Throwing a Penny in the Fountain
One our last night at Disney World we stayed out late at Epcot. Patrick got to throw coins in a few of the fountains, including this one in France.
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One our last night at Disney World we stayed out late at Epcot. Patrick got to throw coins in a few of the fountains, including this one in France.
See the original on Flickr.
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Spaceship Earth in Epcot is one of my favorite rides at Disney World. This was taken towards the end of the ride when you’re going backwards and looking up into “space.”
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See the original on Flickr.
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On the exploration trail Patrick explored… the trucks he brought along that day.
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I’ve had an elaborate idea for a paint scheme in mind for quite a while, however after thinking about exactly how to do it I’ve realized that I don’t yet have the skills to execute it. I decided to try a simpler paint scheme first — after all, the original body was falling apart and I really just needed a replacement. This is the simpler paint scheme.
I dove into the paint job and quickly realized a few mistakes, and other mistakes weren’t obvious until I was much further along. This is the first lexan body I’ve ever completed so I feel pretty good about how well it came out; on the other hand I’m a perfectionist and like to think I have some talent and skill with this stuff, so I’m disappointed with the result. In case it helps others, what I’ve learned:
My workshop area is very dirty. I knew it was dirty, of course, but really wasn’t thinking about it when I started painting. The blue stripe is what I painted first and during the process I could see the airbrush catching dust particles and splattering them against the body, creating some weird (and undesired) pucker marks. From now on, I just went outside to paint. Despite leaves and pollen floating by, outside proved a very clean environment to paint in.
Concave surfaces catch a lot of overspray. I masked relatively small areas when I started painting the blue stripe, and as I moved on to other colors I realized that the blue was splattered over much of the body. I tried to clean up what I could see and thought I did a good job. However after backing the body with white and pulling off the body’s blue-tinted protective film I realized just how much overspray there was and how poor a job I did cleaning it off. The solution is simple, of course: mask everything. With large pieces of tape this is easy.
I should have experimented more with color blending and the order in which colors are laid down, and I should slow down more to be sure I’m using the colors in the correct order. I intended the red to be a bit more orange. I should have painted the transparent yellow first, then backed it with red. The red doesn’t look bad, I just wanted more subtlety. Additionally, my hand wasn’t quite steady enough when adding the red fade above the blue so I had to “correct” it by making it thicker than I wanted, which also caused it to cover more area than I intended. More practice and using a guide would let me create a straight and thin line more easily.
When nearly complete I noticed some spots that I think must be fingerprints. When changing masks I’m sure I touched the lexan with my fingertips. I’m not sure if wiping the body after handling it would be enough to remove the marks, or if I should just wear gloves while handling it. The marks left behind are minor, but on a better paint job would stand out more.
In the end, however, I guess it turned out ok because I received a number of compliments and questions about it while at the track last night. The most-asked question was how did I create the red pattern on the hood, roof, and back of the truck. I simply used a router pad as a mask and held it in place while spraying.
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While at Disney World, the Flower and Garden Festival was happening at Epcot. A butterfly tent was set up where I got this shot of a Monarch.
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We didn’t do many things in the Disney’s Hollywood Studios park, but we did have to make a stop to get a photo with Mater and McQueen — two characters we constantly hear about.
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Walking through Cinderella’s castle, the walls are lined with several of these large panels made of glass tile that tell the story of Cinderella. Some of the tiles are 14k gold! If memory serves, each panel is about 6 foot wide and 10 foot tall. Impressive.
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Sherree selected a few of the photos that the Disney PhotoPass Photographers took to round out our collection so that she can create a scrapbook as she envisions. Here’s the three of us in the Magic Kingdom in front of Cinderella’s castle.
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We went to the Touch a Truck fundraiser at Skinner Road School in Vernon last weekend. They had all sorts of trucks there for kids to get up close with — tow trucks, dump trucks, bulldozers, loaders, box trucks, a fire truck, a lumber truck… the list goes on and on. We spent a lot of time there and saw all of the trucks several times. Of note, however, is that Patrick didn’t want to go into the cabs of any of the trucks.
Yep, that’s me in the reflection of the bumper in the photo.
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In The Land pavillion at Epcot is a slow boat ride called Living with the Land. It’s a tour that is mostly about farming techniques, and there’s plenty of food growing throughout (which is then served in the restaurants). As we were floating by some lettuce plants I realized that there was a pattern to them. The angle makes it tough to see, but the dark lettuce shows some Mickey ears!
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Patrick’s favorite character is Donald Duck. When watching the old Disney cartoons he inevitably asks for Donald first, and even if the cartoon stars somebody else it’s always a better cartoon if Donald is in it. I suppose that means Donald Duck is Patrick’s hero, or idol. Perhaps that’s why he was so nervous about meeting Donald, and would only pose for a photo if held by Mom and far from Donald.
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