Smart business owners know the value of well-designed signs. They capture the customer's attention, provide the first impression and communicate the type of business. Sign Gallery 7 offers a wide ...
Sign Depot captains a 3-D spectacular.
By Peter Moir
Sign Depot’s reputation for creating unique, structural displays earned us a truly dynamic project. Owners of Niagara Falls, ON, Canada’s Captain Jack’s Mini-Putt wanted a singularly unique entry to captivate the throngs of tourists who visit the city. After several design and engineering meetings, we mutually decided a pirate display would yield the most branding buzz. It was to be equipped with a captain, his ship and a member of the pirate crew perched high above the street in a “crow’s nest.”
We used three different processes to create this theme. This process not only allowed each structure to be “unique,” it also allowed us to work on all three in different areas of the shop simultaneously.
Got a little captain?
We fabricated Captain Jack much differently than any other 3-D, in-house piece we’ve made over the past 17 years. He truly replicates a diminutive, 4-in.-tall model. Our pint-sized pirate traveled to California, where Next Engine created a 3-D scan of him. As he traveled back to Canada, the scan provider emailed the 3-D file to us for production.
The designers enlarged the scan to create a 20-in. model, which allowed us to inspect the scan’s accuracy. The result was impressive – a flawless replica of the original.
Once we’d settled on its structure and design, we dissected the pirate into several parts and cut him out of EPS foam with our 4 x 8-ft. AXYZ Automation CNC router. Then, we sprayed the components with Smooth-On’s Styrocoat®, a polyurethane-spray coating that made the foam weatherproof. To accentuate Captain Jack’s character and facial features, we liberally used Magic Sculpt, a two-part, clay epoxy that hardens in approximately three hours. The compound helped us quickly accentuate the captain to make him more visible to street-level viewers.
After Jack had finished taking shape, our finishing department made him look official. They used a limited palette of red, blue, black and flesh tones to block out key features on the coat, pants and head. Our finishers masterfully finessed shadows and highlights to create visual depth and make all elements pop.
For a final note of detail, we accented the cloak buttons, belt buckle and hook with 23k goldleaf. What’s a pirate without a little bling?
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