If you haven’t already watched Amphibia, go check the first episode right now. I’m a big fan of the universe, the story, artstyle and the humor.
In the series, the family is transported though Amphibia in the Fwagon (Family Wagon), driven by the family snail, Bessie.
This model is made from XPS foam, foamboard, balsa wood, cardstock and polymer clay. And glue, a whole lot of glue.
The mushrooms (translucent polymer clay and greenstuff) all have addressable LEDs inside, powered by an ESP32.
Before Mod Podge
After Mod Podge
Build progress
The window and door details are made from polymer clay.
I had to take some creative liberty whilst making the wheels – they’re solid wood with 5 spokes in the series, but XPS foam wouldn’t be strong enough on itself here, and making 4 spokes is way easier.
The outside of the wheels is made from an extra sturdy toilet paper roll, and hopefully I’ll be able to fill the gaps in between.
The barrel is reinforced with 2 spikes, that goes into the base of the Fwagon. It holds it firmly attached to the back, so the string is purely cosmetic.
It’s not the prettiest solution, but it works and it’s pretty sturdy.
I did move the bracing sticks further away from the rotating stick, so they’re touching the outer layer of balsa.
I wanted the wheels to be able to rotate, and the front wheels to be able to turn for steering.
Lights
The “bulb” above the door hangs in a very thin string. But it also functions as a light – so I need to fit at least 3 wires in the string, to make the addressable LED light up.
My first attempt was using 4 “thin” wires, wrapped around a solid core (to get the U-shape), then covered in epoxy putty. It looked.. bad. It might’ve looked alright with a paint job, but that thing was THICK.
My next attempt went much better. The wires are running from the top “string”, to the bottom “string”, switching places where the two strings touch. And they’re actually thin this time around, meaning the result is MUCH better.
Mushroom stalk are an LED and wires, coved in epoxy putty. Polymer clay would’ve worked as well, assuming that I had used wires rated for the necessary temperauture. Which wasn’t the case.
Painting
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