much more difficult than I expected.
www.1001pallets.com/2016/03/pallet-crafter-interview-10-t...
Today, we had the chance to ask some questions to Thomas Dambo, Artist & Designer from Denmark who specializes in making art pieces, sculptures, furniture and anything you can imagine out of trash, also known as recycled materials. Thomas also gives a lot of speeches about upcycling and arranges workshops for schools, companies, etc... teaching people how to build stuff from trash. If you think you deserve to be featured in the next interview, please, drop us an email.
Tell us a little more about you? Who you are? Where are you from?
My name is Thomas Dambo, I'm an artist and designer from Denmark working entirely with trash.
Why do you craft?
I want to show the world that there is so much good stuff in our trash, I do this by making big and beautifull projects of trash all around the world. And then, I just love to make my ideas come to life with my hands, it's just the best feeling.
How did you learn and how did you become an upcycled artist?
I can't walk by a container without looking into it, and I always bring some stuff back to my workshop, just to see what I can do with them. After doing this for many many years I guess I just got good at it. Now I have a big workshop filled with all different stuff I scavanged around my home town of copenhagen.
Since when are you working with junk materials and in upcycling in general? You are making a lot of installations with recycled pallets, why do you choose to work with wooden pallets?
Pallets are just so easy to get, they are all over the world and, in many places people will give them to you for free. At my last trip to Australia, a guy even offered to drive 100 miles and give me around 300 pallets just to get rid of them.
Your installations are big ones and look very complexes, how long does it take to create one?
My wooden sculptures takes me and my team of 5 guys between 4-10 days to create, but it really depends on what the basic idea is and then of cause how many beers we drink in the evening.
What are your can’t-live-without essentials?
That's my bicycle no doubt.
How would you describe your style? Are there any crafters/artists/designers that you particularly look up to?
I believe what I'm really good at, is to make it happen, I get an idea and jump right into it. I like to make big stuff, I like to do it in the streets, my art is for everybody, it's interactive, it's fun, it's easy to understand and of cause it's recycled.
How is your workspace, how do you make it inspiring?
It's bacically a big hardware store, but instead of new stuff on the shelves, I have old stuff, everything is needly organized and cateforized and I can pretty much make everything without having to buy anything.
What sorts of things are inspiring you right now? Where do you look for inspiration?
I let the things I find inspire what I make, recently a whole lot of small shopping cart wheels. Earlier, I found a lot of plywood. Then, I was thinking what can I make with this - and in this way I got the idea to make a rolling alphabet, so these days I'm building all the letters of the alphabet on separately and in 3-dimentional with wheels, in this way people will be able to push them around and write what ever they will like, it will be something like an interactive personal Hollywood sign.
When do you feel the most creative?
When there is a problem I have to solve, often a good idea comes to me when I'm under pressure. Then, I'm able to choose the best option faster, without thinking too much about it.
We live in such a mass-produced, buy-it-now society. Why should people continue to make things by hand?
If you cant create anything yourself, you will have to buy everything. If you don't create things you don't learn how things work, and you won't be able to repair your things, but will be forced to throw them away and buy new things all the time.
What is your favorite medium to work in (other than pallets)?
I really like to work with all wood, there is so much scrap wood, all over the world, and with some screws you can make the most amazing big and strong structures.
What are your tips for people who'd like to start crafting?
Look at what kind of trash you have access to, maybe your mom works in a factory where they throw out tons of small glass pieces, then go get some of those glass pieces and start a brain storm on what you can do with this glass. The world is sadly but truly filled to the top with trash - you should choose some trash just around the corner, not something you are having a hard time to find.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Instant chocklatemilk, ultimate fighting and new tools.
What is your favorite thing to do (other than crafting)?
Bicycling.
What do you recommend that most people do regarding cleaning pallets and prepping them to become something else?
My number one pallet rule is - only use trash pallets / throw away pallets, if you use pallets in a refund system like the Euro-pallet, its not recycling!! It is mass consumption and destruction of a perfectly good recycling system.
You are very productive regarding artistic installations, are you able to live from your art?
Yes I have been able to live from artistic work pretty much the last 12 years, besides from recycle art, I have made 10 hip-hop albums and played hundreds of concerts, I made several music video, worked as a grafic designer, made some recycle TV programs and even toured for some years with a human beatbox show.
Anything else you would like to tell to pallet community?
Yes, go check out my www.youtube.com/user/ThomasDambo channel, and if anybody have a tip how to get some more subscribers on it, please let me know, I really think I have some good videos, but nobody goes to see them.
Cheers pallet peoples, Thomas Dambo
Thanks Thomas for this interview :)
To find more on Thomas: website, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube & Instagram.
Bonus: a funny video by Thomas!
I've been waiting for so long, but this week finally I've been able to go further into my experimentations with hollow millefiori canes and structures building.
Now fold the top left corner, wrong sides together, making a small triangle about 1" from the corner. Stitch in the same manner as straight folds. Continue making folds parallel to your first diagonal fold all the way to the bottom right hand corner.
Now, starting at the top right hand corner repeat this process making folds that intersect the previous diagonal folds. When you are done you should end up with something like the bottom right picture. Precision in the placement isn't super important, it is the texture that matters.
This artwork is featured in the exhibition Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2016 at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. This exhibition runs from Sunday, June 26, 2016 to Sunday, September 11, 2016. www.statemuseumpa.org
Jocelyn Kolb-DeWitt lives in Phoenixville, Chester County
www.1001pallets.com/2016/01/pallet-crafter-interview-8-ma...
