It's so much fun to up the ante with each piece we create for the Skallywag Bay Adventure Golf. As we build each feature we look at it closely and decide how we want to tell the story in the most graphic and over the top fashion possible. It seems the wilder the tale the better.
The feature for the first hole of the adventure golf is a gigantic cannon. This cannon didn't fire cannon balls. The plan was to have one of the Gruffles climb inside and be fired from the island fortress onto an approaching enemy ship with a grappling hook in hand. Joe was the first to give it a try. It didn't go nearly as well as they imagined. They named the cannon in his memory.
The cannon is quite unlike any other ever invented. It's a breach load with a huge door that forms the back of the giant gun. Now it's permanently swung open wide to allow golfers to shoot their ball inside. The barrel of the extremely large bore gun is made of wood planks much like a barrel made of staves and is circled with sturdy, riveted copper bands.
Inside the rather short barrel there are sculpted flames which serve as rifling, theoretically causing the subject to spin as he/she travels through the air. The theory was that this would ensure better accuracy.
A ramp is built behind the cannon to allow player's golf balls to roll up into the cannon. The balls will drop into one of two holes which will then feed the ball onto the green below. We'll be applying and sculpting the concrete on the rest of the cannon tomorrow.
The top view shows Joe's name engraved into the brass trim. We had great fun carving the fleur de lis into the aged wood of the barrel. This is going to paint up real pretty!
We also sculpted the last of the concrete on the KRAKEN body today, finishing the turbine engines on each side of the conning tower. The next step on the sub is the paint.
And as always we are beginning to have lots of discussion that begin with "What if?"
Just imagine. Stay tuned...
-grampa dan