10 Jan 2019 - National World War II Museum #2, Mardi Gras World - Blain Kern Studios

10 Jan 2019
Sunny but even cooler today with low of 45F.  Wind diminished so that helps.  Highs today 55F.  We departed about 0900 hrs and headed down to the Algiers ferry again for the short trip to the French Quarter.  I grabbed this shot of an interesting poster. All I could think of was Tom Hanks and Captain Phillips!

Back on the Hop-on Hop-off and exit at the National World War II Museum again.

After checking in with our second day passes, we cruised through the gift shop and then hopped aboard the 'Pete Kent Train Car Experience'. It is a 4D simulated ride on a train car like those who enlisted and shipped off to boot camp when World War II started might have taken.  Normally we would have done this the first day after buying our tickets, but we had to beat feet to the movie then so we are just coming back to this.         

Video screens in the side windows

Video screens in front of you.  The train cars vibrate like they would going down the tracks

After the train experience we made our way over to Building #4, the US Freedom Pavilion:  The Boeing Center.  This building has several Boeing aircraft from World War II, a few other vehicles and a few other displays.  The Boeing Center has four levels, but the top two are simply vantage points to view the aircraft which are suspended from the ceiling by cables.  That way you can see below and above the aircraft.

Their first floor centerpiece is the 'Final Mission:  USS Tang Submarine Experience' where you actually step aboard the most successful submarine in WWII for it's fifth patrol on October 25, 1944.  There was at least one large school group here and no open seats until the afternoon so we had to skip that.  Here are some pictures of the other first floor displays:

Ford Jeep

B-24D Liberator Cockpit

A view into the cockpit from the rear.  The seat here is the gunner

Bomb sight, bomb control, machine gun cutaway display

Looking into the front front and the bomber position.  The pilot and copilot positions can be seen above and behind the bomber

A Jeep Ford GPA Amphibian - an amphibious Jeep!  These were discontinued in 1943.

A view from the first floor looking up:

Here are some pictures from the second, third and fourth floors.  As we headed up, they warned us of vertigo!

General Motor TBM Avenger

P-51 Mustang - Red Tail flown by the Tuskegee Airmen

Douglas SDB Dauntless

Vought F4U Corsair

B-17E Flying Fortress

Front view of the B-17E

B-25J Mitchell

We hopped back on the bus and headed down to the Mardi Gras World and the studio of Blain Kern. 

This place is amazing, but to understand it you must understand some basic things about Mardi Gras, the parades, the Krewes.  I don't understand everything I know about Mardi Gras and I will be the first to admit that, but I believe this is correct:
- There is not just one parade, there are many.
- They run from January 6th to March 5th this year which is Fat Tuesday or the day before Ash Wednesday.
- Each Krewe has a parade and or other event.
- You pay money to join a Krewe.
- Krewes can be male-only or female only.
- Each Krewe has a float.
- Those Krewe members on a float are required to wear a mask and can be fined if they don't.
- There is usually significant alcohol consumption on the floats.
- Parades may run for hours, therefore:
    -- The floats have porta-potties on them.
    -- Krewe members riding the floats must be tethered so they don't fall off. 
- Each Krewe member is responsible for their own 'throws' such as beads, cups, koozies, etc.
- Each Krewe member is also responsible for their own beverages. 
- The Krewes sometimes pay companies to build their floats, and the theme is secret.
- The companies re-use the float materials for subsequent years, changing them as needed.
- One of those companies is the Blain Kern Studio we are visiting today.
- Other times Krewes work on their floats throughout the year in secret locations known as 'dens'. 

So we entered the Mardi Gras World and viewed a movie that explained the process. 

Then a tour guide gave us some more information and we were served a slice of King Cake, which is a cinnamon coffee cake with frosting and sugar sprinkles.  Inside the King Cake is a small plastic baby and if you get the baby in your piece of the cake you will have good luck but are responsible for hosting the next party!

After the King Cake we walked out through the warehouse area where the artists do their work.  Besides floats, Kern Studios make creations like the spotted cows for companies such as Chick-Fil-A.   They use wood and a lot of Styrofoam which is sculpted into a creation. One of the pictures below you will see robotic automation to sculpt the Styrofoam.   Then they cover it with paper machete.  After that it goes to the painting artists and finally it is assembled into a float.  Here are some pictures:

A fabrication area

Paper machete repairs

Painting artist area

Styrofoam fabrication

A finished product - Jackie Kennedy

Kiss!

Styrofoam fabrication.  Glues together, cut and sanded

This is the float design.  The next picture shows the front of this float

The front of the float being created

One of the rope tethers with a caribiner hanging over the side

Beautiful creations

Doreen standing in front of one of the floats

A joker in every pile!  Now that is scary!

Their robotic machine crafting the Styrofoam 

Another work area fabricating the Sytrofoam

Spiderman

Arnold!

Pooh Bear

The Queen of the Mardi Gras!

Superman

Another fabrication area.  One of the Chick Fil-A cows in the back

Dr Suess

The King

We had a great time at the Mardi Gras World Blain Kern Studios.  The tour was not cheap, but i am glad we paid the extra money for a guided tour.  It was very informative.  We took their shuttle back top the ferry and made our way back to the campground.

Tomorrow we intend to take the ferry back to the French Quarter and walk the area with lunch there.