“He who kills with one leap…”

A well-known company in the theme park and display business, Monster City Studios (MCS) of Fresno, California, has been in business for over 15 years and produces high quality advertisement displays. Using Precision Board Plus, MCS has begun a new project that took Coastal Enterprises by surprise.

A geometric Jaguar is quite the odd concept, yet MCS has been able to give a realistic touch to this piece. Routed out of PBLT-30 for durability, this Jaguar head weighs almost 100 pounds! From the tip of the nose to the back of the head measures 19 inches, the base of the head to the top is 21 inches, and the width is 16 inches. Following up with great hand-detailing, it’s no wonder it will be one of the main displays for a new mall being built in Arizona. With a coat of resin and paint, the Precision Board will be brought to life!

Fresh off the Frog 3D CNC

Cleaned up with hand detailing

The finished design waiting to be coated and painted.

Pictures don’t due justice for the true enormity of this piece. From head to tail, the replica is 8 feet long and the rock base it is sitting on is 16 feet long. The word ‘impressive’ comes to mind, but so does ‘intimidating’ as the power of this animal is captured really well. Here are a few more pictures and a video of the product in process.

Click here to watch the jaguar’s legs being machined

The Jaguar’s paws

The legs and feet being attached

The structural support for mounting the Jaguar

The rock that the Jaguar will be mounted on

The piece is to be placed in a new mall being built in Arizona and rightfully so for one of the jaguar’s natural habitats.

A sketch of the finished product.

Monster City Studios has been a fan of Precision Board Plus for over 3 years now and will continue to represent the product to it’s fullest.

SAMPE High Desert – 2015

Coastal Enterprises will be exhibiting at the SAMPE High Desert – One Day Symposium. The event will be held at the Antelope Valley Fairground’s Hunter Pavilion, September 30, 2015. Registration Opens at 8:30AM and the keynote speaker begins at 9AM. Admission is complementary, though an RSVP is requested.

See us at Booth #20!

Join us at SAMPE to find out why the biggest names in the industry are using Precision Board Plus for their polyurethane tooling board needs.

Cutting PBLT-20

Milling PBLT-60

Mandrel PBLT-15

Step Tool PBLT-40

E530 Scorpion N53ITA

PBHT-40 was used as a composite layup tool for the E530 Scorpion N53ITA

We hope to see you there!

Letterheads: Keepers of the Craft – 40th Anniversary

For generations, men and woman designed, carved, lettered and painted signs by hand. In today’s world, machinery is taking the lead in signage with its ability to mass produce or “set it and forget it”, but what about the flowing subtleties and unique touches that lead to a top-notch sign? Letterheads ‘Keepers of the Craft’ are all about keeping traditions alive and Coastal is proud to be a part of the 40^th anniversary.

This special 40^th anniversary will be held, appropriately, at the American Sign Museum in a few weeks on September 24^th through the 27^th. This four-day event will offer two days of formal workshops – aka, Letterhead University, and two days of informal sessions such as panel jams, murals, impromptu demonstrations, and more. The workshops offer a range of topics with an emphasis on traditional techniques and design.

Coastal Enterprises has sponsored the Letterhead Meets, with Precision Board HDU, since the early 90s, and still to this day, we are very honored to be part of it. Kellie Miller will be in attendance for all 4 days of Letterhead40, and besides having a table, she will be available at the workshop offered by Noella Cotnam and Shane Durnford, “Letter carving and Then Some”. She’ll be there to help with any and all questions regarding HDU and finishing products (Primers, adhesives, texture coatings, etc.). This is a 2-day class offered on the 24^th and 25^th among the 28+ classes available, but time is of the essence as these classes fill up quickly.

If you don’t have time for the workshops, stop by Coastals table for free samples and demonstrations.

Online Registration ends on September 10^th so be sure to register ASAP!

Letterhead40 Registration

Noella Cotnam, 2009. Don’t forget to sign up for her carving class co-taught with Shane Durnford.

Cam Bortz – Callander, Scotland, 2006

Stewart McLaren, Brenda Daley, Mike Meyer – Winter Muster, 2004

Mozeppa Muster, 1999

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Terry Colley – Callander, Scotland, 2006

Bring a piece from a past letterhead meet to share with others and place on the 48ft display shelf!

Check out their website, www.letterhead40.com, or look for them on Facebook! You’ll find more details about the meet and see more pictures that will give you an even greater appreciation for the craft. Hope to see you there!

Adding a little character to a sign

When working on larger projects it’s the little details that really make the difference for both the client and for us! Our current project is no different. We are creating a “themed” environment for the Fox Island Creamery & Café in Hewitt, NJ. We’ve created a nice little storyline and have developed some characters which should make the experience fun for both the kids and parents.

This sign is for a little beaver character that we created and his boat company. The Chubby Beaver Boat Building Co.

We started with a rough sketch, now I knew we would need a boat, a beaver and the back of the sign. So we started there.

Peter worked directly in Enroute Pro to create the shape and used some fun font styles for the carvings. We carved the sign out of 15# Precision Board HDU on our MultiCam 3000 CNC. Once the CNC was done with it’s job Peter hand carved the edges for the “beaver got to it” texture.

We sealed the foam with Aqua Resin, then primed and spray painted our base coat.

Using latex paint we painted two coats of a darker glaze to get a nice aged look on the wood.

Now are sign back is complete and its time to move on to our beaver!

I’ll carve the basics out of 15# Precison Board so I used Mudbox 3D Software to create the body and facial structure of the beaver. Once carved I used Magic Sculpt for the details.

Hmm, I think my little guy could use some glasses. I’ll use the 3D printer for this little detail. I printed 2 pairs different sizes, the larger ones look best.

We most definitely need a boat for this sign. This is a perfect task for our 3D Printer as well. I found a basic 3D boat online – downloaded the file and sized it perfectly to fit our beaver. 4 hours later we had our 3D printed boat. I love technology!

A few more details and paint and we are all done – Can’t wait to hang it!

Published with permission from KDF Custom Graphics. Source.

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na… Batman! With West Coast Customs

“I am the reason criminals breathe easier when the sun rises.” – Batman.

A powerful statement from Batman, Arkham Knight is the only appropriate way to introduce this beyond impressive piece of work from West Coast Customs. Made from Precision Board Plus, these artists were able to create a life size Batmobile that is currently traveling around the world on display.

Using PBLT-10, West Coast Customs machined this 15ft wide, 23.5ft long, and 9ft tall Batmobile that was first displayed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, 2014. While stunning to the average viewer, it is even more impressive knowing the intricate detail that went into this piece. With the Batmobile currently on show in Germany, this piece will “ahh” the public for many years to come.

Here are some of the process pictures that give you an insight of the artistry involved in making West Coast Custom’s Batmobile.