# Circus Calliope Under Construction



## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

That is wicked awesome! I love the whole idea, but the fog/bubbles really makes it fun! Can't wait to see the finished piece.


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## ghostlland820 (Jan 11, 2014)

Thanks, FG. I had used the bubble machine with a crashed flying saucer display, and the kids loved chasing the bubbles around the yard.


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## J-Man (Feb 1, 2011)

That's really cool, nicely done! It's amazing how well the fog pushes thru the small tubing.


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## ghostlland820 (Jan 11, 2014)

Thanks, J-Man. I'd like to say I calculated airflow and pipe diameters and such, but I just hooked everything together and got lucky. I need to add a chiller to help the fog drop.


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## stick (Apr 2, 2009)

You did a great job putting that together. Like said before looking forward to see the finished piece.


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## ghostlland820 (Jan 11, 2014)

Thanks, Stick. Not sure yet how to circus-ize it.


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## 66539 (Feb 20, 2016)

ghostlland820 said:


> Thanks, J-Man. I'd like to say I calculated airflow and pipe diameters and such, but I just hooked everything together and got lucky. I need to add a chiller to help the fog drop.


I don't think you really need the chiller to help the fog drop. If you watch a real steam powered calliope the steam actually behaves much the way your fogger works without the chilling. 



 . Mind you, don't go playing that music or you'll lose all the kids. Calliope music is kind of awful when it's actually a real calliope.  If anything, a fan to help blow everything up and out even better seems in order. But dang... that's a fun prop for the TOTs.


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## ghostlland820 (Jan 11, 2014)

I've blinged up the calliope, so it's pretty much done. Will probably change the color of the wheel rims to make them stand out more.


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## 66539 (Feb 20, 2016)

While it won't really affect how great the calliope looks at night, a spaying of the pipes with silver will make them look more like pipes and less like PVC during the day. But for a guy who was worried about his artistic skills, you did yourself proud. That's a great prop.


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## ghostlland820 (Jan 11, 2014)

chubstuff said:


> While it won't really affect how great the calliope looks at night, a spaying of the pipes with silver will make them look more like pipes and less like PVC during the day. But for a guy who was worried about his artistic skills, you did yourself proud. That's a great prop.


Thanks, Chubstuff. I went with the white because I'll have colored lights playing off them at night.


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## 66539 (Feb 20, 2016)

ghostlland820 said:


> Thanks, Chubstuff. I went with the white because I'll have colored lights playing off them at night.


I watched your video and the lighting display. The nice thing about silver paint is that lighting should look great even with painted pipes. Silver is actually just a reflective gray. It's not that much different than white when it comes to providing a good lighting surface. Try taking a piece of leftover pipe and spraying it. Put it up alongside your regular pipes and turn the lights on. If you look at it and think, meh... leave the pipes as they are. But if you look at it and don't really see a substantial difference... painting the pipes will add a level of realism to your prop during the day as well.


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