Vimy Memorial

[T.R.MacMunn]

This is part of a much larger memorial to the Canadian soldiers who fought at the battle of Vimy Ridge in WW1. It's a replica of the hat badge worn by the the 21st Battalion, the Princess of Wales Own Regiment, based out of Kingston Ontario.



This replaces a layered plywood version of the same, & is done in 15 lb Corafoam (High Density Urethane) & painted with Ronan Aquacote. Although it appears gold in the pic, it's more the colour of brass, which the hat badges were.
I was about 3 days carving this & another couple of hours painting it. It's about 26" wide & tall ... 2.75" thick.
My reference was an actual hat badge (1.75") although I did get a decent pic of the King's crown to work from.
TR

[Claude]

Beautiful work! Was it hard to find the foam? I've looked on the internet and can't find a supplier local to VA.

Claude

[T.R.MacMunn]

Thanks Claude.
The foam isn't hard to get but generally you have to buy a 4 x 8 sheet & it can be pricey. Some sign shops use it & will sell you smaller pieces.
It's available in Maryland for sure through a sign distributor there.
I don't want to put any more information on here because it may look like a plug , but you're welcome to PM me.

[Woodworm]

Very nicely done.
I do like the color that you have applied.

Ronan Aquacote I have never heard of. Is that like marine paint or is it something from a craft store?
What would one expect to pay for a piece of foam say 12 x 12 x 2 3/4 (ballpark ?)
Sorry for all the questions, but seeing your results and the time frame on your carving this product is of great interest to me.
Up to and including shipping weight.

[T.R.MacMunn]

Ronan is a sign paint company based in the Bronx. Aquacote is their waterbased metallic line.
I'll give a bit of info on HDU.
There are at least 4 manufacturers of HDU in America, & it comes in various densities. Most signs are 15lb or 18-20lb. The 20lb density stuff holds detail the best. The manufacturers are...
Signfoam (SignArts)
Precision Board (Coastal Enterprises)
Design Board (Jasper Plastics)
Corafoam (Duna)
Depending on the thickness, one could expect to pay from $150 to $650 for a 4 x 8 sheet. For 2'', it should cost you about $15/sq' . Sounds expensive, but see what it'll cost you to but a 4' x 8' panel of clear, vertical grain Redwood or even western Red Cedar.
I sell smaller pieces ( I go through about 30 sheets a year) but only in Canada. Paying customs fees again to re-export it back to the US just makes that option unfeasible. If there's a fair bit of interest, I may be able to find you a signshop who will ship smaller pieces to you. There's one I know in the Atlanta area.

[Woodworm]

Thx TR,
I will check the few local sign shops in my local area.
Wpg would be my closest for a large purchase.
I will try and get a piece about 24 x 24
That is a size that I prefer to carve, but have gone larger.
Price wise I do not think it is that much, as you say, compared to some woods like purpleheart, cherry,walnut.

My biggest problem would be, relief carvings just seem to be so much nicer when you see the flow of the woodgrain in the works.
(Perhaps thats just my personel opinion.)

[T.R.MacMunn]

Woodworm, are you in Canada? I can probably help you out if so. trmac AT frontenac.net

[Woodworm]

Woodworm, are you in Canada? I can probably help you out if so. trmac AT frontenac.net

Yes I am -- PM on the way.

Sorry for drifting from your main topic. Now I have seen a thread on the use of foam (go figure )

Have you done any other military related carvings?

[T.R.MacMunn]

Woodworm, I can't figure out how to reply to your PM. Please just e-mail me. Address is in a previous post but without the "@".
No other military carvings ....... actually I don't carve a lot & when I do it's part of a sign.
Hopefully I get more.