Slide of the month extra: Penny Arcade

 

July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

OK I've got to admit I looking forward to on our way to Philmont is the penny arcade in Manitou Springs. Being a kid enjoying pinball machines and being at the beginning of quarter sucking video games like pong, space invaders, and pacman (yeah I'm that old), I was amazed when I saw my first penny arcade. One of the games that stuck out was a Williams 1957 baseball game. It was a two person game (one if you were really coordinated) in which one person pitched and one person batted. The pitcher would press a button and a steel ball shot out from underneath the game right around the pitcher mound. The cover would quickly close and the "ball" would streak towards the batter. The batter had a lever and when the lever is pulled the bat would swing and depending on how hard the lever was pulled the bat hit the ball with more force. The ball would then roll up the game, hopefully hit one of the ramps sending into the double, triple, or home run areas. 

What a fun slide to design! I started off gluing a picture of the bed of the game to an angled piece of maple I had as scrap. I don't know the angle I used as I just kinda winged it. Next the the scoreboard area and that was made from a piece of a heavy cardboard material which I glued the scoreboard picture to. The sides some 1/8 inch thick scrap I had just cut off another project and I glued them to the bed and when they were dry, I sanded them down till they were approximately at the same angle as the bed. Next came gluing the scoreboard to the bed. The bat was carved from a small piece of pine and the ball is a steel bb both glued to the bed with super glue. I did something a little different for the coloring of the slide as I used brown and black permanent markers. I like how the brown marker gave a look of wood grain. A couple coats of poly finish it off.

Slide of the month extra: Red Rocks

 

July 2022

Time to make: 1.5 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

One of the sites we may take in our first day traveling by van (mini bus?) to Philmont is the Red Rocks park and open-air amphitheater. The amphitheater was built into the rock structure  but seems to fit among the natural features. If you we seated there, on your left is a large tilted rock formation represented by this slide. It has been the site of many famous performances as well as film and TV recordings. But on of my favorites was by a group called Elephant Revival and their rendition of "White Rabbit" .

List this as one of the easiest slides I made. Using a well weathered piece of pallet board, the raised grains of this board worked well to imitate the rock structure. All I had to was to cut it out at the right angle and carve in the area in the upper center. It's painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple coats of poly.

Slide of the month extra - Philmont (my gear) Osprey Backpack

 

July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

It's the 5th of July and we mustering at a local Scout camp for the start of our trip. At 2AM we will be on our way to Logan airport! For the next few days we will spend getting acclimated to the elevation and sight seeing on our way to Philmont. So I have everything for the trail packed in my Osprey pack.

Carved from a piece of maple, the lighting and the dark colors really don't show the details of this slide. Despite this, the slide is painted in the same colors as my pack using hobby paints. The Osprey emblem is done with waterslide paper and the slide is finished with a couple coats of poly. 

Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont (My Gear) Folding Bowl

 July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Two days and counting! When it came to my eating system I tried lots of things and when I thought I had it down to a dollar store bowl and spoon I found this. This bowl is called a Fozzil  and the unique thing about this bowl is it unfolds flat saving lots of room in your pack. The other great thing is when it is flat after the meal, I can lick it almost clean. (Less work for the clean-up crew!) The spoon was another fantastic find and it comes free with a local yogurt shop's desert. The thing is unbreakable and best of all if lost, it will biodegrade. Make of corn I think.

Wow making this took a lot of trial and error. Wood did not, plastic did not work, what to use I thought? Well, I ending up using a advertisement (junk mail) post card and folded it just like the real bowl. I glued the corners with white glue and painted it with hobby paint. The spoon was carved from some pine scrap and also painted with hobby paints. The loop in the back is also made from that same post card. Finished it off with a couple coats of poly.

Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont (My Gear) Crew Tarp

July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design: Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Three days until we leave for Philmont and the slide today is my light weight crew tarp. It is a silpoly tent I that came recommended to me by others. It was low cost because the seams were not sealed but the company gave you the sealer and great instructions on how to seal them. The poles of the tarp will be treking poles donated by a crew member while they are not using them in camp.

Carved from a piece of pallet pine, it was a bit tricky to get the angles right while giving the look of depth. The treking poles are make from tooth picks and super glued to the slide. It's painted with hobby paints and sealed with a couple coats of poly 

Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont (my gear) Sleep system

 

July 2022

Time to make: 3 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Four days till Philmont and the next part of my equipment is my sleep system. Underneath me a Big Agnes axl air pad, and my pillow is from Outdoor Vitals. I've got a 20 degree quilt from UGQ but the one thing I forgot to show in this slide was a liner from the Friendly Swede. The liner will server a few proposes, it will give me extra a few degrees of extra warmth on cold nights, be my light weight bag on hot nights in the lower elevations, and maybe just maybe keep the trail dirt away from the the pad and the quilt.

Carved from maple and painted with hobby paints. A couple of coats poly finish it off. 

Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont (my gear) X-MID 2 tent

July 2022

Time to make: 2 hours

Finishing: 1 hour

Original design:  Bill Macfarlane

Days till Philmont 2022Countdown

 

Five days before we leave and my equipment slide for today is the treking pole tent I'll be in, the X-Mid 2 from Dan Durston. One of the best parts of this tent is you set up the outside shell first which is great if it is raining. The footprint is put down next which in my case was made from a sheet of Tyvek which I put through a soften process. The main part of the tent is then set up inside the shell. Best of all, the tent is only 2.5 pounds!

Carved from a piece of maple, the hardest part of carving this slide was trying to get the angles correct of the tent. I painted it with hobby paints and sealed it with a couple coats of poly.