This past week has been a busy one in our shop. We applied the fibreglass reinforced concrete and sculpted the first lane mask prototype for the NEBs Fun World Bowling Centre. There were three pieces. The first is the arch which will go over the bowling lanes. The 'wooden' posts will stand in the center between the arches and a horizontal beam will go from post to post. Everything is designed to easily and quickly assemble.
Once the sculpted concrete cured it was time for paint. The base colors always look pretty bright at this stage. Three coats of color are applied, with the third being a blend coat.
Once the base colors have cured it is time for the magic. A series of glazes are painted on and then judiciously wiped off. The glazes remain in the lower portions and texture areas making everything jump in an instant. Once the glazes are dry we do some dry brushing to bring out the highlights and add a bit more aging. On the metal parts we did a little grinding and then made some instant rust by spraying on some mild acid. It was instantly old and full of character.
The prototype will be kept hand as we get into full production next week. There are forty more of these arches to create.
