I refined my trophy method for June, having learned much making ones for April May. The QC supervisor for the first event’s trophies was a beast. There are 18 trophies made for an event. (For seven cars? How’s that math work?) but it took about 50 (not kidding) to get 18 that I deemed acceptable.
June trophies were much better. Better color (painted yellow this time instead of dyed) and no alignment troubles. This time the squares were laser cut from a larger sheet after engraving, so alignment was guaranteed. The previous system was to engrave on a pre-cut square.
After two calibration samples of the June design, I plated the nine different class/place combinations and ran two copies of the plate. Some dark wood grain, voids in the plies, and a little bit of soot that I smudged during clean-up made for three QC rejects. I made a small plate for the three replacements. Yes, June was much better. There is one ‘feature’ used in May that I changed for June but plan to go back – the class/place is filled (solid) on May trophies and only a crisp outline on June’s. The outline looks good in person and in close-up pictures, but disappears when frame has more in it. Makes it impossible to see class/place in photos where winners are holding their awards.
Dash plaques were also much improved. They got painted this month, and also received the same clear finish of the trophies so there is little if any smoke odor.
Do you have an opinion on this trophy construction? Unless we reach attendance levels approaching 20 cars, there is little in the budget for trophies. The cost of materials to make these is low, and I think the end product looks pretty good.
I’m not thrilled with the dash plaques. Thin plywood (at least the type I bought) makes a poor dash plaque. I will explore other material options.
I like the dash plaques! Put a bit of Velcro on the back and stick it to my headliner.