BLINKY (Dec, 1962) Introducing “Blinky” the nite-light blinking
bee By WILLIAM H. MINOR HERE’S a little project that’s sure to
keep the youngsters amused for hours and hours. About 9″ from
head to tail, this busy balsa “bee” will blink continuously for
over a year on one set of batteries. Blinky’s operation is based
on two neon-bulb relaxation oscillators, housed in the bee’s
hollow body. Construction. Cut all the balsa wood pieces to the
dimensions given in the Bill of Materials. Then cement the body
(B, C, D, and H) together as shown in the drawings. You can also
cement E and F together for the head at this time, but don’t
attach it to the body yet. When the body cement has dried, fit
the top (A) snugly to the body. The next step is shaping. Cut
and sand the hollow balsa body as indicated in the detail
drawings. Follow the same procedure with the head and cement it
to the body. This done, locate the spots where the two antennae
will be and drill a 1/8″ hole for each one. Now, using the two
3″ x 8″ x 1/8 pie