Colin gets crafty in retirement

Why get someone else to do something for you when you can do it yourself?

That’s the motto Blenheim man Colin Everest lives by and it has seen him create something out of this world.

And his latest creation is built to kill. Well, if it was real, that is. The 50-centimetre copper and brass robot, built from an old, unused fire extinguisher is poised to shoot bullets from its gun and stands proudly in Everest’s kitchen.

The robot, called ‘‘The Extinguisher’’, was made on impulse. No planning, no paper work, just action.

‘‘It’s just a whim, I like to make things rather than buy them,’’ he said.

He picked up the miniature extinguisher from an old mate who was giving it away.

‘‘They had tiny wee ones back in those days. Most of them were just filled with water and baking powder,’’ he said.

The extinguisher was no longer filled.

Everest used brass frost plugs, parts off pumps, forks, nails, and parts from lawn mowers to create the robot.

‘‘It’s just bits I picked out ... and it’s all soldered on,’’ he said.

The most challenging part of the job was soldering the gun together.

‘‘As soon as you go to solder one bit, the other bit falls off because the heat travels through.

‘‘Sometimes I had to put a piece of rag around it to keep that part cool while I soldered the other bit,’’ he said.

But no challenge is too big or

SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF Colin Everest made the copper and brass robot sculpture out of an old fire extinguisher.