Giant ice cream cone

[laserfred]

Hi,

I'm looking for a cheap way to make a 3D ice cream cone measuring 4' high. It's the kind with the wafle cone and hard ice cream.

I can have a large styrofoam ball to start, but not sure how to go about the rest.. It will go outside during summer, will not be illuminated.

Anyone has ideas ?

thanks in advance!

 

[allamericantrade]

is it mounted to something or free standing? will it be just a 1/2 cone on a wall?

 

[laserfred]

It will be mounted on a center post and completely 3d.

I like this design:


I thought of rolling a piece of foam to create the cone. And maybe sculpting a polystyrene ball and adding canned foam (Right Stuf) to add some ice cream over it. Not sure is this kind of foam is very durable. Maybe need to aply something over it to harden and protect..

Also would hope to create the wafle texture...

 

[vid]

3 mil PVC cut to size and rolled to a cone shape. Fill with high density spray insulation from your favorite roofing/insulation contractor. Decorate the outside with waffle pattern of your choosing --- drizzle outside with more foam for melty ice cream look... Hard coat, paint appropriate colors.

But i've never done that. so proceed at your own discretion.

 

[allamericantrade]

It sounds like a great idea to me. I have trimmed spray foam with a knife. definatly would need to coat it in an epoxy or something to smooth and seal it. I haven't done a project like this yet and can't wait to hear how it goes. I personally would probrably buy drivet styrofoam and try carving it out in a single peice. Come to think of it, could possibly use a fine drivet skim coating for the sealing either way. would be a better look to it than epoxy.

 

[Justin]

Iunno, but check out the 3D cone on this site.. You'll see it on the left... http://www.3dcustomfoam.com/themedenvironments.php

 

[TwoNine]

Maybe too expensive. BUT could you make in in two halves out of Sign Foam? If it's only 4' tall then you have basically a 4' x 4' piece for each side, to cut and glue together in a general shape and then carve/sand/rout the excess away?

 

[laserfred]

I like the spray foam approch. Can you be more specific on the product to use for hard coating the foam ?

 

[tsgstl]

Do some research there is most likely a hard coater in your area. Don't try and do the hard coating yourself (that's for cheap haunted house gimics you see in low light) Spraying hardcoat is a nasty and expensive process to start from scratch. You could use very enexpensive foam of any kind. All of the strength is in the hardcoat. Budget $250-$350 for the hardcoat. The waffle pattern is going to be a bear, might think of doing that with paint in the end?
Good luck I'd love to see the end product

 

[Williams Signs]

Buy the blue insulation foam at Lowes or home depot. Glue the pieces together with PL construction adhesive. After it is dry carve out your cone. cover in dryvit and paint.

 

[laserfred]

I found these products to protect the foam :
www.sculpturesupply.com. Sounds good

 

[Locals Find!]

Couldn't you use some kind of wire mesh to make the waffle pattern?? After you do the foam part put the wire mesh over the outside and spray foam over that to give the pattern depth??

I am no expert her just tossing out an idea based on something I seen on HGTV about making fake rocks. Seemed like a pretty similar concept.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

spray foam ... that is easy ... fiber glass resin ... i cant remember which one you want to use ... there are 2 different types, marine resin and polyester resin ... polyester resin is the stuff you find at home despot and the such. just test them and you can go to town with the resin ... i personally prefer spraying it on my foam sculptures but that is just me.

In college I carved the stuff ... fun too ... make sure you put it down in thin layers if you carve into it though ... and expect to have pits in it afterwords.

it's easier to use high density foam for exterior signs and stack and carve that ... you can still coat it with resin as that will provide a nice surface to prime and paint ... but it is worth it.

 

[SD&F]

We created a basketball for a professional sports team with HDU, it seemed to take forever, but it came out looking exactly like a huge basketball and they loved it. This was a specailty job that they had a great deal of trouble fining someone to do.
GOOD LUCK

 

[laserfred]

Thanks everyone for being so helpful!

The client seems to have backed out, it seems they found a ready made solution imported from Italy!!

Anyways, it sounds like a fun little project, so we have decided to make one anyways as a proof of concept, and hopefully start selling them by the dozen someday..

I'll keep you posted!

 

[Locals Find!]

Thanks everyone for being so helpful!

The client seems to have backed out, it seems they found a ready made solution imported from Italy!!

Anyways, it sounds like a fun little project, so we have decided to make one anyways as a proof of concept, and hopefully start selling them by the dozen someday..

I'll keep you posted!

Make a beer bottle 6 pack instead. Then you can sell em to liquor stores all over the country. Plus you can write off buying a few six packs as research expenses.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

Make a beer bottle 6 pack instead. Then you can sell em to liquor stores all over the country. Plus you can write off buying a few six packs as research expenses.

A few ... you could write off one beer of every type you buy since the bottles are "research" material ...