"Chewbacca and the Game Board" will be headed home with another fellow Cast Member who happens to be connected to Chewbacca's character. Glen also loves board games. That is how this carving came to be.
Carved from a 4" X 3" X 7" piece of tupelo wood, "Chewbacca" seemed to work up quickly. (His entire body didn't really call for a great deal of detail... if you don't fuss over all the hair!) At first this carver was somewhat intimidated by "Chewbacca's" hair. It was decided that I'd simply run a rough burr over the "hair" and let it go at that.
As with all carvings they begin with a frontal sketch of the piece to be. At "Chewbacca's" feet is the piece of wood that will become the checkerboard.
Next, the sides are coped out on the band saw.
After the sides are coped the profile drawing will allow front and rear coping.
Then the bulk reduction can take place.
Front/right side.
Rear/right side.
Being careful to maintain protruding features is a must. Pencil marks are added to prevent cutting too deeply into an area.
(It's always easier to reduce wood than add wood!)
The forehead had to be reduced quiet a bit.
The piece is somewhat more stocky than the actual person in the suit.
I prefer to secure glued pieces rather than just rely on the glue. You can see the wooden (toothpick) dowel protruding from the carvings left hand. The dowel will extend through his hand, board and into the thigh.
Once all the pieces; figure, base and checkerboard are fitted and given a final inspection, the painting begins. Below, the figure and base have been stained.
I've been having good luck sealing the pieces with MinWax 209 clear wood stain. The base is given its finish stain. There's a variety of ways I mount pieces to the base. In Chewbacca's case, his right foot will be held in place by a long thin woodscrew and his left foot is secured by a 1/8" dowel glued into the left foot and base and glued. You can see the screw, two dowels and the wood plug to the left of the carving.
The checkerboard was quite easy to work up. Using a rule, lines were marked at 1/8" spacing and drawn with a pencil. Then the lines were traced over with a dull edge metal rule to deepen the line without making too thin a line. The hole is for the dowel for additional strength to be held in place.
When it comes to painting and mixing colors, this carver is very much a beginner. Experimentation is on full display in all of my carvings.
"Chewbacca and the Game Board" may not look exactly like the real character but seeing as it's a "One of a Kind Wood Carving" I hope the recipient will still enjoy having him on his mantel.