For our first interview of 2016, we had the chance to ask some questions to Marc Anthony called "Pallet Man", founder of The Green Palette, a New-York based company that represents the art in reclaimed pallet furniture and the design in resourcing recyclable materials. If you think you deserve to be featured in the next interview, please, drop us an email.
Tell us a little more about you? Who you are? Where are you from?
My name is Marc Anthony I'm from New Paltz NY, I went to FIT for sustainable design and was a sales designer for Crate & Barrel & Restoration Hardware & Environment Furniture. In 2008 I decided to go at it on my own and after a failed attempt with a store in the East Village I went at it again in 2010 with The Green Palette in New Paltz, NY.
Why do you craft?
In 2008 I was importing from Indonesia and sending my auto-cad drawings there and went to visit the factory in Jakarta. I lived with a family for a month assisting them with my order and it was there I began to learn about woodworking and using salvaged materials to make furniture from. They were using reclaimed teak and carving into it making beautiful cabinetry.
Since when are you working with pallets? Why do you choose to work with wooden pallets?
Then in 2010 After the collapse of the economy I found it hypocritical to charge such high prices for reclaimed/recycled furnishings. So I thought about other ways to make furniture inexpensive yet recycled. I saw some pallets at a hardware store by my home and thought this could make some cool furniture. I taught myself the tricks and trades to building furniture with pallets there were some painful lessons in the beginning.
What are your can’t-live-without essentials?
I can't live without my sawzall I use it to take every pallet apart so I can use every square inch of the pallet to make something from. The demo blades last about 30-40 pallets before changing them.
How would you describe your style? Are there any crafters/artists/designers that you particularly look up to?
I love Tom Bina he designed for Environment Furniture years ago and now designs for Four Hands Furniture. He has a Franklin Lloyd Wright design sense to him where he adds the natural element of nature into his design aesthetic.
How is your workspace, how do you make it inspiring?
Our space is set up like an art studio we feel we are not a furniture factory, we are artists collaborating together making unique pieces everytime we build something. We hear our clients needs and we begin painting the scene they wish to envision their furnishing in.
What sorts of things are inspiring you right now? Where do you look for inspiration?
Anything with plumbing pipe is inspiring me these days, it adds an industrial element to the pallet and gives the pallet a more aesthetic design to it. I love going to Brimfield antique show in MA to get my inspiration and other antique trade market shows.
When do you feel the most creative?
Whenever I see garbage on the side of the road I begin rambling in my head thinking what can I make out of that.
We live in such a mass-produced, buy-it-now society. Why should people continue to make things by hand?
We have show people that a hand in waste is a hand in our future. The more we show what we can do with pallets the more conscious people become allowing their homes to be furnished in the wastes we failed to consume.
What is your favorite medium to work in (other than pallets)?
That would be plumbing pipes or scrap metals.
What are your tips for people who'd like to start crafting?
Find shared spaces that allow you to work their so you don't have to invest in all the tools right away. We have a work with us program letting people come to our facility for the day and work on their own designs. We show them how to use certain tools and then let them go about making their own masterpiece.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Burning and carving wood to make it look a 100 years old I'm getting better at it, they say ;)
What is your favorite thing to do (other than crafting)?
I write alot of Eco-poetry talking about connecting ourselves with nature and the environment. My IG marco_poetically has over 365 posts dealing with the daily struggles of mans greed and pollutants.
What do you recommend that most people do in terms of cleaning pallets and prepping them to become something else?
Whenever I take in pallets I sand them down first with an 80 grit paper. Then I wash them off in case anything is there that could be harmful. Then sawzall time its faster and salvages the wood the most. Using the crow bar cracks or splits the wood and sadly leaves you using maybe 30% of the wood the pallet has to offer.
We found you through Instagram where you are very active and through ETSY where you sell your pallet creations. Is that a full-time job and are you able to earn a decent living out of your recycled pallet works?
I run The Green Palette on Instagram & Etsy its a Corporation and we sell at markets in NYC 77th and Columbus and Brooklyn Artists & Fleas. We custom design for stores and restaurants and the trade as well. We staff right now 5-6 employees full time including myself. I have yet to make a salary from the business but I hope this will be a break out year for us and help me make a living too.
If someone want to start its own job in the pallet world, do you have any advice for him?
Yes start in your garage build crates and simple things watch your time and try to add your own artistic flair to it. Stand out from the rest don't just copy Pinterest designs.
Anything else you would like to tell to pallet community?
We need better press about THT and heat treated pallets so many people fear pallets are unsafe around their children or used for tables and beds. I try to assure them IKEA MDF and veneers are 10-times worse pollutants than a pallet could ever be.
Thanks Marc for this interview :)
To find more on The Green Palette: website, Instagram, Facebook & ETSY.
uh maybe i should explain all this
so it's for a contest on etsy involving 'craft:' magazine
you take the logo of 'craft:' and interpret is any way you want
so of course i made a diorama
it's inside a vintage sewing basket
a little craft room
wheeheeeeee
Winnie has arrived in my little dolls world and she is setting up her colorful craft room.
It's so fun to create these dioramas full of little objects every time! I'm so happy to have found the desire to play with my dolls again...
Creating displays for craft show using recycled materials - paper towel rolls, oatmeal container, cardboard from a Caprisun box, newspaper & masking tape. They are weighted down with gravel, so they should be windproof. To be covered in paper mache and painted. Can you tell what they are supposed to be?