{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Alanah Reid, Creative Content Producer","standfirst":"During the COVID-19 lockdown, Thomas discovered a love of making models. Using items from his recycling bin, he\u2019s made some impressive models.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThomas\u2019 favourite model so far is his model of a Dalek, the most famous enemy of the Doctor in Doctor Who, the BBC television series.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs well as being made from cardboard, coffee cup lids and papier m\u00E2ch\u00E9, the model also has lights and can say the Daleks\u2019 famous catchphrase, \u2018Exterminate!\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas recently hosted an event and displayed his brilliant models, raising \u00A3220 for his school\u2019s bus fund. He was featured in his local newspaper and even received a letter from the Prime Minister.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe caught up with Thomas to find out more.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19887/thomas-with-his-model-of-the-flying-scotsman-train.jpeg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHi, Thomas. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHello, I\u2019m Thomas and I\u2019m 9 years old. I live with my Mum, Dad and Emily, my little sister. We\u2019ve two hens and live in North Yorkshire, too. I have a passion for making things, and I love trains, Dr Who and Star Wars. I can be very shy, but when I\u2019m talking about something I like or know a lot about, I love to talk to other people about it \u2013\u00A0like my models!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get into model making?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve always loved making things. When I was very little, I liked Duplo and Brio trains. I like to do lots of crafty activities at school and home.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, I got really into junk modelling. We couldn\u2019t go out, so we had to make fun with the things we had.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJust before lockdown, building work was taking place in our house, so lots of our things were put away. The builders had to stop working during the lockdown, so Mum and Dad\u2019s new bedroom was just a big empty room. It was a great place to make things in the afternoon, after doing my schoolwork in the morning.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe couldn\u2019t really go to the shops, so we just used what we had. I raided the recycling bin for cardboard boxes, yogurt pots and other things.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe were learning about London for school, so I made some of the buildings and built a city with train tracks and lots of other things.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven after lockdown, I still liked making models and just kept going. I always like to have something to work on at home. I do like my tablet and playing Minecraft, but I find junk modelling relaxing and challenging. I like figuring out how to make something special from the junk we have at home.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19888/thomas-painting-his-model-dalek.jpeg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you tell us about your Dalek model?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy Dalek is my biggest ever creation. It\u2019s 1 metre tall and took 3 months to make. It\u2019s made from cardboard sheets, tubes, boxes, coffee cup lids and lots of papier-m\u00E2ch\u00E9!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe papier-m\u00E2ch\u00E9 was the hardest part. It took a long time to do, and it was very fiddly. However, I needed to do it to paint the plastic and card and get a nice finish.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELots of people saved cardboard to help me. My friend knows someone who works in a coffee shop, so they helped me get some extra lids.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo make my Dalek even better, I added lights to the head, which are connected to a tiny computer called a micro:bit. I have a talking Doctor Who key ring, and I made a code in the computer to turn the lights on and off when the Dalek says \u2018Exterminate!\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19889/thomas-with-the-completed-yellow-dalek-model.jpeg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWe hear you led a junk modelling session at your Cubs group. How did it go?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI really enjoyed teaching my friends at Cubs how to make junk models. I planned what to make, how to teach everyone, and got all the materials we needed.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe made aeroplanes using loo roll tubes, cardboard, and lolly pop sticks. Everyone worked hard and took lots of care with the glue. Everyone used similar materials, but we decorated them differently to make them our own.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI made sure people followed the steps to get a good structure, but they could be creative too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat badge did you get for this?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy junk modelling session counted towards my Our Skills Challenge Award, as I was working on talking out loud more at my sessions and sharing a skill. I\u2019m better at talking now after my junk modelling session and speaking to BBC Radio York about my Dalek model.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs well as a Cubs badge, I had an exhibition to show my junk models, and I raised \u00A3220 for my school\u2019s bus fund. I\u2019ve just become a sixer, too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlso, my Dalek was featured in our local newspaper and our MP reads the paper. Our MP is Rishi Sunak and he sent me a congratulations letter to my school for my work, so it meant I got a letter from the Prime Minister, too!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s your favourite thing to do at Cubs?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt Cubs, I love playing games at the end of each session. My favourite sessions are when we do water sports activities, such as paddle boarding and canoes.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19890/thomas-trying-paddleboarding-with-cubs.jpeg","width":1536,"height":2048,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWell done, Thomas. We\u2019re so impressed by your models, especially your Dalek creation, and we can\u2019t wait to see what you make next. \u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#490499","title":"","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"13 February 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Join Scouts","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/groups/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Try making your own model","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/one-person-s-rubbish-is-another-person-s-landmark/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Share your hobby with your Scouts section","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/how-do-you-do-it/","newWindow":true}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Cubs Our Skills Challenge Award","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/cubs/awards/our-skills/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Try the Beaver Builder activity badge","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/beavers/activity-badges/builder/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Try the Cubs Artist activity badge","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/cubs/activity-badges/artist/","newWindow":true}],"id":48745,"nodeName":"Meet Thomas, the master model maker","title":"Meet Thomas, the master model maker","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/19887/thomas-with-his-model-of-the-flying-scotsman-train.jpeg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dab800cf268590","caption":"Thomas With His Model Of The Flying Scotsman Train","type":"jpeg","size":2297724,"width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Meet Thomas, the master model maker","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Thomas has a passion for making models and he\u2019s made some fantastic creations so far. 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