In The Navy...

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Ok...So here it is, by popular demand, the tutorial for the Bowl-O-Soldiers...

I started out with a Bucket-O-Soldiers...They are the Disney, Toy Story 2 Bucket-O-Soldiers...I remember someone saying that the generic ones they got from Wal-Mart turned black in the oven, so I'm telling you, get the Toy Story 2 ones...I'm sure you can get them at Wal-Mart or at the Disney Store...

Ok, so I took a Pyrex bowl and arranged a layer of army men on the bottom of the bowl and along the sides...Pre-heat the oven to about 300ºF and carefully place the bowl in the oven, so as not to knock any soldiers off the sides...I didn't really time any of this, I just watched them melt together in the oven...

The army men around the top edges of the bowl will get deformed, so don't worry that their little heads are starting to melt like candles! Once the guys around the top have melted beyond all recognition, you will take them out of the oven...The army men around the bottom of the bowl will still be in tact, and will probably not be stuck together...

I did this on a gas stove, so I'm not sure how it will work on an electric range...I put the bowl over a low flame on the burner to melt the men on the bottom...Again, you will leave them over the heat until they melt beyond recognition...

Now that you have an olive green mess of melted plastic that seems to be sticking to the sides of the bowl, you're going to leave it to cool for about 10-20 minutes and then stick it in the freezer for about an hour...This will un-stick the men from the sides...When you take the bowl out of the freezer, run it under cool water and start to remove it from the bowl...

I know what you're thinking...In the pictures, the army men still look like army men...Well don't fret, you're going to do a second layer of men! :)

Once you've removed the melted green mess from the bowl, dry them both thoroughly and put the plastic back into the Pyrex bowl...

Now, for the second layer, you're going to strategically place all of the little army men to fill in any big holes that have been left in the first layer...Completely coat the bowl in another layer of army men...

Now, pre-heat the oven again to 300ºF and stick the bowl back in...This time, you're going to take it out just as the men around the top of the bowl are starting to melt down...

Pull the bowl out of the oven, and using an oven mit, press the second layer of men into the first layer...You will probably have to put the bowl on the stove again to soften the men on the bottom of the bowl...

Again, let the bowl cool for 10-20 minutes and put it in the freezer for an hour...Take it out, run it under cool water, and the plastic should pop out of the bowl pretty easily...

You may want to repeat the process for a third layer, it depends on how satisfied you are with your bowl, but once you've gone through the second or third layer, you'll have your very own Bowl-O-Soldiers! :)



I hope this tutorial is easy to understand...If anyone finds an alternative to the Toy Story 2 Bucket-O-Soldiers, let me know, because they can be pretty pricey! :)

Good luck everyone! :)