How to Make a Tinker Toy Car

Finshed Tinker Toy Car

Tinker toys are a classic toy that never goes out of style, and for good reason: The things you can build with tinker toys are limited only by your imagination. The joy of tinker toys is that you can continue to add to your collection of pieces; no amount of tinker toys is too much. However, use caution when purchasing additional pieces to add to your existing sets, as some manufacturers do not take care to ensure that the newer pieces have the same circumferences and diameters as the older sets, and this can cause frustration for children when pieces either won't stay together or can't be connected.

Things You'll Need

• 6 green rods 2 blue rods 2 orange rods 2 yellow rods 2 square wheels 2 flat wheels 4 regular wheels Rectangular plank with 2 holes 2 cylindrical connectors 2 round connectors 4 end pieces

Instructions

1. 

   Gather and arrange all of the necessary pieces to make your tinker toy car.

2. 

   Start with the front. Take one green rod and push both cylindrical connectors onto it. Then place the big, flat wheels on the outsides, with the cylinders in-between the wheels. Put end pieces on both ends of the green rod so that the wheels do not fall off.

3. Place two more green rods into the cylindrical connectors. At the far end of the picture above, there are two regular wheels attached to the other end of the green rods. Push one more green rod through the center of these wheels, and place end pieces on the outside of the wheels so that they do not fall off.

4. 

   Push the rectangular plank into the middle of a blue rod. Push the wheel-type end pieces on either end of the blue rod. Connect one green rod and one orange rod onto each round piece (at right angles to each other). The rectangular plank will act as a handle when your tinker toy car is finished.

5. 

   Take the other blue rod and push a square wheel onto either side. Take the two yellow rods and push them onto the outside of the square wheels (so it seems to have a straight line). The last two regular wheels go on the yellow rods; finish this section by pushing end pieces on the outside of the yellow rods.

6. 

   Put the three sections together. The flat wheels from the first section should be on the ground, and the other end of the front section should rise up at a 45-degree angle from the ground. The green rods from the second part fit into the higher wheel shapes. The orange rods should be at a 90-degree angle from the floor. Push the orange rods into the square wheels. Take the loose rectangle hanging on the back and use it as a handle to push your tinker toy car back and forth.

Tips & Warnings

• The wheels of your tinker toy car should roll quite easily on a hard surface.

• Things built with tinker toys are often not very sturdy, so be careful not to let your car crash.