Post #398407 by kountzyro on Sat, Aug 2, 2008 11:33 AM

Hi Greentikipat,

You might try using re-bar, pencil rod, stucco lathe and a spool of wire, to build an armature structure for your exterior tiki fountain. If the structure is not too large or complex you could get by without welding the armature just by tying the bent re-bar and pencil rod together with a thick enough gauge of wire in the right spots. You then cut peices of the lathe to form the surface areas connecting wire frame outline. The next step is to trowel on layers of cement. The hardened cement will ultimately give the structure its stability in the long run, as long as its not supporting too much weight. This would be the cheapest method for making a decent exterior tiki, and the way I myself would attempt going about it.

When I think of concrete tikis in your area I immediately recall the giant moai at Polynesian Putter ("Home Of The Tiki")! I lived in St. Pete for a while in the late '80's, before moving to Ybor City. I have very fond memories of Tiki Gardens, and all the great thrift stores and flea markets, especially the Sunshine Drive In at six a.m. on Wednesdays!!

Here's an update on the finished look of my latest Moai inspired piece:

This is how the figure looks with its under-painting. As I described previously, it is a deep brown base coat with three dry bushed layers of consecutively lighter valued, tinted raw umber. I then applied colored washes for variations in hue and to delineate shadows. Everything was finally pushed back with multiple white washes to give the overall grey stone appearance.

Skeptical during our lunch outing, my girlfriend Nicole is non-plussed at this time about having yet another Tiki moving into our living room, but it is a spacious tiki-themed loft, so there is little she can effectively object to in the long run...

[ Edited by: kountzyro 2008-08-02 14:31 ]