This posting is a departure from the usual parade of plastic ship model kits subjects. My wife, Rhonda, wondered if her plastic canvas light house would be an acceptable topic for the Finescale Forum. So, if you folks would be so kind to indulge her wishes, here is her project. It may not be about ships, but it does have a marine flavor.
Plastic canvas is a medium where yarn and embroidery floss is woven into a grid like mesh which is then shaped into a desired object. She created her light house from a pattern designed by Marianne Telesca. This project will be presented as a birthday gift to her uncle Bob, a sports fisherman residing in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
In the center of the light house is inserted a clock powered by an “N” battery. In the beacon chamber, an electronic beacon is mounted to ramp up a burst of light, which dies off like a rotating beam of light. This beacon was purchased from Micro-Mark, the small tool specialist of Berkeley Heights, N.J. The wiring is connected to a transformer that leads to a plug-in light outlet. In the row boat, I carved two figures of fishermen ready to depart for a day’s fishing expedition. An outboard motor is in place ready for action. The carved sea gulls are out of scale, more to the size of pterosaurian flying reptiles as seen in the movie “Jurassic Park”, but it does add interest to the diorama.
The artificial water around the base of the light house is an idea from an article “Doin’ the Wave” in the November 2004 issue of FineScale Modeler, by Patrick Roach. The “water” is created by tearing out a section of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil, lightly crumple the foil to simulate waves and swells, then contact cement the ruffled foil to a round base. When the foil is cemented in place, different shades of acrylic blue, green and light blue paint is painted on to simulate moving water. Wave tops are brushed with varing shades of white.
Let’s have some applause for Rhonda, as she put in a labor of love for this project. Even though the subject matter is way out of line for what is normally posted on this site, she would be delighted for your accolades.
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
My wife loves lighthouses and thought that your wifes were great. She used to make small houses that served as tissue dispensers that way and gave them to people for gifts. We have a wallpaper border of lighthouses in our den. There are two ceramic lighthouses in the window in the living room. I got those electronic lights from micro-mark also and installed them. Work great. Wife says the combo of the lighthouses made that way and the electronic lights is great.
This looks terrific. And the folks that made the lighthouse pattern never expected it would be integrated with ship modeling techniques to display the lighthouse on a lonesome rock out in the ocean.
To wjbwjb29, fox, surfaceline, subfixer and bondoman, thank you for your approval. My wife, Rhonda, appreciates your applause and positive response. She has been doing her plastic canvas hobby for ther past 18 years and has really perfected the fine points of her hobby. Here are some other examples of her work.
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers, if I was you, I’d worry. Looking at her workmanship, you’d better hope she never get into ship models. If she does, you’ll stop being “Crackers” and become Rhonda’s husband…who, also builds models.
CRACKERS ! --That is nothing short of awesome . Be careful , though . She may try what my late wife did . She copied my FOKKER TRI PLANE and all the rest of my biplanes ,then did a few ships too ! How about a tug ?,lift of the cabin and its a candy dish .My hat is off to her and I say great work . !!! ARE you going to build models soon ? you,ll give your hubby a run . You (MRS . CRACKERS ) deserve a very well done . It may not be what we are used to seeing but a pleasant break indeed . TANKERBUILDER P.S. WOULD she consider doing an antebellum southern mansion ?? LET ME KNOW!! E-MAIL gjgeracci@satx.rr.com
TANKERBUILDER: Thanks for your approval. My wife, Rhonda, appreciates your favorable opinion. Above are other examples of her work. Sorry, she can not construct a Southern Antebellum Mansion. Rhonda does not have a pattern for that kind of a project. If such a pattern existed, she would be at it in a flash. She likes challenges. Most of her patterns she bought at Michaels or through E-bay. She prefers to make plastic canvas buildings or tissue boxes. Her project at the moment, is a Betty Boop wall clock, which she plans to give to a friend as a gift.
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Well, here’s a thought. I was thinking, we have a resource for what we do, which is really big graphic signs, and they will take any photo and digitize it, then put together a mosaic of stone tiles that make a perfect image, or for that matter any digital art, into any sized mosaic say for instance the lobby floor of a building.
A quick search on Google shows that there is all kinds of software out there to make your own masters of Plastic Canvas. She might want to check that out.
