Nine-year-old James Wilkinson from Fish Hoek has a unique hobby — he takes apart old, broken appliances to see what’s inside, then uses the parts to build his own toys and semi-functional art pieces.

His knack for turning discarded electronics into fascinating creations is getting attention from friends, family, and even local markets where he finds some of his materials.

James's journey into invention started early.

"I think the first thing I ever took apart was an old digital camera from my parents. The batteries had started to corrode, and there was no fixing it,” he explains.

From there, he moved on to TV remotes, radios, and printers — anything that sparked his curiosity. "I wanted to know what it looked like inside and how it worked."

His favourite finds include electric motors, fans, LEDs, and gears.

“The coolest thing I’ve found inside something was a really big motor from a colour printer,” he says.

James doesn't work from plans — he builds on instinct.

"I usually just make things up and find stuff inside my invention bag that goes with it,” he said.

One of his proudest projects is a radio-controlled fan made from the motor of a toy car and a propeller from a hand fan. He’s also made a vibrating cardboard hover tank powered by AA batteries and a glue gun.

"I love working with mini solar panels, fans, capacitors, motors, and lights," he says, adding that his friends and family are always amazed and ask loads of questions about how he built something.

His mother, Anastasia Wilkinson, says she noticed his curiosity from the time he could hold a screwdriver.

“During Covid, when he was about three, he started watching his dad fixing things at home, which interested him. Even at two, he loved toys that let him take things apart and rebuild them,” she said.

Though he doesn't have a dedicated workspace yet, James uses his bedroom floor or the lounge coffee table for his projects.

He keeps his parts in an “invention box,” but the projects often grow too big for it. His family helps out by collecting old electronics from second-hand shops and markets.

“We try to support him wherever we can. Over birthdays and Christmases, he's built up a decent collection of tools — he’s got a glue gun, drill, soldering iron, and all kinds of screwdrivers,” said Ms Wilkinson.

Some of James’s creations have been especially meaningful.

“He once made me a birthday gift from an old disco light — he turned it into a glowing pink lamp using a glass bottle and topped it with a rose quartz stone. It worked, and it was beautiful,” she said.

She added: “Another favourite of mine is the dolly he made from an old kitchen cupboard door and wheels from his grandfather's house.”

If given a box of old gadgets, James says he'd be thrilled to find microwaves, inverters, cordless drills, and bigger solar panels —canything that can fuel his next big idea.

For now, James continues to invent from the floor of his family home, turning junk into joy — one screw at a time.

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Meet the young inventor turning broken appliances into art