Queen Mab's Wild Ride

 I saw Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet movie when I was 11. 55 years later I still remember the line, "Drawn with a team of little atomies," from Mercutio's description of Queen Mab and her carriage. This project is loosely based on that speech. Six deceased rhinocerous beetles, turkey bones, mylar sheet, ball-bearing. Model airplane mechanic figure plays Mab, the midwife of fairies and dreams. 

MERCUTIO: ... I see Queen Mab hath been with you.

She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes

In shape no bigger than an agate stone

On the forefinger of an alderman,

Drawn with a team of little atomies

Over men's noses as they lie asleep;

Her wagon spokes made of long spinners' legs,

The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers;

Her traces, of the smallest spider web;

Her collars, of the moonshine's wat'ry beams;

Her whip, of cricket's bone; the lash, of film;

Her wagoner, a small grey-coated gnat,

Not half so big as a round little worm

Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid;

Her chariot is an empty hazelnut,

Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,

Time out o' mind the fairies' coachmakers.

And in this state she gallops night by night

Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love...

καλλιόπη

This multi-colored jumble of 'helium' balloons looked to both Janet and me as something that should be in a circus, hence the name Calliope. Left-over styrofoam balls from other projects, burned-out blow-dryer motors, a toilet tank float, two turkey breastbones, zipties, string, friendly pilot.

 

Scapular Ornithopter

This little flyer was dubbed Scapular Ornithopter by a commenter on social media. "Scapular" because the assorted winglets look like shoulder blades; and "ornithopter" because the wings look like they might flap like a bird's. BTW, 'ornithopter' comes from the Greek words for 'bird' and 'wing.'

The hemispherical main body comes from a broken blow dryer. The rest is made from typical materials: turkey bones, bamboo skewers, mylar sheets. The motor is from an old 1/35 scale tank model, with some additions. Some curvy wooden bits are leftovers from an old wooden ship kit, The shape of the control surfaces is taken from the wing of a Spitfire, with the wing-root rounded off.

Tractor-trailer

Symbiotic combo of a self-propelled cargo module, and a pilot to which it is easily attached and detached. That is, the front element is a sentient creature, and the back is a machine. 

 

Tempus Fugit

Monogram's 1/24 1991 kit of Michael Waltrip's Nascar Pontiac Grand Prix. I bought it long ago as a twinpack, which included Dale Earnhardt's Chevy. The Chevy turned out fine, but I didn't enjoy all the decaling. So the Pontiac sat for 30-plus years. About a week ago I decided to skip all the still-pristine decals and hand-finish something old and anonymous. Craftstore acrylics, dry pastels, and black electrical tape window trim. Homemade stencil numbers outlined with a Sharpie.

Ground Transport

Another cranberry-juice plastic jug project. For a couple of years now I've been accumulating short and stout humerus bones from turkeys, but haven't had much use for them. Nice to see how much they contribute to this strong and sturdy theme.

Orbital Gleaner

Kitchen cleaner bottle, Port wine stoppers, ping-pong ball, leaky faucet cartridge, electrical tape, gypsum-board anchors, alligator clips, blowdryer grille, wire cap, turkey bones; and unused bits from a 1/35 Panther kit. I anticipate that this vessel orbits Earth in the space junk field, culling out the more dangerous and/or valuable bits. Royal Thai Air Force elephant insignia seem appropriate.