September 3 - Bomacycle Elite

I dont want a pickle
I just wanna ride on my motorsickle

~ Arlo Guthrie - The Motorcycle Song

It started as an idea.   To engineer the worlds most Boma-ish cycle.  A vision that would redefine two wheels.

 

Months of research, countless drafts, healthy snacks.  Until one day, the impossible became inevitable.

Bomacycle Elite, because the world was ready - are you?

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In the collection, this is billed as the advanced design, but Mr. Boma includes an alternate/efficient way to build the body that makes this one probably just as quick as all the rest.  

All in all, I would say the ramp between easy/normal/advanced is very slight and it was more escalating practice building similar shapes slightly differently, which arguably is a great practical lesson.

(view other motorcycles)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Mr. Boma:

September 2 - Bomacycle Breeze

"A motorcycle functions entirely in accordance with the laws of reason, and a study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself."

~ Robert M. Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)

The Bomacycle Breeze.

Engineered for simplicity.  Styled for freedom.

With easy handling, just the right amount of power, and an engine that goes PpPPpppPppPppPppPp - it's the perfect choice for riders who want that open road, but just in theory.

Light.  Nimble.  Effortless.

Like a breeze.   Bomacycle Breeze.

--

Mr. Boma released a couple tutorial companion pieces to his original motorcycle design, this is billed as the "quick/simple" version but it feels more like a refined version of the original, more efficient and quick.  

(view other vehicles)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Mr. Boma:

September 1 - Bomacycle

"Riding a bike is everything to a biker. It's freedom, expression, and passion."

~ Jonathan Rea

Motorcycles are cool.

I picture myself riding like the Terminator - leather jacket, dark glasses, no helmet.

Which is, of course, why I should NOT own a motorcycle.
--
I've been going through a collection of videos I had set aside and these motorscooters are part of Mr. Boma's collection of videos. This design in particular is the one he shows on his channel, a pretty quick build.


(view other motorcycle)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Mr. Boma:

June 11 - Jerry Bear

"Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools."

~ Grateful Dead, Ship Of Fools

A 'Jerry Bear' is the nickname for the iconic Grateful Dead marching bears, and it's rumored that it all started with Augustus Owsley Stanley III, who was the sound engineer and ... chemist for the band. His nickname was "Bear" and apparently had a unique form of dancing when not in his right mind.

It's also rumored that the original bears were on sheets of blotter acid, but the first "official" publishing of them was on the album "Bear's Choice" and created by Bob Thomas who is also responsible for the bands iconic skull logo.

April 3 - Pig, RA-bot, Owl and Cat Loop-Heads

“Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.”

~ Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Here are a few other Loop-Heads I made while playing around with Mr. Boma's head design.

I really like the way the owl turned out, I feel like this face design could work with most anything and so much of the overall look of the balloon is what you do with the body.

To whit, I think the RA-bot body should have been more like the cat body with those hoppy back legs, and the cat should have probably just been a standing "Garfield" body.

As with every balloon technique we explore here, I had to try my hand at a pig.


View other: owls, cats, rabbits, bunnys, pigs

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Other Mr. Boma inspired balloons:

April 2 - Sloth and Seal Loop-Head

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy

~ Simon & Garfunkel, The 59th Bridge Street Song (Feelin' Groovy)

These are a couple more of Mr. Boma's Loop-Head designs but not ones he demonstrates.

A sloth is one of my wife's favorite animals so this was planned from the start.  This is a one-toed sloth.  When building it I thought how it would be amusing to do something interesting with the toes, whether or not it was a 3 or 4-toed sloth, or a combination.   But the added toes just made for a bit of a jumbled mess holding onto the vine and distracted.

The seal I just thought looked cute, and I had an idea that I wanted to play with a different body style.  I also had a bit of a wastebasket idea that it would be funny to put him on dance floor.   Seal ... clubbing.




(view other sloth)

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Other Mr. Boma inspired balloons:

April 1 - Yoda Loop-Head

"Named must be your fear before banish it you can."

~ Yoda

I'm just going to come out and say it - I didn't like the Mandallorean.   It felt too much like the A-Team, too shiny for a dusty planet, too back-lot at Universal Studios, too "written".

I also saw it weeks after the baby Yoda craze so when he came on screen it was more of a "looks like a puppet" moment than any sort of cutest-thing-ever situation.

