Part of the decor I built for our wedding in 2000 at the Metro Toronto Zoo. It had an 30s/40s travel adventure theme and was a great excuse to fabricate this plane, along with a 3ft globe with it's orbiting plane, 12 world landmark table center pieces and loads of other fun props.
I designed this in 3d on the computer from pencil sketches, then welded the framework up from lengths of 6mm steel bar and finally attached galvanized metal body panels.
A decade later, the plane survives as a 10ft weather vane on top of my brothers barn. I replaced the stylized hoopy propellers with actual ones that spin when it's windy.
Built for our kids - and for fun. Steel frame, aluminum body.
We bought this in Stuttgart after a remote German fire department was done using it as a command center. It served us a 9 person magic bus, a camper and a canvass for any trippy graphics or messages that inspired us.