Some months ago I was approached by a client who asked if I could make an aeroplane sculpture in Stainless Steel, an Airbus A330 to be exact.
I agreed and was presented with a model of the Airbus to replicate to 1:100 scale.
When you look at an aeroplane, you see a tube for the fuselage and plate for the wings and tail fins.
But when you really look closely, the complexity of the shapes doesn’t become apparent until you try to replicate them.
I used 57mm stainless steel tube to form the fuselage which I had to shape, and contour, from cockpit to tail fin.
The wings and tail fins are made using 2mm stainless steel sheet. The wings not only taper, but curve upwards at the tips and have track covers fitted on lower edge.
The two engines were quite a challenge, each individually handmade from 7 various sizes of tube, round bar, with hand cut washers for the turbines.
This one really stretched me!
So, after many, (and I mean many), hours of head scratching, making, remaking, forming, welding, sanding and polishing – here is the result!
The spiraling base, in brushed stainless steel, is designed to give the aircraft the appearance of climbing and banking after take off.
Selection of images below taken in the workshop during the creation of the aeroplane and images of the finished sculpture and base detail.
Sculpture Dimensions – Aeroplane length 630mm – Wing Span 640mm
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