I also find myself mildly annoyed that people consider Yoda one of the greatest Jedi swordsmen of all times.  His style was unorthodox certainly, and his stature would make him virtually impossible to make contact with - but I'm not sure that would qualify you as greatest of all.  Not to mention it's a bizarre and unnecessary character trait for a Jedi that you also portray as one of the wisest/most serene.  "Lucky, do you feel ... punk?"   "Sparta, this iiiiiiiiiis!"

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Other balloons like this:

March 31 - Koala Loop-Head

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."

~ Albert Einstein

Playing around some more with the Loop-Head technique Mr. Boma teaches, this koala is one he shows in an example with a similar body to the panda.

I might replace the panda with this in a few days ... 




(view other koala)

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Other Mr. Boma inspired balloons:

March 30 - Panda Loop-Head

“The gypsies believe the bear to be a brother to man because he has the same body beneath his hide, because he drinks beer, because he enjoys music and because he likes to dance.”

~ Ernest Hemingway

The houses in my neighborhood have started hiding bears in windows as a scavenger hunt and activity for the younger kids.   This was what I put in ours, I thought white would be bright and visible - but I might swap this out for something more colorful soon.

This design is Mr. Boma's updated Loop-Head (link), used in a couple of his designs.   It's always fun to kick the brain bag around with a balloon concept ... hmmm.



(view other panda)

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Other Mr. Boma inspired balloons:

February 8 - Stormtrooper Helmet

"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy...."

~ Star Wars Episode IV opening crawl

Someone at the office asked if I would make them a stormtrooper.

I've made others before, cuties and bear heads, but they were on the simple side and I knew I wanted to build something a little more dazzling.  I watched Mr. Boma's stormtrooper helmet design on YouTube while ago, but never tried building it until now.

Mr. Boma always does a fantastic job and shows very clearly how to build things, but one of the things I appreciate about his videos is he oftentimes includes more than the how, and adds the "why" he does things a certain way.  You can tell a lot of playing and planning went into making things efficient and accurate.

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Other posts with Mr Boma's designs:


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December 3 - Tree

Vivaldi Four Seasons

Jerome Santucci (Mr. Boma) has a new video out on his channel (link) - this is his woven tree.

Mr. Boma is always a great teacher with interesting concepts to explore.  This tree is a variation on a star weave pattern and ends up looking very good for the simple pattern that it is. But don't let the ease at which you can build this fool you, it takes a lot of balloons and a decent amount of time! I'm annoyed at myself for focusing on the idea of exploring four seasons rather than spending my time decorating one nicely.  I've only added a star at top, but there are plenty of ways you might accessorize this into truer Christmas tree.

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Other posts with Mr Boma's designs:


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November 13 - Boma Princesses

“Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning.”

― William Goldman The Princess Bride

Mr. Boma came up with a wonderful new way to attach a neck to a balloon.

Princess necks are notoriously bad, something so elegant as the nape of the neck is oftentimes attached to big awkward pinch twists. Mr. Boma experimented with a few ideas and came up with this.

One of the things I really enjoy about this is the way it shapes the head as well. Heads are not typically round.

I need to make better arms or have them hold something though, now that I've thought they look handcuffed I can't unsee it...

Three arrested at a protest of Disney's unfair portrayal of women...	Make fun of my hands and be prepared for an Ariel attack.
If you've gathered your things - our carriage is right over here.

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Other posts with Mr Boma's designs:


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September 23 - Boma's Hippo

I love you You love me
We're a happy family
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you.
Won't you say you love me too

~ Barney I Love You

Mr. Boma (Jerome Santucci) released another great design on YouTube recently of this hippopotamus.  Mr. Boma's videos are almost all fantastic and this is no exception, and if you are his supporter of his Patreon account - you will get early access to his latest creations!

This hippo looks like a baby, so add +5 adorable points, especially with that bow in it's hair.  Mr. Boma also suggested in the video that it could be a good form for Barney, so built one in those colors to play - and in the spirit of most YouTube comments, someone made the same suggestion as well.  Both are right I think. :)

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, Whoever came up with it didn't have the disease!  (link)	When a hippo is angry at you, his ears wiggle - or so says EVERY JUNGLE CRUISE driver
Barney - the difference between Jurrassic Park and your ass kicked park.

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Other posts with Mr Boma's designs:


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