Playa Project Work In Progress 2014

[trilobyte]

Branching off from this great thread, tell us about (and show us pics of) that awesome, cool, fun project you're working on for the playa (if you're working on something fun at home, tell us about that here). Some of us like to live vicariously through other people's adventures, while others are inspired and motivated by seeing what other people are doing. It doesn't need to be a how-to or instructional guide, and it's okay if you don't have pics (though take some next time), show us what you've got!

[VultureChow]

So I'll get this started.

I've begun work on my art project for the year which is a crochet cougar skeleton. Once I procured the necessary skeleton, I noticed I was missing a few claws.


Well kitty has to have a full set, so I started thinking of ways to replace them. I could buy online, but I need to make sure they fit the finger bones. So I figured I could use the claws I did have and make a mold and then cast in resin. Having never done anything like that before I started googling and found a bunch of videos using silicone molds. Some could even be used with pewter which is how I wound up with this project.

So, using several claws and some heat resistant silicone, I made several molds in plastic bathroom dixie cups and let them cure:



Cut them in half, remove the claw, dust the insides with baby powder



Then the halves are reassemble and held together with rubber bands. Melted pewter goes in, and these come out



Going from left to right, they cool off, I used a hacksaw to take of the excess and the use files and grinders to remove more of the excess. The one on the right needs some final grinding and polishing, but all in all, a successful weekend in my parents' garage. Made 55 of them. I'm thinking nice necklaces as gifts from Cougar Camp.

[lucky420]

Gurl,
you fancy!

great job

[theCryptofishist]

Made 55 of them. I'm thinking nice necklaces as gifts from Cougar Camp.

You're way ahead of me.
Have you ever seen a fish drool?

And I would have done them from polymer clay. Not that they wouldn't have been nice objects. Just not that nice.

[EspressoDude]

those are frickin neat!

[ygmir]

*envy*

[The Rod]

Heres mine, definitely a work in progress:

image.jpeg

She's a 1966 Ford B-500. Currently I am building the observation deck/frame:

image-1.jpeg

image-2.jpeg

I hope to be bringing her as a mutant vehicle this year, but if the resources aren't there to fully mutate her she will make a lovely camp living room!

[The Rod]

By the way, those cougar claws are cool! And also, where does one get a cougar skeleton?

[VultureChow]

Taxidermy message boards. Discovered it while researching last years project. Hunters generally don't want the bones, just the hide.

[trilobyte]

Awesome projects! Very cool frame, A-RockLeFrench... does the frame connect to some steel framework inside, or does the bus frame have enough reinforcement to support it? When I made an upper deck/observation platform for our cargo van back in 2007 I ended up having to build the frame up from the base of the van.

[ygmir]

very cool bus. did you get flavor spray, for licking the insides of the windows?

also, the roof frame looks nice, I'll echo Trilo, in asking what it's attached to? My friend built one on his bus last hear and used legs and landing pads over each roof brace, on the curve and then the bolts just become a sliding hold, not shear for weight support.

looks great though!!

[The Rod]

The deck frame attaches to the bus frame through the 'studs' running up between the windows. A big grade 8 bolt through the lower horizontal support at each stud.

The studs are galvanized 'C' channel that running between layers of steel for the exterior and interior of the bus. The fun part was drilling through all the layers of steel.

Sheer support is provided by the bolts through the studs and there is a ridge running along the center of the top of the bus that each joist rests on, using the natural arch of the bus for strength.

I built the frame to compensate for the forward pitch of the bus, there's about a 10 inch difference from the front to the back. My thoughts is that a more level surface would be preferable to one that slopes forward for riders and dancers on a moving vehicle.

I put a layer of high density silicone rubber between the lower horizontal support and the bus body to act as a vibration damper and compensate for the uneven-ness of the body: where the layers of steel overlap and any rivets.

Also, which you can barely see in the pics is the beginnings of the frame to support the back balcony, extending 5 feet off the back. I ran steel tubing into the large 'C' channels that make up the chassis, about 4 feet into the chassis, welded and bolted for good measure. Once completed the balcony will have permanent guard rails and a ladder up to the deck. The balcony will have vertical supports to the deck that will bring weight from the top into the chassis. There is a hitch receiver on the front bumper welded to the frame that will have a single vertical support attached that will tie into the front of the deck. So once complete the weight of the deck and passengers will be transferred to the chassis through the front and back and the bus frame through the studs and the ridge that rests along the top of the curved studs in the ceiling.

[MyDearFriend]

Wow, A-Rock! Awesome bus!!!

And oh VC those claws are amazing, I have to say, you made my jaw drop. Fantastic.

[AntiM]

Nice claws, indeed.

I keep thinking "Jungle Red"!

[theCryptofishist]

Looks like you've been tearing at someone's throat.

[trilobyte]

I've been slogging away at building a 3D model of my 2014 camp plans. Here's a shot of one of the structures as things start to take shape.



We've always done 2D maps (using Illustrator and Photoshop), but over the last 3 years we've done 3D renders as well. It's a chance to both improve my skills at 3D modeling and rendering.... and a chance to better pre-visualize how the camp will come together. Better maps and pre-vis makes it easier for our setup crew to understand all the plans, and more easily everything comes together once we're out on the playa.

To date, things have been more basic and rudimentary, though I added a lot of detail when it came to the initial ziggurat design. This year, I'm fleshing out a lot more details - things like the individual conduit fittings, as well as the curtains in our shower stall and changing room.

[trilobyte]

More work-in-progress in the planning and 3D modeling department. The shot below shows the aluminet fabric covering the courtyard...



