Santa Sleigh
- Thread starter MarcD
- Start date
MarcD
Full time elf
- Thread starter
- #62
I'm still receiving buttons etc from China. I had one set of buttons and a second set of knobs arrive today. 64 days after I ordered them. One of the packages included a discount card for my next purchase. It had an expiry date of November 20, so it must have been posted a while ago. When the knobs didn't arrive and we couldn't find a suitable replacement, we removed them from the dashboard. Now I have two sets and nowhere to put them. I still haven't received my big red button either. At least we have our not so big button in place ready to go.
I also received the red pre-wired LED's I need to replace the faulty one and add one above the switch for Rudolph's nose. That should be ready for launch on Sunday.
As for our other lights. A concerted effort yesterday afternoon resulted in all remaining strings being mounted on the roof. They were connected to the controller (except two which were too short) last night and tested. We have one string which is only lighting up blue and yellow and not red and green. I suspect that was my fault when stapling them to the timber.
All of the ground level stuff has arrived and we'll get the rest of that out on Saturday. Then on Sunday morning, the sleigh gets moved into position and then at 7 pm, the big switch on. We still have to decide where and how we're going to mount this light. It's a metre wide and almost as tall. We're trying to figure out some way of having it seemingly suspended in mid air. I wanted to run a rope from the streetlight to the house but was told I'd get in trouble with council. I suspect we're going to waste a lot of time on that one single light.
I also received the red pre-wired LED's I need to replace the faulty one and add one above the switch for Rudolph's nose. That should be ready for launch on Sunday.
As for our other lights. A concerted effort yesterday afternoon resulted in all remaining strings being mounted on the roof. They were connected to the controller (except two which were too short) last night and tested. We have one string which is only lighting up blue and yellow and not red and green. I suspect that was my fault when stapling them to the timber.
All of the ground level stuff has arrived and we'll get the rest of that out on Saturday. Then on Sunday morning, the sleigh gets moved into position and then at 7 pm, the big switch on. We still have to decide where and how we're going to mount this light. It's a metre wide and almost as tall. We're trying to figure out some way of having it seemingly suspended in mid air. I wanted to run a rope from the streetlight to the house but was told I'd get in trouble with council. I suspect we're going to waste a lot of time on that one single light.
kel
Dedicated elf
I have loved reading about your project and can hardly wait until 'lights on' ... fab effort 
Habbosrus
Back again
+ 1 here too. I think I'm more excited about your show than mine. Everyone is going to love that sleigh.kel said:I have loved reading about your project and can hardly wait until 'lights on' ... fab effort
MarcD
Full time elf
- Thread starter
- #67
We got the rest of the lights up today and everything is tested and working. Last minute test revealed another blown red LED, but we're not worrying about it. Lots of cars driving past. One car full of women said they had been driving past every night. We've invited them to the launch, as well as all the families at the child care centre last night. Champagne is on ice and my finger will be poised on the button, ready to go.
MarcD
Full time elf
- Thread starter
- #68
45 minutes to go, sleigh in position. We had a last minute addition to the lights. There's a gas access point in the middle of the yard which my wife thought was a tripping hazard. We covered it with a plastic crate, which we also drilled a hole in and mounted the laser pointing at our 'white wall'.
Managed to switch off the street light outside too. Right bit to remove the panel, flick the switch and no more annoying light. Just between you and me of course.
Looks like we should get a good crowd. Lollies at the ready and every kid who goes on the sleigh gets a 'Sleigh Pilot' sticker. I will post photos and video as soon as I can.
Thanks for all your support.
Managed to switch off the street light outside too. Right bit to remove the panel, flick the switch and no more annoying light. Just between you and me of course.
Looks like we should get a good crowd. Lollies at the ready and every kid who goes on the sleigh gets a 'Sleigh Pilot' sticker. I will post photos and video as soon as I can.
Thanks for all your support.
MarcD
Full time elf
- Thread starter
- #69
Well, that's 2013 done and dusted. The sleigh and most of the ground level lights have been packed away. The sleigh actually takes up less room than I thought. We didn't dismantle as much as I wanted to due to time constraints. All in all, I consider it a great success. Plenty of visitors and loads of smiles on kids' faces (as well as quite a few grownups). One of my favorites was on the last night when a woman arrived with two kids and I encouraged them to get on board. Their mum said "Don't touch anything" and I said "No, touch everything".
The sleigh will be back in 2014 but the display will be a lot different. We will have added a front fence before then, so there's a lot of re-thinking to do. We're also determined to make the leap into pixels, replacing the garage door curtain with a matrix. Could be a challenge.
I've included some pics taken from our last Santa night on the 23rdese were taken at the beginning of the night before it got busy. For the record, the blonde is the real estate agent who sponsored our colouring competition.
The sleigh will be back in 2014 but the display will be a lot different. We will have added a front fence before then, so there's a lot of re-thinking to do. We're also determined to make the leap into pixels, replacing the garage door curtain with a matrix. Could be a challenge.
I've included some pics taken from our last Santa night on the 23rdese were taken at the beginning of the night before it got busy. For the record, the blonde is the real estate agent who sponsored our colouring competition.
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kel
Dedicated elf
DeeJai
Is that Magic Smoke?!?
Well done.. looks great... BTW did my colouring in entry win?
MarcD
Full time elf
- Thread starter
- #72
I'm afraid not Matt. Your entry was excluded due to your age.
The winner of the three to six age group was terrible. There were only five entries in that group. The two from six year olds weren't very good, especially when compared to the seven year olds. That left three entries from three year olds. Two of them were clearly not done by three year olds. In fact one little girl handed us her entry and said "Mummy did it." Her father cringed. So the winner was the one who had clearly made the effort to do it on her own without help from her older brothers or parents. Santa told her it was a life lesson. You don't need to do something well, you just need to have a go. I have no idea what a three year old will do with a $50 Target voucher, but that's not my problem.
The winner of the three to six age group was terrible. There were only five entries in that group. The two from six year olds weren't very good, especially when compared to the seven year olds. That left three entries from three year olds. Two of them were clearly not done by three year olds. In fact one little girl handed us her entry and said "Mummy did it." Her father cringed. So the winner was the one who had clearly made the effort to do it on her own without help from her older brothers or parents. Santa told her it was a life lesson. You don't need to do something well, you just need to have a go. I have no idea what a three year old will do with a $50 Target voucher, but that's not my problem.
Matt said:
MarcD said:
Oh that's priceless. LMAO !
greg58
Full time elf
Well done mate, looks like the effort was worth it as plenty of people in the pictures.
firebug
Senior elf
Such a huge effort. And looks like Santa gets all the perks...