Lebron James is far and away the best player in the NBA right now but he’s also the most hated. I watched game 2 of the Pacers/Heat series at a local bar in Brooklyn, NY and couldn’t believe the amount of vitriol and hatred directed towards Lebron. Anyone who knows me understands my hatred for him. I’m a diehard Cleveland fan. Just catching a glimpse of Lebron in commercial irritates me. However, I noticed last night that it didn’t matter if you were from Cleveland, Houston, Chicago or St. Louis- the detest for Lebron James cuts across all geographic lines. My guess is because people want to see their superstars struggle a bit before greatness. They want to see them persevere through hard times and come out on top. Think Michael Jordan and his battle to overcome the Detroit Pistons.
Lebron circumvented that step and jumped into an instant contender. People didn’t like it then and by the sound of the bar last night, they still haven’t forgotten.
Lebron James- The Hatred Runs Deep
posted on May 25th, 2013How to Fix a Trophy
posted on May 23rd, 2013This step by step guide is to show you how to fix The Throwback trophy. (NOTE: This process works on ANY trophy and with most breaks)
MATERIALS NEEDED: Rag, 5 minute CLEAR epoxy, a black sharpie marker, a flat head screwdriver for mixing and dabbing epoxy, scrap piece of cardboard for mixing epoxy
If The Large Throwback breaks it usually happens at the ankles. First rule to prevent breakage: keep a close eye on your wife or girlfriend and follow the proper packaging instructions when shipping the trophy. (click here)
Broken but he can be fixed
STEP 1: Color ALL of the broken edges with a black Sharpie marker. This will help to disguise the crack. (only the first 1/8″ or so is necessary)
STEP 2: Squeeze out about a dime size portion of both A and B of the Epoxy on a scrap piece of cardboard.
STEP 3: Mix A and B of the epoxy together
STEP 4: Dab a small amount of epoxy on broken parts. NOTE: Do not put too much epoxy on parts because you want to limit squeeze out when the parts are connected.
STEP 5: Bring the broken parts together. You may need to hold the parts together for awhile depending on where the break occurred.
STEP 6: If squeeze out does occur, let the epoxy set up for about a minute or two and then wipe away with a clean, lint free cloth. Try to not smear the epoxy too much.
STEP 7: Hold in place if need be. Once the epoxy is fully hardened you are finished.
Fantasy Trophies – Football Is Near
posted on May 22nd, 2013
It’s May and that means base building at the shop. With baseball in full swing and hockey and basketball entrenched in their playoffs, orders at FantasyTrophies.com always seem to slow down this time of year. However, work doesn’t. This is prime season for stocking up on trophies for football season and also building bases. As many of you know, our bases are made from solid white oak and given a poly finish. This enhances the rich dark color of the bronzed trophies and really sets off the black engraved plates. I plan on making a video soon on the process each base goes through before it’s shipped off to a customer, but for now, just be assured that all bases are definitely given A1 treatment.
Golf Gift- The Mulligan Trophy is the Perfect Present for Dad
posted on May 21st, 2013
A golf gift dad will remember
The perfect golf gift for dad. That is what people keep telling me the new Mulligan golf trophy can be. I gotta say, now that it’s completed and almost up on the site, I see what they’re talking about. I speak from experience. My father-in-law is a huge golfer and each year my wife and I get him a gift for his birthday or Christmas that has some kind of golf theme to it. Everything from boring collared golf shirts to typical personalized golf balls have been given. This year though I sense it’s going to be different. This year the Mulligan trophy is going to be that golf gift that Dad remembers and doesn’t burry in his closet. Now we just need to think about what I should engrave on the plate.
Any suggestions?
How to Package The Throwback Fantasy Football Trophy for Shipping
posted on May 18th, 2013Here is a step by step guide for properly packaging the large Throwback fantasy football trophy.
Important notes:
* Make sure the box is minimum 14 x 14 x 18H
* Remove the sculpture from the base
* When filling around the base and sculpture with packing peanuts, make sure all voids are filled.
* ALWAYS INSURE THE TROPHY WITH THE CARRIER *
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6: Make sure washer and nut travel with sculpture
STEP 7
STEP 7 (cont.)
STEP 8 - VERY IMPORTANT
STEP 9
STEP 10
STEP 11
Safe travels,
Dave
Hole In One Trophy – The Golf Award We All Want
posted on May 16th, 2013
The perfect hole in one trophy
Orchard Hills would later give me a lame trophy with a plate stating my miraculous achievement. I think that trophy sits buried in my parent’s basement.
When I sculpted The Mulligan Trophy I had my hole in one ball in mind. It deserved better. Finally it’s time for the ball to rest on a fitting monument to my once in a lifetime accomplishment.
Doesn’t your ball deserve the same respect?
Golf Trophy- Getting the Word Out
posted on May 15th, 2013
The new Mulligan golf trophy has been sculpted, cast, and finished and my guy Mike is hard at work updating the website. Now the hard part begins- getting the word out. When you have a great product you soon realize that it doesn’t matter if no one knows about it. I feel I have a pretty good understanding of many of the social platforms and what they can do for a small business like FantasyTrophies.com, but it really boils down to being disciplined and posting content about your product or service. The Mulligan now enters that realm. Reaching out to top golf blogs, celebrity golf tournaments, bars, and golf courses are all on the agenda.
If only all of that was as easy as sculpting the golf trophy itself.
My Parents Approve of the New Golf Trophy
posted on May 14th, 2013My parents paid FantasyTrophies.com a visit yesterday and got to see the new Mulligan golf trophy. It was in their Cleveland garage back in 1993 or so that FantasyTrophies was born. I first started sculpting the Armchair Quarterback there while going to art school and then moved on to doing the Armchair Ace and Armchair Big Man. I bet they never dreamed that I would’ve been able to turn that first trophy into a business that I now run out of Brooklyn, NY.
Both gave their approval of The Mulligan.
My parents with The Mulligan golf trophy
Golf Trophy is One Step Closer to Completion
posted on May 9th, 2013 The golf trophy I’ve been working on for the last few months is one step closer to being up on FantasyTrophies.com. I spent the better part of today taking photos so that I can send them off to my web guy Mike. Hopefully he’ll be able to get the golf page completed which means you’ll soon be capable of ordering the most original golf trophy on the market today. As you can see, the shoot was pure Brooklyn. Here are a few photos. -Dave
The Throwback Fantasy Football Trophy Gets a New Mold
posted on May 3rd, 2013
I’ve always tried to improve the process by which I sculpt, make a mold, cast, and then ultimately finish a fantasy trophy. When I first had a mold made of the Armchair Quarterback trophy, way back in 1995, it was made out of plaster and was a two part mold. As the years went on I realized I could make a one part blanket mold that would not only speed up the overall process, but also make a better product. The seam running down the middle of the trophy would finally be eliminated. This past year I invested in a few pressure pots which push upwards of 60 pounds of pressure down into the mold while casting. This pushes out any air pockets which may be present inside the resin and again makes for a better product. The only problem was that the molds for any of the Armchair trophies and the one for The Throwback were too big to fit in the pressure pot. An alteration to those molds was necessary.
This week I’ve decided to tackle that issue. James, my mold maker and assistant, is finally making the mold for The Throwback smaller so that it can fit in the pressure pot. This will result in not only a better product, but a longer lasting mold because sharp points created by air pockets won’t damage the mold when taking the Throwback out.
Exciting times here at FantasyTrophies.com!
