I think several layers of fiberglass would work for a toy, as long as it's smooth for the kids. You can build a sub-structure, or you can get a giant inflatable, like this 16 foot long shark and use it as a mold:

You could also build something more iconic, but stil a shark. I don't know what coating these climbing toys are made of, but this would definitely be the way to go if it's not too expensive. Of course, it almost certainly is.

 

foam, fiberglass and bondo would be the best way to go for toys/displays. the only other thing that come s to mind would be to gel coat them

 

How expensive is it to gel coat something? What's the process?

 

Hey thanks for the reply guys. That one in the second pic is the kind of thing I'm going for...but just need to figure out how? As for gel coat, heard of it, just don't know anything about it...where to get it or how to use it?

Why do props need to be sooo damn expensive lol....I know it's not as fun or rewarding as building it yourself...but it's sure easier and less headache just buying a finished piece...I'm always up for that lol.

 

Very basic overview here. The outer visable part of something that is fiberglass is the gel coat. It would be the smooth finished(painted) looking side on something such as a boat. When you are building something using a mold you would put a release agent in first then the gel coat and then put in the fiberglass mat saturated in the resin and build up layers until it is thick and strong enough for your project. Gel coat requires a catalyst to harden like most automotive quality paints and fiberglass.

It can be applyed by spraying, rolling or brushing it into a mold.

Hope this helps a little. Also this is not an inexpensive process IMO.

 

here is an idea:
I work for HGTV and they had a show called Look What I Did. and the man made a great white shower. hanging from a post on the dock. You walk up and open the side, by one fins, and all you see is your feet sticking out the feet as you shower. It was made from a rebar frame, and covered in great foam and the fiber glass.

 

I saw that! Thought that shower was a great idea.

 

yes that's it

 

That's awesome...the shark and the bikini lol... Thanks

 

Not sure the cost of gel coat but I know it is used to give hard colored durable surface to fiberglass

 

Hey Frank, I see this is an old post but I was curios where you got the pirate ship play set from and if you had any pictures of the final product? Thanks!

 

Wow, that's wild! I love the "Drooling Shark" shower !

 

I've lost my pictures of it, but when I was based at NAS Bermuda I made a shark prop for Halloween one year when that was the theme of our party.

I found an old fiberglass playground slide at the base junkyard, took it back to the house, and cut about 3/4 of the way from the end. I built some wood support under it so the top end sat at about a 30 degree angle to the ground, just enough that a kid would still slide down it but not so that it was too high to build a shark around it. Then I used PVC pipe to construct the skeleton of a shark around the slide from the nose to just before where the second dorsal fin would be. I wrapped the skeleton up in plastic tarp material, then laid fiberglass matting over that. Once the fiberglass hardened, painted it. The last thing was adding 4 rows of razor sharp. 4" long, teeth made out of foam.

The kids would climb into the sharks mouth and act like they were getting eaten, slide down the slide, and exit from the rear. By the end of the night the teeth were pretty well abused, but the rest held up so well we donated it to the base to use on one of the playgrounds.

All in all, it was basically a head looking like it was raising out of the water, the tops of the pectoral fins, and about half the body of a shark with the rest of it being submerged in the grass.

 

Aww sounds pretty cool! Thanks for the reply!