Saturday, February 26, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Lovers Leap


 


February 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane







 

Another Order of the Arrow trail crew project is the Lovers Leap trail  to Stonewall Pass trail. I hear the trail to Lover's Leap is the most accessible trail in all of Philmont and the view of the Tooth of Time from there is simply amazing. 

There are also stories of a spurned lover who threw himself off the cliff rather than face rejection of the woman he loved. Some say on a dark night you will see his ghost pacing near the edge of the cliff  in deep sorrow. When the spirit realizes you are there, he jumps off the cliff to his death. (Or so I'm told.)


Carved from pallet pine, this is a fairly simple slide to create with simple lines. It's painted with hobby paints, labeled with waterslide paper, and sealed with a couple coats of poly.

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Hunting Lodge


 


February 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 2 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane


 

Built by Waite Phillips for his hunting trips, the cabin was reconstructed similar to the original design featuring two bedrooms, a dining room, breezeway, and kitchen.  The contents of the lodge are not the originals but have been provided by the BSA including the trophy head mountings on the wall.

Wow this was fun to make! I carved most of the slide from southern (pallet) pine and the antlers are made from plastic model sprue. I worked this slide backwards and what I mean by that is started with the background. Next, I carved the rifles and finally I shaped skull. Once the elements were refined and sanded, I drilled a couple of holes in either side of the skull for the antlers. To form the sprue to look like antlers, I heated the plastic with a lighter, pulled, pushed and molded the soft plastic quickly before it would harden again.  (Sometimes having to re-heat it again because I wasn't happy with the results.) I painted the wooden part of the slide with hobby paints and the antlers with plastic model paint. When everything was dry, I used super glue to glue the antlers in place. The lettering and Zia were done with waterslide paper. A couple coats of poly finish it off. 

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Black Horse Creek


 February 2022

 Time to make: 3 hours

 Finishing: 1 hour

 Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane







 

Black Horse camp was a mining camp from 1885 to 1950 as part of the Baldy Mining district. Though it product relatively little gold, there was only one mine shaft with a depth of 340 feet and length of 2,500 feet. This slide is also recognizes the work put in by the Order of the Arrow tail crew who constructed the Black Horse trail (2000-2003) as one of the many tail and conservation projects the OA has accomplished.  

Carved from maple, I like the way the trees arch the scenic view of Mount Baldy.  Painted with hobby paints, labeled with waterslide paper, and sealed with a couple coats of poly.

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Staff Association







February 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Philmont / Bill Macfarlane







 

The Philmont Staff Association is very active group of current and past Philmont staffers who provide good information for new staff, wonderful memories, fantastic photos and humor. They volunteer at events like PhilBreak, Volunteer Vacation, and the Fall Volunteer Vacation. Many have been able to enjoy Philmont because of their scholarships.  There are also many reunions and staff only treks for the members. You can find them on their web site , Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and probably a few more places that I don't know.

Carved from pallet pine, this is a simple multi-leveled slide with inset letters (PSA) and waterside lettering. Painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple coats of poly.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Slide of the Month - The Pirate



February 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Boy's Life: Slide of the Month
Sept. 1992, p. 61 

Original design:
Jeff Springer









When thinking of pirates, and your my age, you might think of Errol Flynn, Johnny Depp or the Curse of Oak Island (sorry couldn't help it).... The golden age of piracy, according to English journalist George Powell, ran from 1650 to 1720, and I think of this buccaneer as stereotypical crewman. 

Carved from maple, I'm never a fan of carving faces but the roughness of the face lends to the personality of the pirate. When painting I also wanted to give the look of wind and sun burned skin (but it seems a bit too pink to me). Anyway, I painted it with hobby paints and finished it off with a couple coats of poly.