Neon Tikis?

I've been told by people who see me with the odd Tiki book, that a show named "Surreal Life" has a tiki bar in the house.

I've googled it and worded things all sorts of ways, but found no photos of it.

Does anybody know of a photo of this fabled Neon Tiki...and would this sort of thing...neon in home bars be something people like?

If I could source inexpencive neon, would this intrest any TCers?

I don't have a pic of said tiki, but I did catch a glimps of the bar you're talking about.

It's not a tiki bar by any stretch of the imagination. The walls were all flat-black, and everything else was chrome. There was a neon tiki on one wall. It was all extremely modern looking.

The tiki itself might look good in a home bar. People here are usually interested in anything tiki.

When I saw this thread I thought they meant using neon to light a Tiki. Has anyone tried a carved wooden tiki outlined in neon? Red or orange would be interesting mood lighting, white would be clean & throw sharper shadows. I'd say use blue or purple sparingly unless in light shades, almost white.

Here's some pictures from "Big Trouble in Little China" showing how it might look:

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2004-09-08 20:36 ]

Backlighting with neon (no exposed tubes) can make wall hangings seem to float, and mixes well with other lighting. There are really amazing colors of glass you can mix with the gasses to get unique colors, too.

There's a great (exposed) neon color you can achieve by filling cobalt blue glass with red neon gas. It's a glowing magenta with a blue to purple outline that makes your eyes water. You have to see it in person to get the whole effect. Hypnotic.

WHEW!! I thought you where bringing this up again: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4242&forum=1

http://www.neontikitribe.com

AND why is his mouth open in every picture?! It's kreepy... KREEPY I SAY!!!!

I've seen some really nice effects by just painting the neon tubes with primer, so the illumination is less harsh.

What I mean tho...is would neon be the kind of thing people with home tiki bars like?

For me it's all about what works in our particular tiki bar. We have one of those plasma Moai heads, which works great with our stuff. We also have a neon palm tree in our front window, which, along with a neon cocktail glass in another window makes our house look like a bar at night. Most of the rest of our stuff is either very retro or vintage--more in a classic, 1960s vein. However, I would be open to neon that worked well with the stuff we have.

Aloha, all...Yes, I've seen the Surreal Life episode with the neon tiki...I think the tiki is awesome...must be 4 or five feet high by 3 feet wide...pretty detailed for a neon creation...I see many tiki mugs, although these are mostly generic...but the rest of the bar is pretty modern....but, damn, I would love to have this tiki or at least know what company or person made this...

Here's the logo-tiki from the Purple Orchid in El Segundo, CA. The mugs are also designed from this tiki.

Sabu

Wow, Sabu, that's a great shot, Thanks...

Some friends of mine were (and are) debating the Neon Tiki thing...if it's hard core, or fru-fru.

(Sounds like some Civil War reinactors one-upping each other)

What is your feeling about such things as this? I think it's quite fetching.

I love neon. I thing it's a great mood enhancer. It creates just the perfect amount of lighting just by itself. I don't know much about it, but I sure like it. I would love a big old neon tiki if it was reasonably priced. Keep me informed.

While neon may not be old world, it definitely has a place in the vicinity of any bar worth sitting at. At home or roadside. Neon behind the dark bar, beckons us to pull out a stool.
Neon is truly imbedded in Americana coctail culture. Without booze, there is no reason for neon to exist. Try to find neon in a muslim country.

There.....I said it. And I feel better for it.