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....AKU-AKU sign replica .... SOLD!!! ....page 4 |
Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
|  Posted: 2007-03-07 11:31 am Permalink
thanks paul!!
...i don't like bendable plywood...it's usually too thin and too stiff for my application. what i use is something called bender luan (i like the name as it's sounds like luau!!). It's not the same as plywood so don't let them b.s. you at the lumberyard...has a super thin layer of wood in the center then sandwiched between 2 sheets of a light balsa wood type material....this way, you can bend it either way. This stuff is 3/8 thick, totally durable and very plyable...i swear by this stuff and will use nothing else.
i just cut the arcylic panels today...just need to trim them up to fit inside the housing. I also got a light fixutre ready to mount on the back panel, which will illuminate the lettering...i'm concerned about the flex neon...i may not be able to create that scallop shape border on this sign, so i may just have to keep it as a straight outline around the sheild shaped housing....we'll see when it arrives. I may have the spear heads outlined in red too...i'll have to figure the logistics of that as well.. it's a learn as i go process...each sign presents it's own challenges....hurray for artistic liscense!!!
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-03-08 08:03 am Permalink
the arcylic is lookin good!! i'll post pics later tonight of what it will look like lit up. should have evrything ready to paint this weekend.....gonna get those spears mounted tommorrow.....
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-03-08 3:44 pm Permalink
okay, here's a sneak preview of what the letters look like lit up..
..this last pic shows me holding the flex neon along side of the sign so you can see how it will look in relation to the rest of the lettering...the really cool thing is that when the light is off, the flex tubing remains red, as opposed to white like real neon is when in "off" mode.
The "hot spots" you see will disappear once the light fixture is mounted in place..right now it's just sitting there loose inside...
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2007-03-08 15:45 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2007-03-08 15:46 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2007-03-08 15:48 ]
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Haole Kat
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2004
Posts: 271
From: St Petersburg, FL
| Posted: 2007-03-08 5:52 pm Permalink
Looking great, Tipsy! How will the A's, O's, P and D be defined? Will the letters be "hovering"? How the heck are you gonna pull that off? Sorry if I'm annoying you with all my Q's....
J
[ This Message was edited by: Haole Kat 2007-03-08 17:52 ]
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-03-08 6:14 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-03-08 17:52, Haole Kat wrote:
Looking great, Tipsy! How will the A's, O's, P and D be defined? Will the letters be "hovering"? How the heck are you gonna pull that off? Sorry if I'm annoying you with all my Q's....
J
[ This Message was edited by: Haole Kat 2007-03-08 17:52 ]
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Thanks!!....Not sure what you mean by hovering letters...the insides to the letters you mentioned will be epoxyed onto the arcylic near the end. Aside from that, this is basically how the letters will appear on the finished sign..trying to outline the letters in neon is impossible at this scale, as well as time consuming..i don't feel it is necessary to acheive that effect and it certainly won't detract from the finished sign.......plus, the flex tubing can only bend on a radius of a pencil width....so trying to make tight corners is impossible without breaking the tubing. The flex tubing will mimic the red neon border on the original sign.
i'm gonna cut the back door panel and start getting the spears in place tommorrow...i think you're gonna like the solution i came up with to acheive that effect...
till then....
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Surf Seal
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 08, 2004
Posts: 41
From: Seal Beach, CA
| Posted: 2007-03-08 7:20 pm Permalink
That looks great so far, Tipsy. Very cool project. Thanks for showing it!
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-03-10 4:31 pm Permalink
okay- here's the latest.......i started putting the finish coat of brown flec-paint on the sign......I also mounted the spears in place, using wooden table legs that screw into a fixture in the sign...this way, the sign can disassemble for easy shipping and to keep it from getting damaged when you move......I took a shot of it all together in front of a door so you can get an idea of scale....the top spears will be shortened cause i still need to fabricate the spear heads and mount those on top. I was suprised at how strong the legs actually are cause i was originally going to make this a free standing sign, with a metal bracket to hold the sign in place, mounted in a shallow base filled with real sand and lava rock, just like the original sign in vegas...i was also going to create a miniture moai to place under the sign like in the postcard......If i new the legs would support the thing the way they do now, without busting off i would have done it, but i think at this point i'm gonna stick with this being a sign you can hang on the wall......I liked how the legs(spears) taper at the end...i think it adds to it being wall art as opposed to a free standing sign..the spears in the original get larger as they near the base. Again, artistic liscense is a beautiful thing!!
..Now that i am in the home stretch with this, these are the last pics i will post until it is finished (sometime this week).....I don't want to give away too much visually, i would rather you see it complete in order to get the full impact....shortly following the completion of this i'm going to start on the next sign...i'm taking on the ol' pitcairn motel.
-enjoy!
what you would normally mount to the underside of a table, i mounted inside the housing so the spears just screw in...
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hewey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 14, 2004
Posts: 4270
From: Sydney, Australia
| Posted: 2007-03-10 5:18 pm Permalink
Looks better every time mate!  I didn't realise quite how big it was though... Awesome. Cant wait to see the finished pics.
_________________
www.kustomkultureaustralia.com
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10306
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2007-03-10 9:32 pm Permalink
Excellent stuff as usual tips, thanks for the extended How-to, now I know how to too.
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FACEBOOK
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-03-11 10:07 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-03-10 21:32, Benzart wrote:
Excellent stuff as usual tips, thanks for the extended How-to, now I know how to too.
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thanks ben!! i may call on you if i decide to tackle the islander sign.....i may need you to carve me up a smaller version of the tiki on top of the sign.....(at least i think it's the islander sign.....dunno, gotta check my picture archive).
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PockyTiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 28, 2006
Posts: 556
From: central MA
| Posted: 2007-03-11 10:11 am Permalink
awesome sign. Considering it's homemade as well, that's so sweet. Great job.
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Haole Kat
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2004
Posts: 271
From: St Petersburg, FL
| Posted: 2007-03-14 12:10 pm Permalink
"Not sure what you mean by hovering letters...the insides to the letters you mentioned will be epoxyed onto the arcylic near the end."
I'm an idiot. Doh!
J
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Monkeyman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 04, 2003
Posts: 2300
From: Vista, CA
| Posted: 2007-03-14 3:10 pm Permalink
what did you use to cut out those letters?
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-03-15 11:06 am Permalink
PSYCH!!!...HA HA!!....nothin' new to post just yet but it's almost done...stay tuned.
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-03-19 8:45 pm Permalink
well...here it is!!! please excuse the lousy pics.....my camera can't seem to capture the light from the sign without distorting it....i'll get better pics later......but for now.....
I provided a shot of the back so you can see how i access the light bulb.....you can also see hooks for hanging, rubber feet to protect a wall surface and a finger hole to remove the back panel as well.......i ran the cord out the back as opposed to the bottom so that it can be hardwired into a junction box and not leave a hole on the bottom.....the neon is run off a separate 9 volt power source.....the button to turn on the neon is on the bottom of the sign housing..
hope it was worth the wait.....you'll be able to see it up close at the DVA Gallery annual tiki art show......
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