Railroad Figure Belt

[kayw]

I have a friend who is a "railroad nut" has a large miniature railroad set up all throughout his back yard twice a year free for the neighborhood. He and I have discussed my making him a leather pants belt with railroad figure carving. Problem is, I need to come up with a pattern rather than make my own as I am short on artistic ability in the figure carving area. The belt would be non-tapered and probably in the area of 1 1/2" wide. Where is Al Stohlman when we need him? Would appreciate any ideas or suggestions. KayW

P.S. would also like to find a RR theme'd buckle.

Edited April 28, 2012 by kayw

[Bob Blea]

Welcome KayW,

What sort of pattern are you looking for? I don't know of anyone who has made a figure carving pattern for a train themed item, though I have seen some belts with train designs on them. You could carve a profile view of the kind of trains he runs. It could even be an inverted carving, which would give a nice silhoette look and wouldn't require a great deal of artistic ability to look good. Still, finding artwork for a starting point may be tough. I have two little kids who are really into trains, and I've found that there are a lot of childrens books with images of the trains from the side, as they are heading down the track, that might adapt well to a belt. Or, you might be able to find pictures of a train from the side that you could adapt too, especially if you are just looking for a silhoette look.

These are just some ideas. Good luck, and let us see what you come up with.

Bob

[Northmount]

1335576613[/url]' post='245523']

I have a friend who is a "railroad nut" has a large miniature railroad set up all throughout his back yard twice a year free for the neighborhood. He and I have discussed my making him a leather pants belt with railroad figure carving. Problem is, I need to come up with a pattern rather than make my own as I am short on artistic ability in the figure carving area. The belt would be non-tapered and probably in the area of 1 1/2" wide. Where is Al Stohlman when we need him? Would appreciate any ideas or suggestions. KayW

P.S. would also like to find a RR theme'd buckle.

Do a google search for train silhouette and pick graphics.

http://www.google.ca/search?q=train+silhouette&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=XUejT_fVKIui8ASKz6RA&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CF4Q_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644

Some interesting ones came up that you could adapt.

CTG

[kayw]

Welcome KayW,

What sort of pattern are you looking for? I don't know of anyone who has made a figure carving pattern for a train themed item, though I have seen some belts with train designs on them. You could carve a profile view of the kind of trains he runs. It could even be an inverted carving, which would give a nice silhoette look and wouldn't require a great deal of artistic ability to look good. Still, finding artwork for a starting point may be tough. I have two little kids who are really into trains, and I've found that there are a lot of childrens books with images of the trains from the side, as they are heading down the track, that might adapt well to a belt. Or, you might be able to find pictures of a train from the side that you could adapt too, especially if you are just looking for a silhoette look.

These are just some ideas. Good luck, and let us see what you come up with.

Bob

Thanks you guys, you've given me some good ideas. I'll post the results after I get the belt made. Thanks again! KayW