Tin can man

Prepare tins
Lay the cans out to plan your tin man - all cans except two for the feet should have just one end removed.

For the feet, remove both ends of two cans and then partially flatten them.

If you want to paint your tin man, remove the labels from the cans and paint the cans, leaving them to dry over night before you do any assembly.

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Make nail holes
With a hammer and nail, make holes in the cans to thread the wires through to hold your tin man together. It may help - especially for children - to mark the hole positions with a marker pen first.

Make a hole in the centre of the base of all the leg and the lower-arm cans.

Make one hole in the side of the upper­ arms cans, 1cm above their base.

Make a hole near the open end of each lower-arm can.

Make two holes 5cm apart in the base of each body,neck and head can.

Make a hole in the middle of the side of each foot can.

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Add more tins
Assemble your man by threading the wires through the holes.

First, thread a wire through the body, ready for the arms. Next, make a knot in each end of two wires and thread one through a hole in one foot and use the other for the other foot.

Thread one 'foot' wire up through a lower and a upper leg can, the body, the neck and the head cans and do the same with the other 'foot' wire.

To secure and tighten the wires, bring them out though the side holes on the 'head' can and twist firmly at the rear of the head.

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Bird scarer - tin man
For the arms, take the wires already threaded through the body through the side holes on the upper arms, then down through the centre holes in the lower arms. Firmly tie the ends to the holes punched at the open end of the lower arm cans. Trim wire ends.

The funnel (hat) can be attached with another wire threaded through each side of the head and up though the funnel's spout. Use this wire to hang your tin man to a tree, post or fence.

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