Bring The Experience Home

I admire hand-crafted items. I own a few works of art that are, in my opinion, pretty awesome, and I happen to respect the artists' works simply because they can do something I cannot. I can draw shapes, I can use a hammer and nails to build things, I have some skill with a screwdriver, and I certainly know how to put together a stick figure. However, when it comes to building or crafting something entirely from one's mind and seeing it through to the completed process. Today, HBIC is proud to feature such a project that has gained my respect.

I received an email from Gavin O. who wanted me to check out his website. Normally, I'm pretty skeptical of requests like this, but Gavin's email sounded interesting. Gavin wrote,

I stumbled upon your blog today and saw back in 2009 you showed a guy's custom table hockey game. I thought I'd share mine with you. I have been documenting the whole thing on this blog. There are also tons of others doing projects just like mine. Some do an even better job. I enjoyed your blog.

Thanks, Gavin! I am interested in these custom table hockey ideas. It shows a great deal of creativity, do-it-yourself ability, and is a project that requires the ultimate attention to detail in recreating the hockey experience at home! In other words, if it's done well, someone's earning my respect!

Gavin is building the MTS Centre Lite - a miniature version of the Winnipeg Jets' arena complete with proper ice markings and board advertisements for table hockey! Honestly, this is a cool project, and his documentation on the project might get you started on a project like this!

The scoreboard was crafted entirely by Gavin himself. He used masonite for the actual sides of the scoreboard, and then affixed graphics to the scoreboard using GIMP to scale the photos properly for the size of his mini-Jumbotron. He also used PVC piping to support the scoreboard after running the electrical inside the Minitron. The results are pretty darn awesome, I must say, and really give the tabletop game a whole new look with the scoreboard looming over top. Well done, Gavin!

The dashers are probably my favorite part of the boards because of how real they look. The red dasher on top and the yellow dasher on the bottom are made entirely the same way: electrical tape! I actually thought this might pose a problem in that electrical tape isn't frictionless like paint might be, but the squared edges look awesome! Couple that with the awesome signage on the boards and on the ice and the Reebok word mark running down the red line which leads into the center ice line, and this MTS Centre is looking dandy!

The detail and the exhaustive hours put into this project are nearly complete, and Gavin's mini MTS Centre is looking awesome! I'm going to keep in touch with Gavin regarding this project. Once he's finished, I'll have him send some photos and we'll compare it with the real MTS Centre! I'm quite certain that this labour of love is something that will have a lot of people talking for a long, long time.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the table!