I can only assume that when it comes to being a dad, the greatest thing in the world is to see your kid smile. It probably feels even better when you know you are the reason behind it. I know growing up that my dad would do anything to make my brother and I happy. He would have gone to the opposite side of the world to try to bring a smile to our face. It’s the power of love that only comes from being a parent, or so I’m told. That’s why what this dad did should go down in the dad hall of fame. His son loves dinosaurs, and wanted a clubhouse. So he set out to combine the two things, and boy did he end up with an epic project. His son is going to love this!
He started out with these giant pieces of polystyrene. To get started he needed to grid up the polystyrene to give himself the dimensions he would need.
Once the grid was in place, he started sketching the shapes he would need to cut out.
It was time to cut the parts out. He will use spray foam to glue the parts together after they are all cut out.
After he glued the parts together, he started to shape them with more detail.
You can see a rough shape of a head starting to form.
It was time to attach the head. He used his foam spray again, and a lot of it. You don’t want this thing falling off and traumatizing your child while they are playing.
He used a hot wire foam cutter to start lopping off pieces of foam. Every piece was carefully thought about before being cut, as to limit mistakes.
He then started marking out the areas that needed detail added. It was a quite a bit.
The detail of the sculpture started to take shape slowly.
He used a tool to smooth out the sharp edges in the sculpture. This thing looks like it’s going to be incredible!
The shaping is finished!
He uses Jesmonite and another plaster-like material to help strengthen the sculpture.
He simply coats the sculpture in the substance.
A plastic mesh underneath the Jesmonite helps add even more strength. Remember, a kid is going to be climbing all over this thing.
It looks like a real dinosaur!
He cut a hole in the top of the dinosaur and started breaking apart the styrofoam inside.
He then did the same thing to the side of the dinosaur. Cutting out the styrofoam was one of the most tedious parts of this whole thing.
This does not look fun.
He shaped the doorway for the side of the Triceratops so it would fit perfectly.
It fits nice and snug.
He then cut another hole into the shell of the dinosaur.
Another little door!
He bought a plastic dome online and turned it into a bubble window on top of the dinosaur.
Hinges and a door knob were added to the front doorway to the dinosaur clubhouse.
This thing looks incredibly lifelike….except for the lack of eyes. That just makes it super creepy.
Now it was time to work on the inside. He added seating and shelves to make a more comfortable hangout spot.
Using spray glue and a mesh type fabric, he lined the inside of the dinosaur for strength.
He even threw down some carpet. This place is awesome!
The two panel doorway is actually a hatch so his toy drone can take off from inside!
I think it’s safe to say his son is going to absolutely love this thing.
Check Out These Videos Highlighting The Project:
How cool would it be to have a hangout like this as a kid? I know I would have lost my mind if I came home one day and found this in my backyard. It’s made even more special because this dad made it for his son with his own two hands. This is something that can be passed down from one child to the next, possibly even grandkids. This dad definitely deserves an award for this thing.