Yup, the big "
piece de resistance" finishing item is the requisite bow tie to 'tie' the whole theme together! 8)
I went through several ideas on what to use, and/or ways to rig something that would work (many that were suggested here), from strapping on actual tuxedo ties to bronzing a real tie (I really wanted something metal for the bike application), that would look appropriate in place. Finally, I saw something online, and kind of, uh, "copied" that idea... :mrgreen:
I have a company that sells aircraft and proprietary fasteners, and we have access to some extremely odd materials. I finally got hold of some small .003 thick metal sheets - VERY thin stuff. I found that if you worked with it carefully, it was just firm enough to bend without creasing or folding, and started cutting some patterns to make a tie. I drew them out on paper, folded them in half for symmetry, then traced them onto the metal, and cut them with a pair of titanium scissors we have here (very sharp, and will cut through most anything!). This was unbelievably time-consuming and painstaking work!
While I couldn't be happier with the end result which really turned out nice, I have to say that this was the 4th or 5th try! It's not perfect, but it's as close as I can get with what I'm working with. I was getting a little concerned that I was going to run out of the little bit of material I had before I got it right! Getting the size and shape right were a lot tougher than I expected - I have a lot more respect now for people who sew and make clothes from scratch like my grandmother did!
Here's how it turned out:
And another shot to show a little more detail:
Anyway, after the end product was finally right, I needed to paint it - this is a Black tie affair after all - and went with a semi-gloss paint. I was looking for a satiny finish, so that it would look "real", and also stand out against the gloss of the frame and all the chrome stuff. I used several light coats, using some very high-tech bracket equipment in my warehouse :lol: being really careful not to make any runs, because there was NO WAY this metal would withstand sanding if I screwed up:
(And I just realized I must have somehow deleted my close-up shot of the painted piece, so you'll just have to wait to see it on the finished entry below! :? )
I toyed with attaching it with straps like a clip-on tie would, but it looked kind of funky, and it wouldn't hold up to any kind of mechanical attachment like a screw, so I finally decided on a good ol' Velcro patch. Stuck onto the stem, at the "neck" of the outfit where it should be, it looks pretty much how I originally pictured it in my head.
Ta-daaaaaa:
They are still hanging in my garage ...
