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giant swizzle sticks project - Vamptiki lounge finished !! last pg. |
Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
|  Posted: 2009-02-19 7:48 pm Permalink
greetings all-
just wanted to share progress on one of my side projects that coincides with the sign replicas i have been making......it's an idea i have been kickin around for sometime now and have finally managed to forge ahead with it. It all started when my girlfriend was tellin me about a dream she had about being in a salvation army store and finding a barrel full of sticks with carved tikis on the ends of them.......a little bulb went off and i said sounds like giant swizzle sticks!...and thus a new project series was born......basically, i want to make giant replicas of vintage swizzles as well as create new ones (or custom ones for personal bars), not exactly true to actual swizzles but ones of my own creation.....like the example below which is half finished..... Aku Aku didn't have a cool swizzle in actuality...so i took liberties and made a new design......this one i made out of MDF particle board.....keeps it lightweight and sturdy....I also plan to experiment with ones out of colored acrylic for a very real looking swizzle and ones that are made out of regular wood and stained - just to get a feel for different looks that i can acheive with these.......They will be able to hang on walls both vertical and horizontal.....the same hooks on the back will enable one to hang them from the ceiling by thin cable so that a viewer can look up and see the sticks facing down at them.....these will work great in small places like above windows and alongside doors or any other place that is hard to fill with just the right tiki decor (especially if the wooden tiki spoon and fork is your only option). On this particular one i am going to keep the colors down to 2 shades of red....dark for the base and outlines and light for the flat surfaces....this swizzle is about 5 ft long.....sizes will vary but will all be about the same scale,,,,the tiki or whatever the main icon happens to be on these will be removable via screws so that i can ship these in a shorter package if need be....I'm hoping to pitch this idea to a few bars.....i think a few of these would look cool behind a bar mounted on a wall or even have a bunch floating off the ceiling......(hey ben, does frankies need a giant swizzle or 2 for their new bar ??).. 
anyway- enough yappin on my part.....here's the pics!!!
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2011-06-26 18:00 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2011-08-06 16:34 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2012-01-19 19:38 ]
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6391
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-02-19 7:55 pm Permalink
Very cool Tip.
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VampiressRN
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Nov 23, 2006
Posts: 5084
From: Sin City Lincoln Hills (NorCal)
| Posted: 2009-02-19 8:13 pm Permalink
What a great idea. Let us know when you are taking personal orders...I would love to have one built for my home bar.
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Big Kahuna
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2007
Posts: 1908
From: SoMass
| Posted: 2009-02-19 9:47 pm Permalink
Another great idea. Keep em coming, Tipsy!
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RevBambooBen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 7197
From: Huntikington Beach
| Posted: 2009-02-19 10:46 pm Permalink
......(hey ben, does frankies need a giant swizzle or 2 for their new bar ??)..
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Bay Park Buzzy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 2713
From: West Bay Park, San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2009-02-19 11:19 pm Permalink
I picked this up at Frankie's on Grand Opening Night:
It's a little smaller than yours...
Drake made it.
Buzzy Out!
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[ This Message was edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2009-02-19 23:20 ]
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Lake Surfer
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 21, 2002
Posts: 3308
From: Milwaukee, WI
| Posted: 2009-02-20 12:50 am Permalink
Kick ass idea Dave, and great execution!
Something about being stuck indoors for 6 months out of the year... gets the wheels turning. 
See ya Saturday!
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-02-20 05:09 am Permalink
thanks for the kind words everyone!!
damn buzzy!!......small world after all....had i known frankies was using the same moai like i did here i would have hit them up sooner!! ...perry has helped me out with stuff in the past....hopefully he still has the moai on file and if they want i can scale it up......except i'll probably get rid of "grand opening " and change it to "Las Vegas Nevada".........
Ben- awww!! your're not gonna be my marketing agent in the field no more ??!! .......keep me in mind for future projects just the same, though!! -thanks!
vampiress - i'll keep you posted!! -thanks!!
lake surfer - see ya saturday - can't wait to check out your new stuff !!
,,Next swizzle coming up after this "swampfire lounge"....which will probably go to doug after it's done. It will feature a flat 3-d likeness of his tiki logo on one end, overhanging letters (like in the frankies swizzle), and a 3-d spearhead type thing on other end of end of the swizzle.
- if you haven't guessed already, yes, i have been using letters that were left over from previous sign projects i did in the past.....i like the recycling aspect to these....it beats just tossing them out....
stay tuned!!
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-02-20 05:11 ]
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4WDtiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 1729
From: Omao, Kauai
| Posted: 2009-02-20 05:36 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-02-19 19:48, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
....this one i made out of MDF particle board....this swizzle is about 5 ft long.....
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How's the MDF carve, does it hold together well? Seems like it would be crumbly.
You should put something in the pics for scale, it does not look 5 ft!
Great idea, but now you need to carve a giant mug to put it in!
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Bowana
Grand Member (4 years) 
Joined: Nov 10, 2006
Posts: 1117
From: La Mesa, CA
| Posted: 2009-02-20 07:16 am Permalink
Fine looking piece, Tipsy, and a cool original idea!
MDF is the greatest stuff to carve, isn't it? With enough sanding and primering I've been able to achieve mirror smooth surfaces with it.
Bowana
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That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-02-20 08:45 am Permalink
i think mdf is quite versatile, but finishing can be a pain..done right, the effect is worth it....sometime i cheat though by using that texture finish spray paint. it helps to fill in the edges, which are the hardest part to get smooth.....bondo is your friend when it comes to this....just apply it to the edges, sand, prime then fill in any inconsistencies with some spot putty. ...prime again then paint.
..ya gotta use the dense mdf....your're right, the coarse stuff is way to crumbly. i would never consider using it for these.
...after i get this painted i'll post pics of it standing vertical against a door for scale....
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-02-20 08:46 ]
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leleliz
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Sep 02, 2008
Posts: 1981
From: NorCal
| Posted: 2009-02-21 09:12 am Permalink
I would buy these in a heartbeat and can only imagine how many different ones you can create! Love this for sure and keep em coming!
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TIKIVILLE
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 22, 2008
Posts: 635
From: Edmonton Alberta Canada
| Posted: 2009-02-21 10:20 am Permalink
yes VERY cool cant wait to see the progress!........custom orders is a great idea as well
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Hula Lula
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Posts: 45
From: Pasadena
| Posted: 2009-02-21 1:26 pm Permalink
I LOVE your giant swizzle stick!!!
What a great idea!
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OceaOtica
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Sep 29, 2003
Posts: 869
From: la, home of Tiki Ti
| Posted: 2009-02-21 7:41 pm Permalink
I keep looking at this, very cool!
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