I've managed to carve two more pieces but held off posting them before they are presented to the recipients. This piece is a fun piece for a fellow Cast Member. Matt, transferred to our group from driving Disney Buses. It turned out Matt became a major trainer for the rest of us when we purchased a new and larger coach for our team. His knowledge and experience served all of us well.
The 40' coach.
Hence the main theme of this piece is a "caricature" of Matt driving a (rather) "modified" likeness of our new coach. Matt is also a bass guitar player in a band.
Once getting into the piece, I became somewhat frustrated as to how the piece was working up. With a few major changes, i.e. going to a larger head for the driver and how I was going to get the bass guitar into the figure, the piece finally did managed to depict the appearance I was looking for.
The ideas.
Some of you may remember the wild caricatures of the 60's, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and his famous "Rat Fink."
I wanted Matt, sitting in the "radical" passenger coach.
After penciling the cut-out of "Matt" and the "rad" looking coach I hit the bandsaw.
The rough-out was quick.
Early on, I noticed "Matt's" head was too small for the best emphasis of him driving the bus.
What a difference!
Great! But now the head didn't visually match the neck line and shirt collar.
"Matt" became a real "block head!"
That's better!
The other piece of this carving was the bass guitar.
To make the bass guitar work, it needed to be strung. The best way to start the string weave is at the bottom and end up at the base of the body of the guitar. I ended up recessing the area at the base of the main body so I can "tie" the knot" and hide them. I had to weave the strings after the guitar is to be painted. Once the strings were in place the hole would be filled, sanded and painted.
The only viable place to mount the guitar was the side of the coach. I gave much thought as to how and where the guitar will be fastened to the piece. My first thought was that the guitar should be slung over his shoulder. That flew out the window quickly. The left side of the coach was the only place for it. (The right side is where the door is.)
Below, the two pieces are sealed with shellac.
The paint room was setup.
Special attention was given to the strings of the guitar. They had to look real! Crochet thread #10 was selected due to the thickness and color.
The strings were one piece weaved hole to hole and tied off, glued and wood puttied. As mentioned above, running the strings had to be completed after the piece was painted and cleared. I planned and purchased leather strips with the intent of "securing" the guitar to the coach. I gave up on that idea because I didn't want the straps putting force on the strings. Thus, the guitar was glued to the side with two 1/8" dowels.
"Matt's Musical Express" is the first piece the two pieces were painted and clear coated prior to putting all the pieces together and mounting to the base.
"Matt's Musical Express."
The "license plate" is three "connected" letters, MME.
