Here is the final version of the Earth Element Island. Its ready for wall hanging and Skylanders figures. I set it up outside to take some pictures in full light. and to document how it came out. (also to have comparison pictures for how it takes the wear and tear of use).
They turned out excellent. The picture at the top of the blog came from this shoot and was not touched up in any way. (with the exception of being rotated and an identification logo added) The blue sky in the background is just that: regular blue sky. My wife said it almost looks fake!! lol.
I cut the island away from its background and posted a full shot of it above.
I have been considering how to proceed from here and I think I will be gathering some of the "concept art" and pictures I took during construction to present the process in a step by step way. As I moved from the idea to making it a reality, I had to brush off old skills far out of use (soldering for one...YES! soldering!!) and research a whole bunch of methods requiring skill sets I have NEVER had (painting realistic rock for starters). "YouTube" turned out to be my classroom!!

A New Adventure Begins..

As an adult, any game you can play with your seven year old that entertains and delights you at the same time is to be clamped onto for dear life! This was the case with the Activision Skylanders. Enjoyment was had all around thru "Spyro's Adventure" and "Giants".
As I'm sure any of the initiated will know, the figurines used to play are swapped on and off the electronic gaming pad or "Portal of Power"to drop each character into and out of the game. The highly detailed figures contain an embedded chip which records the changing and improving strengths of the character, so the gameplay information is specific to and travels with the individual characters. The characters themselves are highly stylized and delightfully creative.
The ending result is multiple, cool-looking figurines that have to be close at hand for use: so they initially cluster around the console, then spill out onto the floor and finally, take over the coffee table!! The difficult logistics are evident when you try to walk thru the area.
The answer for us was to try and make wall hanging islands, one for each element. (the characters are divided into 8 "elements".) The collection would be displayed, characters easy to find, use and replace as they are swapped back and forth during gameplay and precious floorspace would be miraculously regained!!! Not to mention a secondary benefit for my son: each island serving as a springboard for imaginative adventures concocted by my son as he plays with the figures by themselves.
So...As I stated... the answer was to TRY....and I am in the middle of that now. The process has been challenging, informative and highly enjoyable. The results to date totally exceed our expectations and continue to educate and inform the next effort.
I'm starting the blog to document the process I'm enjoying soo much and to gauge the public interest. I have been told by those I love that people would love these.
So here goes...