Build up your explosive desktop arsenal with a mini rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). It’s so simple, you probably have the materials lying around the house. So, what are you waiting for?
05
MINI RPG LAUNCHER
SAFETY KEY:
+ Explosives + Fire
WARNING:
These mini RPGs are only intended to be shot at paper targets.
SKILL LEVEL:
EASY
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
APPROXIMATE TIME:
20 minutes
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
+ Straws
+ 1 Larger straw
+ 3 LEGO blocks (6 studs each)
+ Barbecue lighter
+ Hot glue gun and glue
+ Pop-Its (small novelty fireworks you may know as “bangers,” “poppers,” “party snaps,” etc.)
+ Duct tape
LET’S BEGIN
MODIFY YOUR STRAW
1. Snap three LEGO blocks together—one at the top and two on either side. Line up your straw so it is even with the top LEGO and cut off the end.
2. On to the fins! Make four cuts along the lines of the straw, two LEGO studs deep. This doesn’t need to be super precise—all you need are four flaps that will fold upward and form a cross.
3. Heat-treat them with the barbecue lighter. Ignite your flame and slowly lower the straw toward it from the top until you see the fins start to move downward. Then quickly push your thumb up onto the fins and hold for a few seconds, allowing the heat to re-form the plastic.
LOAD THE AMMO
4. Spread your Pop-Its on the table and give the sawdust a little blow. Insert a Pop-It into the front of the straw with the paper streamer facing down. Secure into place with a dab of hot glue.
FUN FACT: Pop-Its come encased in sawdust because they are essentially just bits of gravel covered with fulminated mercury, a simple contact explosive.
5. Gather the fins of the RPG back into a straw shape and then slowly push them into the second, larger straw.
6. All you need is a deep breath of air and you’re good to go! The best thing about these cartridges is they are reusable. After you snap one off, pull out the leftover hot glue, grab a new Pop-It, add a dab of hot glue, and reload the exact same way.
SPECIAL FEATURES
1. Your straw works great, but needs to look a lot cooler before it becomes a bona fide RPG launcher. Tear off a piece of duct tape an inch or so longer than the straw. Put the strip sticky-side up on a table and gently roll the straw in it until covered. For a professional finished look, add a strip of electrical tape on both ends, and a couple in the middle just for decoration.
2. Make an optical scope by wrapping more electrical tape around a thin, clear straw. Cut the straw at an angle and hot glue it to the end of the launcher.
3. Use a black marker to color both ends of a Popsicle stick black. Cut about half an inch off the tip of the Popsicle stick, and then cut that in half lengthwise. Color any exposed wood, and then glue the makeshift handle so when the launcher is flipped upside down, the handle looks like a shark fin with the scope hanging directly below it. Glue the second piece about halfway down the launcher.
Your upgraded launcher will work exactly the same as before, as it is literally the same straw. Pinch the fins, push the RPG down into the launcher tube until the warhead rests against the tip, grab the handles, place it in your mouth, and give a quick burst of air.
SIDE PROJECT: Put them to the test with your own eerie paper targets like Minecraft zombies or creepers!
NEXT LEVEL: If you want to go extreme, find Pop-Its with even more eruptive potential. Some contain ten times as much fulminated mercury. They will load the exact same way but will create a bigger bang and an even more intense explosion!
FUN FACT: A rocket is a chamber enclosing gas under pressure. Through a small opening at one end of the chamber, gas is allowed to escape, causing a thrust that propels the rocket forward. The simplest example is releasing the air from an inflated balloon.