As always, during my drive around southern Ontario, I was constantly on the lookout for reference material for future drawings. It seems the best subjects pop up when it isn’t possible to stop because of narrow shoulders on the road or heavy traffic. When it was safe, I stopped to grab a picture. The night before I headed home, I stopped in a parking lot of a Costco in Waterloo to take a picture of this wonderful specimen. I did most of the drawing on my way home during the airport waits and layovers. It will be a companion piece to the ‘sentinel tree’ I did a week ago.
The Tinman
With less than three weeks until the Yarrow Days Parade, Henry was getting a little concerned we wouldn’t be ready in time, for there is still much to do. It was time to put in some work hours! Luckily, the battery/inverter had arrived, as had the walkie/talkies. We gave them a quick test and then plugged them in to get fully charged. Then we got out the large felt pens to add in the panel seam lines and rivets, which made the plane look a lot better. Henry asked for the number on the plane to be H08, which was a nod to his name and age. Under the canopy edge, we added his name and call sign ‘TINMAN,’ a nod to this year’s theme of “There’s no place like home”. (Wizard of Oz) We also took the time to fabricate and install the dashboard in the cockpit before it was time for Henry to head home. We still have to finish the lower part of the trailer, install and test the smoke machine, along with a few more details. We are now confident we will be ready for the morning of June 6. Stay tuned…
Visiting old friends
It is always fun to travel to our customers’ sites to see projects from our past. Most often, they dominated our studio for months as we created them, and then lived in our outside staging area until we shipped them. They were a big presence in our lives until we shipped them to their homes far away. By that time, new projects took their place in our shop. When I get a chance to visit our customers, I see them again, and I remember the joy of creating them. Most often in our shop, they are not seen fully assembled, and so it is a delight to see them in their glory. At NEB’s Fun World in Oshawa, they have assembled a substantial collection of our work over the last decade. We look forward to adding even more pieces soon! Stay tuned…
