Modeling Materials

Today, I was down eating in my dorm cafeteria, and I found a couple of these tied to a napkin holder. My guess is that they held on the cardboard packaging that all new products have, and since there are hundreds of napkin holders down there, whoever unpacked them didn't bother taking the ties off. So, the modeler / engineer in me said "I can use that!" I'm thinking clear hoses, perhaps strip off the rubber and use them as thin wires. You can't beat free!

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn8/hertz037/100_0043.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn8/hertz037/100_0046.jpg

So then I got to thinking... How many tons of similar free modeling supplies are sitting in landfills right now just because of how few people in the world can see their potential?

Let's turn this into a discussion: What are some of the "garbage" by-products that you all have turned into model supplies?

Disposable chopsticks (my family doesn't use them for environmental and health issues), used solder, small peices of brass rods, metal ties... those are the first few that pop to my head.

Expired Credit Cards make great plastic sheeting. I cut little pieces to simulate exposed door hinges on a Fiat 500 model I did a while back.
The empty plastic pen refills make good exhaust pipes.
The foil from cigarette boxes makes nice heat shielding.

Old computer parts, fishing tackle, broken guitar strings, blister packs, soda cans, plastic spoons, old torn leather coat, silk underwear, newspaper, scratched cds, ball point pens, springs from click type pens, speaker grills, plastic bottles, gum wrappers, I could go on...and on...and on...and on...

really there in an unlimited resource of building supplies depending on how much imagination you have.