This guy is wonderful. He's like a Mr. Potato Head; you can just put whatever face and weapons you like on him. Or draw your own face with a permanent marker (Sharpie).
Cocktail olive spears make good weapons, and a paper cocktail umbrella likewise makes a fine addition. He slides, swings, and "hangs out" quite nicely from ceilings by dental floss or black string, too.
He's easily provoked by wind or breath or a quick push or strong air conditioning — which causes him to quake with anger.
He likes to do battle with the Tank, the Octopus, Standroid, the Turtle, and so on. And remember, he is formidible because he can hold many weapons at once. Or many dollar bills if you're leaving him on the restaurant's table as a tip-holder.
First, make a 12-segment can. Then, cut six more slices from the side, making sure to leave two opposite slats uncut for the tail and head.
Curl down the legs using a lot of curvature but very little pressure.
The trick is that your index finger(s) does all the work; your thumb is just there to keep the leg from moving away as the can-surface-side-finger(s) puts the curve into it. [If you're having trouble keeping your thumb away from the edge of the leg, then comleteley de-burr the legs first or cover your thumb with a towel or thimble.] You're not pressing your fingers together against each other through the leg segment; just hold it with a light touch. Likewise, when you take the trim off the lid to make the shield, use the minimal grip and force needed to peel the trim away.To make the tail, first make a one-inch cut down the center of a big segment. Then cross the split ends of this tail segment across each other until the left-side's-left-edge's tip touches the right-side's-right-edge's tip.
Then fold over the split ends over each other and trim (or refold) any excess so that you get a nice, pointy stinger. Curve the tail into an arched shape above the body just like you curved the legs into a downward orientation.Fold over the remaining segment to make the head. Cut the face and chin corners. Use the cut section to make a sword, if desired.
Remove the disc to make the shield. Cut the front arm short and split it down the middle to make the arm fit through the tab of the disc.
Olive-spear cocktail swords make great additions, and you can add a design to the shield by cutting an image from a magazine (or printing one out) and gluing/taping it to the shield. Keep as few of his legs on the ground as necessary so he shakes agressively at you when you blow on it or tap it.
Here's a pdf file you can use to print out shields for your scorpion pieces:
Here are some faces I like to tape over his head:
Print the pdf document out at ACTUAL RESOLUTION, in a 1-to-1 ratio, from your printer. You'll need to look in the pdf print menu to delete the scale-to-fit feature.