Pouakai
Pouakai
The Haast Eagle
The Haast Eagle
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This giant bird of prey was designed and built for the mainstage of Twisted Frequency Festival '24-'25.
Designed at a 1:10 scale of the notorious yet extinct eagle, the Pouakai or Haast eagle.
With part of the crew dedicated to the wings i was able to focus on sculpting the body. With the help of a talented welder/ backyard engineer and a number of other skilled hands we were able to build a secure and long lasting frame to support this giant winged beast.
A massive thanks to everyone involved.
The Process
The Process
As with all driftwood sculptures, the first significant step is collecting mass amounts of driftwood.
But not before some intensive design and build planning.
Sketches and reference material are used to create accurate CAD models so projections and lighting can be designe and simulated in advance of the event.
You can do alot with 3D models but for handmade sculptures i find 2D plans and sketches are often best.
We designed the head and body to be built from a. steel frame clad in driftwood. The sheer amount of driftwood used in sculptures like this can get extremely heavy especially after it rains.
Therefore a well designed and built frame was crucial to keeping this beast together.
With the help of an experienced welder fabricator we managed to shape the frame of the head with steel pope and box section.
We designed the rear of the head to bolt directly onto an identical 'kite' shaped frame mounted on the stage.
Setting the body frame to the top of the stage in the correct position was essential, Posts were installed with a beam to catch the main weight and the rear of the frame was bolted down into the trussing.
For the unstructural sections of the sculpture, we used rebar to form the shape.
the driftwood is tie wired onto the frame and then nailed as it fills out.
We prepped the head to be installed without the beak, as we needed to move ahead while the beak was finished on the ground.
This meant we needed to test mount the beak on the ground so we could bore the bolt holes and safety chain system.
Meanwhile we were working on the legs coming out the front of the booth and the wings team were making great headway on their framing system.
The eyes are made from layered plywood mosaiced in broken paua shell
We mounted the eyes ad test fit the beak. Just in time for the hiab arriving to lift the head into place.
So we took off the beak and the head frame fit like a glove.
We were able to move on with more driftwooding and filling out, but needed to leave some holes to clib in and mount the beak.
The beak was carved by Hayden, a talented Maori carver.
We bored holes through the nostrils and out the rear of the beak, fitting them to a smoke machine rigged inside the head.
Before the beak was installed, we mounted a temporary roadcone beak. Blame safety.
A job like this wouldn't be possible without the right equipment and the right help.
Thanks to everyone involved, this one took many hands.
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