Author Topic: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament  (Read 3021 times)

Sjalabais

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Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« on: March 10, 2016, 03:46:09 AM »
I have two kids and my 5yo girl gets irritated by her 3yo brother following her everywhere. So I decided to build a heightened "play area" for her that he can't reach yet. To keep her from falling off it, I asked what she wanted and drew up a couple of options to choose from. All my daughter, she made me proud by choosing a vintage Volvo wagon ("Three windows means I can have myself and two friends look out of it!").

This is now done, and even though it looks very cartoonish and my woodworking skills are...eh...below-average, I'm really happy with it and the kids love showing it off. The build process has been a great lesson for them, seeing how things take time (Dick Proennecke's constant "you can't rush it" comes to mind). They also appreciate every single nook that they have been watching over being made, or even tried their hands on. With it all comes an appreciation of home-made art: The leftover wood has been transformed to puppets and cats and whatnot by everyone in the family.

Since I have the measurements, a quite cumbersome process, and want to share it almost as much as I need to earn money at every turn - yes, mustache's in place - I hope I can allow myself to offer up this "jigsaw pattern". PM me and paypal 10$, so I'll send the pattern with snailmail from Norway, postage included.

Measurements are in millimeter. Here are some photos of the result and the build process:
http://m.finn.no/bap/forsale/ad.html?finnkode=72377039

Scandium

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2016, 07:05:56 AM »
Cool!
Is the bed just hung on the wall at the far (right) side? Surprised that's strong enough.

Those metal reinforcements look like they could be a bit sharp and dangerous for kids playing there. Could you cover them, round them off, or perhaps there is some other way to reinforce it?

Sjalabais

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2016, 03:19:08 PM »
Thanks!
The whole plate weighs a fair bit. Have a look at this picture:

It's sort of anchored there, with considerable press to the wall on the right. Very precise cutting necessary. That alone gave it a lot of stability, but I also put some screws in it from the back and there's wood glue along the complete contact area behind the car. Incredibly sturdy! The metall bits were grinded off before I put them on, so there's no danger there. :) I'm not sure if I needed them, but my kids are so small, they're still inconsiderably brutal.

calimom

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2016, 05:01:19 PM »
This is very cool! Your daughter has a creative mind and it's great you were able to help her achieve her vision. I have a newer Volvo wagon, but the mid 1980s body style is the best, I think.

Primm

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2016, 05:38:19 PM »
That is absolutely brilliant! I particularly love that you've raised a 5 year old girl whose preference for a play area is a Volvo (or any car really) over a Disney princess castle.

Parenting. You're definitely doing it right. :)

Sjalabais

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2016, 08:52:00 AM »
Thanks again for all the support! :) My daughter's best friend has a sort of princess castle and she did some really hard thinking about whether she wants the same or something different. The kids also had to agree somehow - a good exercise.

I've owned a '71 145 (my best car ever), a '77 242 and a '93 245. All of them lovely cars, but it's true that material choices were better in the older cars - especially when it comes to the interior. Solid aluminium switched with brittle plastics etc.

Macrolide

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2016, 12:45:57 PM »
This is awesome! The cartoonishness makes it even better.

seathink

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2016, 07:10:46 PM »
Found this searching the forum! You, sir, are my hero!! Takes me back to my college car. :)

Sjalabais

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Re: Kid's art - a 1985 Volvo 240 bed ornament
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2016, 03:08:40 AM »
Thanks a lot! :) I've sold four 'recipes' here in Norway, still waiting for them to send me pictures. A joyful work task this one.

 

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