Pegasus columns for Xanadu..........help please!!

[draco17315]

Hello, we are doing Xanadu and we have to make the set a traveling set. I have everything covered except the pegasus and the columns.

** The Pegasus problem is the form of the horse. In the broadway version, it is very styalized, art deco if you will and that is the look we are going for. generally I would use foam and carv it then paint it with that foam paint that makes it hard...one problem...foam that large is around $600 - $700.00 for one block. I checked at the hardware store as well and thought about using 2" pieces and glueing them together and then carving but they are $32.00 a piece so I am still at the $300- $400.00 range. Any ideas would be great.
** Then the columns problem. They are tapered as they rise and have the concave wave I guess you could call it with the obvious disections that run horozontaly every 4 feet or so (this will make it easy to build in sections since you are supposed to see the disections), but I can't figure out a cost friendly way to make the ridges that go around the columns. We were thinking about using large cardboard concrete forms for the column itself. I am open for any suggestions (as long as they are sturdy and safe)........oh and did I mention we are on a tight budget?

 

[venuetech]

Bird's Mouth Spars revisited

make the column up as a "Bird's Mouth Spar"
Use the 2" foam and glue together clamp with strapping tape
The taper is easily done. just add a taper to the L factor
be sure to check that the whole thing is straight and true as the glue dries as it is easy to end up with a bow

in therory you could cap the ends and then create a lathe to slowly spin the contraption

8- 2"x4" foam pieces would give you a column 10" inches outside diameter.

you could stagger the joints and have a 16' column.

 

[Footer]

It does not have to be solid foam, in fact it should not even be close to solid foam. Build the structure of the horse, cover it with foam glued with "green glue", carve, foam coat, paint. You said it needs to travel... like... in a truck? Either way, if you can pull this off for under 400 bucks I will be amazed. Foam is not cheap and neither is the glue to hold it together correctly.

Also, read this thread:http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/scenery-props-rigging/13955-who-says-only-god-can-make-tree.html

 

[Van]

Hmm. Those foam prices seem a bit high to me. Be sure to check with a local Insulation contractor sulppy place. A 3x3x8 block of bead foam should'nt be more than a couple hundred dollars. Check a Masonry supply place as well. they might have a better price on the extruded Polyethaline sheeting. Fluted columns are a total Pain. I curse the Romans every time I get a design across my desk that calls for fluted coluns.
one, cheesy, way to acomplish the flutes is to wrap a tube with corrugated plastic sheeting. On a tapered fluted column this is going to have the issue of looking weird from the US side but if you're on a Proscenium Stage that shouldn't be a problem. Another way is to prurchase a foam column from an architectual foam company then using a routers and a pretty specialized Jig do the flutes yourself. Out here we have a company NW Foam Products that I use quite often for columns, and architectual mouldings. Oh, and BTW the individual sections of a column are refered to as 'Barrels' The long lines running vertically are Flutes, and the seams are just seams. The Bottom is a base and the top is a capital, of which there are 3 major types, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

 

[scenerymaker]

I carved flutes in sheets of 1" extruded foam with a 1" core box bit (a round nose) in a router to make the fluting, then glued them to piece of 12" dia. Sonotube to make 8 foot tall columns. Fortunately, theyit did not need to be tapered, making the fluting easy to carve.

Covering them with Flexcoat gave them a weathered stone look and some bump protection.

 

[kicknargel]

For low material and cost and high labor time, you might make the horse out of paper mache. Build a frame of plywood ribs, cover with chicken wire and skin with paper (or muslin) and white glue. I've broken into a cold sweat just thinking about it, but it is cheap.

 

[draco17315]

Thanks all for the help, I will give some of these ideas a try and thanks Van for the information, I love learning new things, especially since I am self taught and have had no actual theatre training My degree is in graphic design....helps with some stuff, but I can always learn more.

 

[beastprin1]

If you know of any theatre companies that have a carousel horse, try that. A production of Xanadu I saw used a carousel horse on a 3x5 platform on wheels covered in fabric stuffing...They added polyfoam wings to the horse, and some fog.....