Fiberglass Creations Continue To Amaze

2020 - Volume #44, Issue #6, Page #40

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FAST Fiberglass keeps pumping out traffic stoppers. From giant animals to Viking warriors to the ever popular frog slide, the Wisconsin company continues producing tourist attractions for display all around the country.
  “We are still doing fiberglass molds, but now we use laser scanning and 3D printing to build models,” explains Dean Webber, FAST Fiberglass. “We used to do everything by hand. Now we are getting more computer-driven, which will expand our capabilities. We are also doing more and more custom work.”
  What hasn’t changed is the popularity of some key creations, in particular the Frog Water Slide. One of 73 water slides in the company catalog, it has remained a best seller since the mid to late 1980’s.
  “We estimate there are 500 or more water slides in use around the country,” says Webber, a 16-yr. veteran with the company. “I grew up going down one in my hometown in Illinois.”
  A tour of the company’s outdoor warehouse offers a showcase of past creations. It includes more than 650 molds, from which the end products are made. There are 6 Holstein cows, and 46 other farm animal shapes in the catalog.
  “We build a model from which one or more molds are made,” explains Webber. “Each mold is then lined with an 1/8-in. thick blend of 60 percent resin and 30 percent fiberglass as a reinforcing agent.”
  Once the individual pieces are cured, they are assembled and a finish applied. With proper maintenance, such as an annual coat of automobile wax, a finish is expected to last up to 20 years. The structure itself has an expected lifespan of 25 to 30 years.
  “We can repair or refurbish a statue, depending on how far it has deteriorated,” says Webber. “They are quite strong. We recently had 2 survive a hurricane, even though one was ripped out of its concrete base.”
  Ordering a custom statue is simple. Webber describes starting with as little as a verbal description. “We definitely like to make a computer model to begin with,” he says. “That can run from $500 to $1,000. The price of a final statue is based on size. A rough estimate would be about $2,000 per foot of the longest dimension. However, final price has more to do with surface area. When you get into quadrupeds like cows, it gets complicated.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, FAST Fiberglass, P.O. Box 258, Sparta, Wis. 54656 (ph 608 269-7110; www.fastfiberglass.com)

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Fiberglass Creations Continue To Amaze FARM HOME Miscellaneous FAST Fiberglass keeps pumping out traffic stoppers From giant animals to Viking warriors to the ever popular frog slide the Wisconsin company continues producing tourist attractions for display all around the country “We are still doing fiberglass molds but now we use laser scanning and 3D printing to build models ” explains Dean Webber FAST Fiberglass “We used to do everything by hand Now we are getting more computer-driven which will expand our capabilities We are also doing more and more custom work ” What hasn’t changed is the popularity of some key creations in particular the Frog Water Slide One of 73 water slides in the company catalog it has remained a best seller since the mid to late 1980’s “We estimate there are 500 or more water slides in use around the country ” says Webber a 16-yr veteran with the company “I grew up going down one in my hometown in Illinois ” A tour of the company’s outdoor warehouse offers a showcase of past creations It includes more than 650 molds from which the end products are made There are 6 Holstein cows and 46 other farm animal shapes in the catalog “We build a model from which one or more molds are made ” explains Webber “Each mold is then lined with an 1/8-in thick blend of 60 percent resin and 30 percent fiberglass as a reinforcing agent ” Once the individual pieces are cured they are assembled and a finish applied With proper maintenance such as an annual coat of automobile wax a finish is expected to last up to 20 years The structure itself has an expected lifespan of 25 to 30 years “We can repair or refurbish a statue depending on how far it has deteriorated ” says Webber “They are quite strong We recently had 2 survive a hurricane even though one was ripped out of its concrete base ” Ordering a custom statue is simple Webber describes starting with as little as a verbal description “We definitely like to make a computer model to begin with ” he says “That can run from $500 to $1 000 The price of a final statue is based on size A rough estimate would be about $2 000 per foot of the longest dimension However final price has more to do with surface area When you get into quadrupeds like cows it gets complicated ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup FAST Fiberglass P O Box 258 Sparta Wis 54656 ph 608 269-7110; www fastfiberglass com

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