|
|
Go to page 1~2 [Next] | ||||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
I just sprung for a MAK French Arm Chopper, and before I've even received the shipping confirmation I'm planning how I might repaint the thing as soon as it gets here.
What, by the way, is that cheesy stencil on the Grant/MAK choppers? Bamboo? Rope? http://www.topsmagic.com/product_thumb.p......37&h=225 Mine has to look late 18th-century for my period act. I know I'll need some sort of design element around the chopping hole to help camouflage the business. Not sure what that's going to be yet. Online image searching shows only one example of a custom paint job (or perhaps a custom chopper) with a gold dragon that is NOT doing the job it's supposed to. I'm wondering if any workshoppers have repainted their choppers and if they have photos to share. (I'll share mine when it's done.) Regards, Chris
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
makeupguy Inner circle 1411 Posts |
I've seen a couple of choppers that people have made that were all wood that look GREAT... but I'm not sure I've ever seen a repainted one.
I've never liked the paint job on it.. or virtually ANY MAK prop. When I was little.. one of the first things I did was have my dad help me strip my MAK Guillotine Clean and re-faux finish it from scratch. It didn't look perfect, since neither of us were faux finishers.. but it looked far better than the mess that it was when I took it home from Hank Lees. At any rate.. here's a trick I've used for years. I paint the prop white, or almond. Then I use a tinted urethane. I hang the prop UPSIDE down and paint it with the tinted poly urethane... I let it drip a little.. not too much.. when it's seen correct side down, those drips look a lot like woodgrain. There are other tricks I use as well, specifically to paint my Wack-o-Magic Ultimate Dancing Canes, but they'd take more explaining here than I have time for, and they use materials that are not easily found. |
|||||||||
Cardstuntman New user 97 Posts |
A Faux Finish will be tough free hand and the peel and stick it stuff will just not hold up. You might consider some of the hammered metal finish paints and make some of your own stencils. Maybe a nuts and bolts look. You could steampunk it up with some photon tubes or stencil designs of gears and sprockets. You might also consider making some machine parts to put on it that go with the period you are using.
|
|||||||||
makeupguy Inner circle 1411 Posts |
Why do you say that faux finish is hard? hundreds of housewives do it every day on walls. don't you watch HDTV? There are a TON of Youtube tutorials... for every conceivable finish!!
Pracice on some scrap wood or cardboard... and just jump in... it's actually not that hard. By the way, who cares if it's hard... what's worth doing is worth doing correctly. You normally only have to paint a prop once. |
|||||||||
Cardstuntman New user 97 Posts |
I have seen a lot of faux that I didn't like. Art is subjective though and and I am sure what ever he decides on it will be good and I would like to see it. I like Metal for a menacing looking arm chopper... again just my opinion.
|
|||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
I don't think I'll have much trouble refinishing it. When we bought our house, the bottom half of the kitchen walls had a masonite fake tile board. I stippled with sponges in three colors to make it look like real terra cotta tile. Still looks good after 14 years. I've got a degree in art and I've been playing with paint forever. I used to make 1/12 scale dollhouse furnishing and turned basswood into marble, tile, metal, brick. . . you name it.
On the chopper, I was more interested in other people's solutions for the area around the sliding insert. Grant/MAK used a yellow bamboo stencil to draw the eye away from the edges. I have an idea of my own, but I thought it would be fun to see what others have done, too. Thanks for the input so far. Chris
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
I also posted this in another thread about the chopper, but it's more appropriate for the workshop:
The chopper arrived by UPS Thursday afternoon. It's very nicely made, but has a green/black textured finish and the yellow "bamboo" detailing, which turns out not to be stenciled, but applied in vinyl. So now I'm nervous. I have this nice, brand new prop, which must be "reworked" to fit the period of my presentation. I'm pretty sure the vinyl will peel off quite easily and the painting isn't really a problem. I have a design in mind for the detail around the outside of the moving section.I also need to make the front bag a bit bigger. Not a major project by any means. But I'm afraid to jump right in with the refinishing. It's all shiny and new!! I think I'm going to let it sit over there for a couple of days while I work up the courage to take action.
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
gimpy2 Special user 960 Posts |
I know the vinal decals I use for numbers on blocks are just about impossible to peel off after they set for a while and cure. The fellow that makes the decals claim the orange oil based cleaners will break down the adhesive. Have not tried it as of yet.
Gimpy
www.gimpysmagic.com |
|||||||||
makeupguy Inner circle 1411 Posts |
I think nail head trim would be beautiful...
|
|||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
Okay, here's the beginning. I removed the bag and feet from the chopper and peeled off the yellow vinyl "bamboo." I cleaned off the adhesive with mineral spirits and made sure the surface was clean and dry. I applied painters making tape around the outside edge of the piece. I used two shades of Rustoleum flat enamel--a tan and a brown--to give a subtly mottled tone. I'm giving this a full 48 hours or more to dry before I continue.
This image is a bit lighter in color than the actual piece. Pretty boring so far, huh? Click here to view attached image.
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
Step two on the chopper was to stipple the piece with flat black, using a sponge. I also lightly hit it with the brown spray paint over some of the black to tone it back a bit.
Next I'll be painting on the "wrought iron strapping." Click here to view attached image.
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
Slartibartfaust Loyal user Canada 213 Posts |
Looks great so far!
wish I still had my chopper so I could "chop" it
There is much wonder in the Great White North
|
|||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
Next step was painting the detail around the chopping hole. Please note on the overall photo and on the detail photo, the "rivets" have not been glued in place yet, so the spacing was just by quick eyeballing for these photos. The fleur de lis motif is, of course, because it's a French arm chopper. . .
Click here to view attached image.
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
Cardstuntman New user 97 Posts |
SWEET, looks great so far, can't wait to see it done and with the blade and bag.
|
|||||||||
Wizard of Oz Inner circle Most people wish I didn't have 5150 Posts |
That's coming along great...looking mighty fine.
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
|
|||||||||
vampiro Loyal user Atlanta 240 Posts |
CJ--It looks great. You asked for help but you can help all of us.
Just wondering, what will you do with the inevitable blood stains after some use? los (laugh out silently) |
|||||||||
CJRichard Special user Massachusetts 542 Posts |
All done. I'll probably fuss around with the burlap bag a bit. I made it about an inch higher and it extends out further than the black felt bag that came with it. I used the black felt to line the burlap because the coarse weave made it more sheer than I wanted it.
Click here to view attached image.
"You know some of you are laughin', but there's people here tryin' to learn. . ." -Pop Haydn
"I know of no other art that proclaims itself 'easy to do.'" -Master Payne Ezekiel the Green |
|||||||||
Cardstuntman New user 97 Posts |
Masterpiece. That ain't no Mak no more. Looks Great.
|
|||||||||
Magic Researcher Elite user 406 Posts |
A big improvement over the original. Nice job.
MR
Repeating a falsehood often and loudly does not make it true.
|
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The workshop » » Repainting an Arm Chopper (3 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page 1~2 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.04 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |