• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Alton Towers Bookworm Restoration

Matgo said:
Part 3:



There's nothing to suggest he has disposed of the animatronics and seeing as we're talking about someone that collects coaster parts I'd find it unlikely that he has.

Considering he has made an access panel in the back perhaps he's keeping his options open for a later date.
Click to expand...

He won't keep it as an option. He's said that he wanted to make it lighter and that he's said for a long time that the plan for him wasn't to fully restore it to working order which is a shame. In the next time clip it showed the head and it looked the best it has done for over a decade!
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I also notice in the last video there working on the cannon from the pirate adventure ride so this could be a series of videos there doing to make up for lack of park updates which I think is a lot better than his 60 to 90 min blogs at the parks.
Click to expand...
Apparently he's finished restoring the PA goat and the Black Revolver gun. I did notice that though!
 
That was an interesting read....

I'm just in awe that both he and his dad made fibreglass. Fibreglass! I remember the day we came back from Morrisons to find my dad had chipped away at a small crack in our artex ceiling and instead we had a hole the size of a dinner plate and we lived with that hole for YEARS until he fixed it.... then there was the time we had a broken back door step which we couldn't use for three years until he fixed that as well.

I wish I had two men in my family who were that handy at making and fixing things that's all I can say.

Moving parts or no moving parts... the fact is it is safe now. There have been lots of things over the years lost to the kind of attitude AT displayed over this bookworm. It's like if DLP scrapped the dragon from under the castle, and someone bought it and removed the workings so it was easier for them to keep it and restore it. Would it bother me it wouldn't be moving again? No, it's just good to know it's been saved.

Did Shawn make a mistake in removing stuff that apparently he shouldn't have done? Well if it's 100% absolutely certain that someone other than a 27 year old with no apparent skill in mechanics could fix it, then it probably was a mistake. But to be honest no one really knows for certain because no one was there when he was dismantling it.

Not quite the same thing, but after seeing the first part it inspired me to restore some of my garden ornaments that had faded and lost their colour. Struggling to get paint at the moment though, so I've got a lot of silver sprayed ornaments now and a few touched up with nail varnish. ;)
 
They're doing a good job! I presume they doesn't have much artistic background (do correct me if I'm wrong) so to see the paint job so far is really impressive. :)
 
I would have preferred the original body colours but this is a better paint job than the actual version he's trying to emulate which was done with a cheap spray paint.

I didn't realise just how bad a state it was in during its last years of operation. It's pretty shameful actually.

 
Matgo said:
I would have preferred the original body colours but this is a better paint job than the actual version he's trying to emulate which was done with a cheap spray paint.
Click to expand...
What makes the paint "cheap"? Surely looks no cheaper than the DIY job he's done?

Almost all scenic artwork in theme parks around the world is airbrushed .

I wouldnt expect a vlogger to suddenly be an expert scenic artist, but to suggest he's done a better job than the park? It looks fine in the photo he's referencing. Are you just seeing what you want to see?
bookworm0001.jpg


Anyway he could have easily paid a pro to restore it. Plenty great craft people and artists out there who do prop restorations all the time, they'd have made it look as good as new.

I know he's doing it himself DIY for the fun of it, so fair enough, but all these people responding with comments like he's some sort of craft god..really? He's just a guy making a YouTube video of some memorabillia he saved.

It's better than it being scrapped and Alton Towers sure did a poor job maintaining it towards the end... but I just don't get the obsession with Shawn.
 
Last edited:
Seeing it looking presentable, regardless of how you think it should've been restored, it very stratifying to see. It does make me wish that AT had a museum somewhere on site on hold many pieces of past attractions/theming such as the bookworm and a cart of the Corkscrew or one of the Swan boats. Not sure it would've been something worth investing but it is one of those 'would've been nice' moments.

(Maybe 2011 could've used the tent to open an exhibition on AT history as a back up there instead that shambolic failure to try and get that Shrek 3D show)
 
QTXAdsy said:
Seeing it looking presentable, regardless of how you think it should've been restored, it very stratifying to see. It does make me wish that AT had a museum somewhere on site on hold many pieces of past attractions/theming such as the bookworm and a cart of the Corkscrew or one of the Swan boats. Not sure it would've been something worth investing but it is one of those 'would've been nice' moments.

(Maybe 2011 could've used the tent to open an exhibition on AT history as a back up there instead that shambolic failure to try and get that Shrek 3D show)
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, Alton tried to open Far Far Away Land. Bit of a pointless move in my opinion so i'm glad it didn't happen. Who knows what would have happened to the Bookworm if it hadn't been cancelled. Maybe it would have been rethemed to be a massive Shrek animatronic?:p
 
QTXAdsy said:
Seeing it looking presentable, regardless of how you think it should've been restored, it very stratifying to see. It does make me wish that AT had a museum somewhere on site on hold many pieces of past attractions/theming such as the bookworm and a cart of the Corkscrew or one of the Swan boats. Not sure it would've been something worth investing but it is one of those 'would've been nice' moments.
Click to expand...
That would be brilliant if the park cared. Efteling have a small place like that, it's very cool, and the way they've done it means it appeals to more people than just mega enthusiasts. Unfortuantely theyve binned so much there'd be nothing worth putting in an exhibit anymore.
 
OilyWater said:
That would be brilliant if the park cared. Efteling have a small place like that, it's very cool, and the way they've done it means it appeals to more people than just mega enthusiasts. Unfortuantely theyve binned so much there'd be nothing worth putting in an exhibit anymore.
Click to expand...

Pleasure Beach Valhalla said:
Who knows what would have happened to the Bookworm if it hadn't been cancelled. Maybe it would have been rethemed to be a massive Shrek animatronic?:p
Click to expand...

Goodnight Mr Worm! :p All seriousness though, if that kept many bits of past rides/scenery in storage, then it would've have costed them a penny to open a 'new' attraction for that year and yes it would've been fanservice as hell but it could've been Merlin trying to save face after the Shrek debacle by not only opening something for 2011 but also saying, "Hey look! We care for Alton Towers' past!"

Could've brought back some of the former AT rides based at Loudoun that had closed at that point the year prior to really go into detail. Anyway I'm rambling but having a museum either in that tent or, dare I say, somewhere in the Towers would've been quite a different yet welcome attraction for all concern and even been unique on the UK Theme Park scene.

Though I'm sure they try not to bring up Sub-Terra though if they did have a museum knowing the disaster that was! :tearsofjoy:
 
The thing that does concern me. Is as he has mentioned many times. He is using a household paint.

I believe he is keeping it outdoors due to its size and the little building he made for it. Household paint will not last long at all outdoors. It will wash off and weather very very quickly. Not to mention it will fade extremely fast because household paint holds absolutely no UV protection. Undoing all this hard work extremely quickly. The paint is designed for indoors for a reason.

I guess he could coat the whole thing in some clear varnish. Infact, that is probably a necessity, if he doesn't want it looking terrible again very quickly.

Indoor cheap paint is cheap for a reason. I suspect he is using B&Q colours / valspar paint as I saw a few tins in a few videos. Not the best for outdoor stuff at all. Probably the worst choice. I know because I used to sell it.

If he is putting it indoors then great. If not, all that hard work will be undone very quickly without protection. Try scrubbing a wall in your house with a damp sponge. Unless the paint is a premium and specifically scrubbable type. It will come off quickly. Not good for the damp and wet UK weather.

You would think a bit of effort would be put into using the correct type of paint. So that your hardwork is not undone and also seeing as it is a protection layer. Further protecting your work.

Maybe he will use a type of protection varnish. Then great. But it would have been better to use a weatherproof paint to start with.....this is all running off the assumption it is staying outdoors.
 
Last edited:
DistortAMG said:
The thing that does concern me. Is as he has mentioned many times. He is using a household paint.

I believe he is keeping it outdoors due to its size and the little building he made for it. Household paint will not last long at all outdoors. It will wash off and weather very very quickly. Not to mention it will fade extremely fast because household paint holds absolutely no UV protection. Undoing all this hard work extremely quickly. The paint is designed for indoors for a reason.

I guess he could coat the whole thing in some clear varnish. Infact, that is probably a necessity, if he doesn't want it looking terrible again very quickly.

Indoor cheap paint is cheap for a reason. I suspect he is using B&Q colours / valspar paint as I saw a few tins in a few videos. Not the best for outdoor stuff at all. Probably the worst choice. I know because I used to sell it.

If he is putting it indoors then great. If not, all that hard work will be undone very quickly without protection. Try scrubbing a wall in your house with a damp sponge. Unless the paint is a premium and specifically scrubbable type. It will come off quickly. Not good for the damp and wet UK weather.

You would think a bit of effort would be put into using the correct type of paint. So that your hardwork is not undone and also seeing as it is a protection layer. Further protecting your work.

Maybe he will use a type of protection varnish. Then great. But it would have been better to use a weatherproof paint to start with.....this is all running off the assumption it is staying outdoors.
Click to expand...
Please read your comment back and realise how many times you repeated the same thing...

I’ve got to say, this has probably been one of my favourite series he’s done, I think for the state it was in, they’ve done a fantastic job, I really like the refreshed colours, it gives it a real magical feeling, really excited to see the finished result.
 
Since I was a teenager I have been the main painter and decorator in our house. I've painted ceilings, walls, white woodwork, door steps, front doors, doors, doors with glass in them, garages, fence panels....

I've not always used the correct paint, especially for outdoor work and mostly everything has lasted well enough. Sometimes even using the correct paint (yes, I am looking at you fence panels painted with a well known brand of wood paint) it doesn't always last as well as it should. I've used special paints for inside work, and they scrape as soon as you look at them.

One of the worst things I have ever had to paint is a door with 15 glass panels, and every pane of glass had to be surrounded in masking tape to stop the paint, and even then you always got some paint onto the glass when it leeched under the tape, which I then have to scrape off with a knife. (Frog tape is best, but it is more expensive and also tougher to remove, I think it could easily have pulled some of the bookworm away with it if they had used that).

Watching him remove that masking tape to reveal such crisp lines, I swear I could hear the hallelujah chorus. Masking tape is a bugger to work with, it either doesn't stick, doesn't keep the pain out or stays stuck. I noticed the paint did seep under very slightly in a few areas but heyho.

Personally, from the photo he has taken the colour scheme from.... he has done a better job. The colour red used by AT is garish and too blood like for my liking and doesn't sit well the colour of the coat. The deeper red he has used works far better as does the colour of the coat. From the picture and his own work, I would also have to say the paintwork of the chest area does look neater.

I'm not going to delve to deep into the reasons why I think he should be applauded for this work (and his dad of course!) because it's already been mentioned several times by others, and I think to be honest he could be repairing it using the original colours, materials, workings etc and it still wouldn't be to everyone's liking.

I'm just still marvelling at watching two men capable of doing some serious and weird DIY. (Not saying men are not capable obviously, I'm merely referring to the incapable men in my immediate family:p) (Of which I have a lot)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top