The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions EXPO happens November 19-21 and we are showing once again - at booth number 671. That means it is time to begin work on our display, totally revamping it once again. We’ve been honoured three times in a row with BEST BOOTH and we are determined to be in contention once again this year. We’ve decided to build a submarine as our display piece. The half scale submersible will be modelled after an angler fish - just for fun. It will have a fully detailed interior to take it over the top. Tomorrow I’ll begin designing the cutting files and maybe even cut a little metal. The bubble windows are already on order. This is going to be fun!!!
Sounds like...
The Sign Invitational is still seven and a half months away. It seems like a long time until you take into account that my entry will be up against some very stiff competition. I’ve seen some of the other artist’s concept art. Because I am a defending champion (three times over) I absolutely know there will be some who are determined to take away my title. And that is as it should be. But it doesn’t mean they will get it without a great deal of effort. I too am pulling out all of the stops this year (as always). I’ve even recruited some serious help. The sound effects for my little truck are being created by one of the world’s leading experts at miniature sound, Jim Wells, from Fantasonics. Jim recently sent me ‘rough, preliminary’ samples of the sound tracks he is creating. They are best described as EXACTLY what an antique cartoon truck would sound like. Even though I loved the sound tracks as they were, Jim assured me that what I was hearing was only the first rough sound, much like my first pen sketch. He still had to refine, tweak and tune them to make it right. Today, he sent along a picture of the quick mockup he had built to make sure it sounds right when I install the sound rig into the truck. As he describes it, the top two speaker boxes are live, the one on the left is pointing out of the radiator, while the one one the right is pointing downwards as it will be when mounted in the truck cab. The bottom two boxes stand in for the wheels of my truck. The frame of the truck are the two strips of wood. I’m sure looking forward to hearing the results of his efforts! I appreciate having a friend who is as passionate about what he does and is just as crazy as me to take this fun little project on!
All aboard!
The Pumpkin Creek Railroad sign is one of my favourite pieces in the Vala collection. Our crew did an awesome job sculpting the tree while Alyssa did the bulk of the painting under Becke’s watchful eye. The sign was definitely a challenging piece with far more detail and time invested than one might think at first glance. I can hardly wait to see it set in its final home in front of the train station. In about a month the first guests of this year’s season will get to see it for themselves.
