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| Cal Poly Rose Float | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 29 2011, 03:13 AM (366 Views) | |
| Brig Member PierceMe | Oct 19 2011, 09:44 PM Post #26 |
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Just to keep this updated: Major work is being done on the float. At this point we basically have just 2 months left to get everything done. It is officially OH SHIT time. We have all our major components designed and are working on building them. This Saturday SLO is bringing their half of the float down, and we will connect them. After that, everything is getting put on, and the float will start looking more like it should. |
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| Brig Member PierceMe | Oct 30 2011, 02:35 AM Post #27 |
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So we got the first bride pylon on the float today, and we did it without a forklift. In case you don't know, the pylon is 13 feet tall, rests 2'8'' off the ground, and is made of 4 inch by 4 inch steel box tube. It weighs so much that we need 6 people to pick it up (roughly 300 pounds). Yea, and we did it without a forklift. And when we were done, we looked at the float and someone said, "you must construct additional pylons" |
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| Brig Member PierceMe | Dec 26 2011, 03:02 AM Post #28 |
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It's been an amazing few months, sorry I haven't updated this sooner (for those of you who have been following my story closely). Over the past 2 months, the float has gone from bare bones to almost completed. It took a lot of time and dedication from our volunteers, but we are almost parade ready. First and foremost, there have been a few slight changes. Stretchy guy is no longer going off the float, he is instead moving 6 feet along the very front section of the truss. The train will no longer be going the entire length of the bridge, it will still move along about 25 feet though. The station in the back has been changed to a tunnel. All this was due to some problems in powering the train and getting it to work properly. Have no fear, the overall effect is pretty much the same. Starting on the 10th of december, I have been working 12-14 hour days on the float, until the 19th, which is when we moved it to pasadena, a 6 hour trip. I finally got home at 5 AM tuesday morning. The next day we had to go out and fix some things that we had broken during move down, and then the past 4 days have been my entire winter break. Tomorrow I will be going back to pasadena to start putting flowers on the float. That process will take the entire week, and judging will be on january 1st. The second is the parade day, when all our work will have its 30 seconds of glorious TV fame. This year, as already stated, the parade is on the second. Our float will be the third float, but will be the 6th entry in the lineup, after the marine color guard and marching band. I hope you find it enjoyable to watch. Also, I would like to remind you to vote for our float for the viewer's choice award. I have heard a very unofficial rumor that it won't be offered this year, but in case it is, please vote for us. We have won the award for the past 3 years and would like to keep it. |
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| Brig Member PierceMe | Jan 3 2012, 04:46 AM Post #29 |
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It's done, the parade is over. It's been a long year, but one I fully enjoyed. Now that I have some time, I can post a few pictures of what this thing looked like while it was being built.![]() This is the float during our first inspection in November. The blue is the frame, we reuse it every year. This is taken from the front, you see the bridge, tree, and buildings in the back. The crew of 4 sits in the seats, with the spotter on the front, right under the tree. The other three sit in the frame in front of the buildings. ![]() This is the back half of the float. You can see the mechanics of strong guy, who is a mere skeleton, as well as the substructure of the buildings. ![]() This is the float after we have foamed the pod. It has more definition, and the yellow foam is what we put the live flowers in for parade day. The holes are for the driver and spotter to look out of, and you can see the crew hatch open on the right side. ![]() This is the skeleton for flying girl ![]() This is the shaping process. We use 1/4 inch diameter steel rod to give the skeleton shape. Here you can see a foot and part of the legs. ![]() Here is an almost completely shaped super hero. ![]() We then apply window screen to give our deco something to stick to. ![]() The final, undecoed flying girl. ![]() Meanwhile, the float has gotten a lot of work done on it, with the bridge pylons being shaped and the tree is completely done. ![]() Our second inspection, with all construction done. At this time, all the animation works and all that is left is painting and deco-ing. ![]() And on parade day |
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| Brig Member PierceMe | Apr 4 2012, 05:41 PM Post #30 |
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Just going to keep this up to date for future reference. We have been working hard on this year's float, and in the last months have had a successful concept contest and design meeting. We have stripped the frame down again and are working on cleaning up the lab and restocking supplies. This year I am not on Committee, but I do know most of them and get "insider" information. So I knew what the design was before it was official, and now that it is I can write it in here. The parade theme for the year is "The places you'll go" and our float depicts a bunch of penguins being taught how to fly be other birds, with various methods and degrees of success. The main body of the float will be a Penguin with wings and some sort of thrust (rocket, propeller, etc) at the top of a ski ramp, preparing for takeoff. Around the sides will be other penguins with balloons, wings, and many other flight methods. All the details are not firm yet, as we have not had our DDC meeting, which is where we plan out animations and exact positions. Overall, I think the float sounds good, but I have suggested that the main penguin be launched already and flying with a smoke trail behind them (very similar to a float done by my hometown Burbank in 2010, with a bi-plane flying through a barn, pic posted when I have more time). This would allow us to animate it much better, adding more movement and excitement to our float. The main design also stays the same, just without the eyesore of the huge ramp. |
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3:53 AM Jul 11