notmick
3485
10
2
After my last big project (http://imgur.com/a/pldRl), I set out to make a even bigger works. I present to you: The Metal Tarpon
If you don't know what a tarpon is, it's a huge fish and very fun to catch. One of the most distinctive features is the upper lip that comes out when its mouth opens.
The first step was to create a foam model for what I was going to make. A simple sketch on some foam was slowly shaped into the model that would become the template for my entire project.
Eventually, I got hat looks like a head.
Once I had the final shape of the body, I could now map out all the parts I would need to make this fish.
I ended up using around 300 scales for this project. A big shout out to the Georgia Tech. Invention studio for letting me cut out all of the scales with a water jet. If I had to cut each one out by hand, I probably wouldn't have taken on this project.
The frame for the fish was made out of 1/4 inch round stock steel. Simple to put together with a few spot welds and some bending.
Before I could add any scales. I need the tail fin to be attached. The scales would be used to cover the weld lines for a seamless assembly. I made the fin using a small metal frame enclosed in thicker sheet metal.
A rough sketch of the fin made out of sheet metal was welded on and hammered around the frame to give the appearance of bones inside the fin. This would be used for the other fins later on.
Here you can see the first set of scales being added. You can also note the ribbing on the tail.
Each row of scales required another set of ribs as attachment points.
Once the tail began to take shape, I attached the rest of the ribbing to make sure that the body would have a smooth and consistent shape. Each successive row of scales hid the welds from the previous to give the look of a true fish body.
The inside looks pretty neat too!
After about 300 scales, the body was complete.
Probably the biggest happy mistake I had was making the body much larger that the foam body I had made earlier. No problem though. I just made a new head and kept on going.
Next was the head. I used a plasma cutter and angle grinding to get the shape of plates that would make up the head. Each successive row of plates would make up the face as well as give the appearance of gills towards the rear.
After building the frame for the head. I began to attach each set of plating until the head looked like an actual head.
Heres my first fit test of the head on the body. The fins needed to be downsized a little and the scales still had garnet on them from the water jet. The fish was almost done though!
The Georgia summer probably wasn't the best time to be outside. A little surface cleaning and the fish was nice and shiny.
The final touch was the eyes. I think the colored glass I found matched pretty well with the ocean water you'd find these monster fish in.
I put about 200 hours into making this fish. Much of the steel used on the outside has a zinc (I think) coating. Once it starts to rust, the tarpon will get a lot of color. The final size came out to be around 5 ft. and about 60 lbs.
I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/550727666/metal-tarpon?utm_medium=SellerListingTools&utm_campaign=Share&utm_source=Raw&share_time=1508162473000&utm_term=so.slt