Introduction
Last year, a number of members of my theme camp decided that this year we needed to bring an art car to Transformus. We have been coming to Transformus for several years and it is time to contribute at a deeper level. I really wanted a trailer to take our Audio Assault national (within the nation of Mysteria, that is). One of my super highlights of last year was listening to one of our campmates on the piano. I thought it would be nice to spread her music around a bit, maybe listen to her playing to the dying embers of the effigy burn as the sun rises. This idea of a sound trailer stuck in my mind, being able to spread sonic art around in the form of our diverse DJs, spoken word, and chiller music.
The Vision
Looking at options, with the economy the way it is, purchasing seemed out of the question. So, my plans became simple: thinking of something artsy involving a theme and lots of person-hour enhanceable options - without too much monetary investment. I started to look around and think, what do we already have? I realized my purple '69 VW Beetle was just about a pre-made art car! We could take off the doors (they are attached with four Phillips head bolts on each side) and it would do just fine. Although, I wouldn't do it on the highway, it could pull a small trailer at slow speeds. I started thinking, if we have a trailer, another fantasy of mine was to have a stripper's pole for peeps to dance upon. And, with my father's technical seal of approval for structural integrity (he has worked on VW's since before I was conceived), I realized the pole should be on a round platform roof rack mounted on my Beetle. Then I thought, it would be amazing to have wings coming out from the beetle, to give it kind of inverted, winged zeppelin look.
The Plans
Here are my plans broken down into stages, including a parts list. A lack of an art grant will not stop this project in its tracks, though an art grant would enable it to be far more kick-ass, far sooner. Before we get too technical, I want to: address a few concerns and questions; then go over a list people currently involved (I am assuming the names will be redacted before it reaches the judges); then a project list of different stages and possible additions, depending on time; and finally a rough budget.
Stage One - Roof-rack and Pole
This would be rather basic: removing the doors (this can happen later); building a small, round wooden circle, mounting it to the beetle (I already have the roof rack mounts); and attaching a stripper's pole to it (this is easier than you may think). I am pretty sure we can do this in a weekend, probably the majority of it in just one intense day. Discussing this with my father, we agreed that it should be able to hold two people my size (250 pounds), and should not hurt the roof or tip my beetle over. We will strongly enforce a policy of only having one small person at a time dancing on it, but it is imperative to build it safe, for when people do stupid shit. PARTS:
- 1/2 inch plywood
- 2/4s for frame and diagonal
- Steel tubing stripper's pole
- Stripper's pole mount
- Bolts, screws, etc
Stage Two - The Sound Trailer
This will be a small eight foot by six foot trailer with a work bench down the right side (looking from the back) for a mixer or keyboard. Under the bench there will be room for the generator, the sub woofer and possibly a propane tank. On the front and back of the trailer there will be a frame going up and over the area with mounting for a tarp to make a sun shade or roof in case of inclement weather. This will be a cotton tarp so it is non-flammable. Technical Enhancements:
- On each end of the bench there will be a short steel pole (mounted on the bench) coming up for speakers.
- Some kind of shade structure going over the trailer to protect the people and equipment. If we get a projector, this will be on a 70 degree angle behind the DJ, with a projector mounted under the table projecting up at it.
- The bench - one thought is to make the bench out of three pieces of metal chain link fence tubing covered in pipe insulation. This will make it easy to tie down DJ deck and sound boards and what have you, give the electronics some padding, and not have any place to put drinks or other spill-able liquids.
- Propane torches (two), mounted on each side of the bench, aimed out high over the audience. Both torches would be run off of one tank, under the bench, with a splitter. Each torch would have a propane soldering torch pilot light. They would be turned on and off by the DJ turning the tank on and off. There would also be a fire extinguisher on the back of the trailer (as well as one in the Beetle - it already lives there).
- A four foot Reuben's Tube in front of the DJ equipment. This would be a small low powered one, with a few inch high flames and a metal screen in front of it and behind it to protect it from the audience.
- A swing down trailer crank. If you put two adjustable jack stands under the back of the trailer, then when you crank the front stand down, it makes a very sturdy platform without a vehicle.
- Mounting a trailer hitch on my beetle will be a bit of a task, and will likely require a professional wielder to enhance and strengthen the bumper mounting points on my beetle.
Stage Three - The Wings
I started thinking about possibilities of the tube of the strippers pole, running up from the roof rack, and what I could do with it, and I got excited. There are all sorts of possibilities of things one could run up there: electronics, propane torches, metal cabling. At first, I thought of a disco ball (and that's still not a bad idea) but then I had a moment of reckoning. I had the idea of rigging going out to wings (mounted just under the roof rack, two or three on each side) the could make it into a Steampunk vehicle of sorts, flapping its way around with a dancer on the main "mast" and tunes blaring out from a Steampunk trailer.
We want wings attached to the platform that can flap. This might look a little like the small wings on the HMS Ophelia. There are a number of options we have been considering and it might just be a matter of building a few prototypes and seeing what we like the best. Currently, we are looking at four wings, mounted to a control tube on each side, with a motor in the middle that operates them. Don't worry, we have though of all sorts of ideas on how to make this work, now our biggest problem is just to sort them out and figure out which one would be the best.
The wings themselves will be cotton approximately 4 - 8 feet long and 1 - 2 feet wide. The front side will be cut at an arc running to the back, with a sleeve for a PVC rib. The back side will have a few darts in it, to make the whole wing curve even more. The PVC, being bent, should hold the wing taught.
Stage Four - Or if you have lots of time, money and a needling desire to fulfill all my fantasies
- EL wire the rigging or in some other way make the wings glow
- Projector - that could shoot up from the bench to the overhead awning
- Brass finish all of the trim on the beetle
- Wooden bumpers, to make them look more old fashioned
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