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JONATHAN DUNHAM
Alone With the Wind

The hit-and-run driver runs a red light and smashes head on into the motorbike with its two young passengers, then jumps from the vehicle and runs away leaving them pinned beneath the car.

Both boys arrive at the hospital with severe injuries. The driver, a champion windsurfer who competed at the National Finals, is in a coma with massive head injuries and a badly shattered leg. But the leg is the least of his worries. The doctors don't expect much. Yet he surprises them. Today, he's not out of the woods and he still he has a long, long frustrating year ahead of himself in the rehab hospital, but they're calling him a miracle now...

Jonathan's boss, the manager at the 7-11 where he works, wants something special that he can hang near the boy's bed in the hospital. Something that will focus his attention. Something for him to work and dream towards.

"Can you I put Jonathan in a bottle," he asks? "How about a light bulb," I say? "Great idea, he says, "The symbolism is perfect". "I need a photo," I say. "Only thing is, I can't scratch build the figure. I don't think I can carve one that will look any good at that scale."

After much searching I finally find a 1.25" (32mm) figure that I think will do (a rubbery figure of a bank robber, complete with sackful of money!). Question is, how to turn a man wearing a heavy jacket, pants and boots into Jonathan in his wetsuit? I attack the figure with a milling cutter chucked into the Dremel. Slowly, over a period of four, sweaty hours (spread across several days), Jonathan emerges as I grind layer after layer off the pants, sleeves and boots, reshape the jacket into a life vest; reposition the arms; add and shape a helmet then paint it with several coats of paint and lacquer. Now, there is very little of the original figure left - except the face, and part of the hands.

After that, comes building the board, the sail and the mast. The board is constructed in much the same way a full-sized board is: A balsa core; A layer of epoxy. Three layers of paint. Another layer of epoxy. Then several layers of lacquer. Before the last layer is on, minature decals of the Mistral and Niash logos are done up on the computer and added to the board.

The sail is a difficult patchwork quilt and I end up making three before I get it right. And each of them takes me over an hour. That done, I insert the board, glue it in place on the putty sea, and let it dry for a couple of days before adding Jonathan and the sail/mast/wishbone assembly. Getting Jonathan's feet into place is the hardest part (as I well knew it would be!) and the job gives me a few more grey hairs before it is done.

The bulb with its special hanger

Once completed, the bulb is packed and delivered it in time to be presented for Christmas.

Scale: 1 in 56 Length of Board: 3"(75mm) Bulb Size: 300 watt Mogul Model ship photos & text © D.S. Smith 2003

Photos © 2002, Mike Bonga