The Phlatformer

The Phlatformer is a hobby vacuum- forming machine that quick-melts 10″ square plastic sheets into form-hugging shapes. Originally built for R/C modelers to make identical, lightweight body parts, it has many uses; for example, I plan to form custom holders to display my raygun collection. The kit’s parts and thoughtful extras never skimp on quality, and include everything except a vacuum cleaner and a hot plate — I use a Rival S11P 11″ skillet from Wal-Mart ($20). The DVD build guide can be supplemented with the active forum at phlatforum.com, and although there are lot of parts, most of them are self-indexing and more or less impossible to assemble incorrectly.