Handmade capsule toy machines with everyday materials! Easy craft ideas you can make
The capsule toy machines we were obsessed with as kids…
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to recreate that thrill yourself? Actually, you can handcraft a realistic capsule toy machine using everyday materials! In this article, we’ll show you how to make one with items like cardboard, paper cups, and milk cartons—materials you likely have at home or can easily get—so both craft enthusiasts and beginners can enjoy.
Why not make your own original capsule machine and fill it with your favorite trinkets, snacks, or cards?
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Handmade Gacha Machine with Everyday Materials! Easy Craft Ideas (1–10)
gum vending machine
Let’s make a colorful, eye-catching gumball capsule machine! We’ll only build the base at the bottom; the top uses a plastic bottle.
Cut out pieces of cardboard with a utility knife, stack and glue them together, and for the dispensing mechanism, instead of turning a dial, you push and pull a button.
Rubber bands bring the button back.
When you push, an internal hole lines up so a gumball can pass through.
A classic gumball machine means a red body, right? Try decorating it with colored construction paper!
Gachapon made from a tissue box
Empty tissue boxes make excellent craft materials, don’t they? Here’s how to make a gashapon (capsule toy) machine using a tissue box and a toilet paper roll.
Cut off the top surface of the tissue box; since you’ll be adding a dial hole and a window there, prepare an extra piece of thick paper or another empty box as well.
Use the paper roll as the dial by making a hole, and attach stoppers made from an empty box to the left and right of it.
Add a window using a clear file or similar plastic sheet, and decorate with wrapping paper.
You might even have everything at home already and be able to make it right now!
Apollo’s Gachapon
Apollo Chocolate, a beloved strawberry chocolate treat enjoyed by everyone from children to adults, is truly a classic.
Let’s make a gacha machine that dispenses “Abolo” when you turn a dial made from an Apollo box.
Prepare two Apollo boxes.
The mechanism is very simple: make a hole in the center of a cylindrical dial; when an Apollo piece enters and the dial’s hole faces downward, it drops out.
To prevent the Apollo pieces from moving between the upper and lower sections of the dial, use the second box to create partitions and other dividers.
Handmade Gachapon with Everyday Materials! Easy Craft Ideas (11–20)
Pino Gacha Machine
Pino, the bite-sized ice cream from Morinaga loved by both kids and adults.
This is about making a capsule toy machine (gacha) using the large box you can buy at supermarkets.
You’ll need to purchase a special package called the “Pino Gacha,” not the regular box—this one has instructions on how to make the gacha, along with cut lines printed on it.
The box contains an assortment pack, with various flavors individually wrapped, so after you assemble the Pino Gacha, you can refill it with the ice creams and use the gacha to randomly decide which flavor you’ll get—that’s part of the fun, too.
[100-Yen Store Craft] A Gacha Machine for 300 Yen
![[100-Yen Store Craft] A Gacha Machine for 300 Yen](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MJps0fYPtw0/sddefault.jpg)
Many DIY ideas for gachapon machines use cardboard or scrap materials, but this one uses plastic products—materials you can buy at a 100-yen shop.
In fact, you can make it for a total of 300 yen using box-shaped plastic items like a trash bin and two lidded plastic containers.
The trash bin becomes the main body of the gacha machine, one of the plastic containers becomes the dial, and the other has a hole cut in the bottom to serve as the slot where capsules are inserted from the top.
Cutting plastic is difficult, and the cut edges can cause injury if touched, so please work with great care.
A realistic cardboard gacha machine
Let’s try making it with attention to detail! Here are some ideas for a realistic cardboard capsule toy machine.
Many people might feel that making a gacha machine out of cardboard seems difficult.
The video carefully explains each step, so take your time and finish it at your own pace.
You’ll need items like cardboard sheets, a soft plastic writing board, scissors, a utility knife, a compass, glue, a ruler, a pencil, and double-sided tape.
It’s also great for a craft project during long school breaks!
BIG gacha machine
We’re introducing a craft kit that lets you build a capsule toy machine—a special, extra-large version called the “BIG Gacha Machine.” With this BIG Gacha Machine, once you open the box, the parts are already pre-cut and all you have to do is assemble them, making it super easy to put together.
No scissors or box cutters needed—just have some cellophane tape at home and you’re good to go.
Fold and assemble according to the instructions, and you’re done.
The machine is a simple white, so try decorating it with masking tape or wrapping paper to create your very own original gacha machine!