This next shot is a wide shot from the side of our planned camp space. It shows a shipping container in the top right of frame (we're on the waiting list to get into the BRC Storage program, and hopefully we'll be able to make that happen for 2014), and a couple vehicles in the foreground at the bottom of the image. They're adapted from some freeware models I found online, which I was able to convert into a format I could use with the software, do a fair bit of tweaking to, and then completely re-textured. That was a fairly time-consuming process, but a lot less time-consuming than diving into making vehicle models from scratch - and it gave me an opportunity to tinker around more with my texturing skills.



And then here's a big overhead shot that shows the current state of affairs in 3D land. I cloned some of the vehicles I'd made to help fill in the design and work out placement. I still have a lot of work to do, but am pretty happy with the progress so far.



For anyone organizing a camp, especially a registered/placed camp, I highly recommend mapping out your camp in advance. Actually, I think the placed camp questionnaire requires you to submit a layout... but rather than just scribbling up something that looks like it may pass muster I suggest working it out in something that can get you accurate measurements. I already have and use tools like C4D, Photoshop, and Illustrator, but if you don't have your own software you could check out something like Sketchup, which is free. You don't need to get super-detailed, just making some squares, rectangles, and circles to approximate the size and general shape of your camp's tents, shade structures, domes, and cars. That way you can make sure you have enough space for what you need, and aren't asking for more space than you need for the number of people in your camp.

Aside from the modeling, I also placed an order this week for some steel fittings I'll need for this year's new & improved courtyard support, as well as redesigned cooler tables. The new designs will be easier/quicker to get things set up on the playa, and also be sturdier. The sturdier courtyard support will let us add a couple more hanging chairs for lounging about.

[trilobyte]

No pictures to post today, but work continues. I want to re-design the internal support structure for the Ziggurat I built and brought in 2013. Everything worked and people survived last year, but as we went through last year's burn I thought that I could improve upon the design to both make it easier to set up, and make the slotted wood structure even stronger. The new supports have been successful in the concept/bar napkin phase, and are now starting to go through the actual design phase. They start as a ball of math, and then eventually I'll work up CNC parts and make virtual versions. Once I've got all the new parts figured out, I'll re-build the ziggurat with them in C4D, and if everything fits together as expected, then I'll fine tune the CNC designs and start booking time on the Shopbot to make the parts.

[MyDearFriend]

That sounds so wonderful, Trilo, and it also sounds like a lot of fun.

[watchyourfeet]

Started budgeting out my camp's art installation and infrastructure. God damn, first year of a new camp is a lot of work!

[Dr. Pyro]

Started budgeting out my camp's art installation and infrastructure. God damn, first year of a new camp is a lot of work!

The fifteenth year of an established camp ain't exactly a picnic either.

[trilobyte]

Doc beat me to it. It's always a lot of work, and in many cases the first year is the easiest you'll ever have it. That said, congrats on the start of something wonderful, and good luck with the budgeting and planning.

[trilobyte]

Design work continues... this render shows the pieces I'm planning to make for the wall displays. I would have made them taller, but I'm planning on some additional stuff to go into the top section of each display.



While working on another project using the CNC router at my local workshop place, I grabbed a smaller piece of wood and made a smaller scale version...

[Joeln]

Looks cool Trilo!

Nicethat they let you have time on the router.
Place I worked that had one was running it pretty much nonstop.
I wouldn't have thought to ask for time on it.

[trilobyte]

Thanks - I suspect your situation is different, though. For me, it's just a matter of booking a reservation on the calendar.

[The Rod]

Man, I wish I had the skills to make those cool computer graphic things. I'd love to have some sparkly 3D concept renderings of my MV plans.

And as far as THAT is going it's becoming clear that the resources (time and money) necessary to fully mutate my bus wont be here this year, so Plan B is in full effect, the bus will be camp infrastructure. I want to make a tower rising from the Observation Deck, thinking of using scaffolding and will be starting a new thread to deal with the specifics of that here shortly...

[trilobyte]

Check out the program sketchup, A-Rock. It's free, and if I remember correctly it's fairly easy to do some basic building. Just like with the Second Life virtual world program, you start with basic block shapes that you can then squash and stretch and tinker around with to make what you're after. It doesn't have to get to cinematic quality in order to be really helpful when planning out your project. Back in 2006/2007 I found it to be really helpful just for planning out the camp infrastructure.

[jcliff]

Very cool Trilo! Frankly, that looks like magic to me because I have no idea how one would go about creating visual plans like that. Makes me think of last year's theme!

[Ashtar]

On a smaller scale than the above projects, but something I had to learn how to do from scratch and got a good test result on today:



Duct tape rope for decorative use at the MacGyver's Union! This is a three strand twisted rope. I will probably use 5-6 strands for the final project.

[trilobyte]

Things have been really busy lately, but I have a little in the way of playa-related project updates.

Safety Camel! I had made a scale cutout of a camel design for a camp project, and over the weekend figured I'd give it a coat of paint. It's a UV red-orange paint, but looks very safety-vest orange in broad daylight. It really pops under UV light too, but no pics of that yet.


Then I worked on my limoncello, taking the first double batch from Phase 1 into Phase 2 by scooping out the lemon bits, filtering it twice, and then mixing with the sugar syrup I'd made and cooled. For this year's batches, I'm deviating from the plan by letting the lemons spend more time in phase 1 - the result should be a stronger yet smoother meyer lemon taste, but the side effect is that what's left of the lemons has gone albino. The last pic shows a before/after 1 round of filtration, it's hard to really tell in that pic but it really gets out all the little particulates. Woohoo, I'm hoping this year's batches really kick things up a notch.