Oh Farnsworth, my Farnsworth

So I want to make a miniature Farnsworth for my Claudia costume, because I’ve always adored them. They’re fantastically intricate and such a cool idea, and Claudia’s is the coolest.

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Artie gave Claudia Farnsworth’s Farnsworth. The creator’s personal creation!

It has such lovely black smooth finishes and gold/copper details, with what looks like a combination lock cover as a dial, and the top of a stage microphone for… the microphone.

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My Farnsworth will not be full sized, as I don’t have the funds for a larger scale endeavor, and I’ll probably make it out of an altoid’s tin, or something like one. So a much smaller scale, but still pretty fun.

There is this wonderful tutorial from TLC about de-finishing an altoids tin to create a steampunk tin.

I’ll be painting the left side black, while leaving the right side as is, with a black piece of cardstock or a stiffer plastic sheet for the center divider line.

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I’ve had some luck with making glue “lenses” in the past, though never on this scale. Normally it’s just a bit of Elmer’s glue that has accidentally dropped on a table or something while I’ve been crafting, and it comes up as one nice circle. An alternative could be finding an eyeglass lens, or perhaps the lens from a kid’s telescope or kaleidoscope.

I’ll be getting some copper wire to recreate the pattern on the left, perhaps with a black rubber pipe fitting. I’m not quite sure what to use for the tube right now, but if I take a trip to the hardware store, I’m sure I’ll find something.

For the inner workings of the Farnsworth, I’m planning on raiding the hardware store for wires, washers, dowels, etc. I’m hoping to get hold of a real used watch battery, but I’m planning on faking the other batteries with dowels and little blocks of wood.

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I’m planning on getting either a metallic Sharpie, or some other sort of metallic marker to write and draw out the lovely details of the Farnsworth.

So that’s my Farnsworth plan. I’m hoping to start work on it soon, even if it is just in patches. I’ll keep you updated!

Edited: As of right now this project is finished. Follow it from (this) its inception, to further planning, to sanding and painting, to the wirework, to the gold detailing, to the gluing of all the components together.