Runaway Giraffe

As many mistakes as I made on this giraffe, I probably could have  made two of them with the same materials and time if I knew what I was doing. I spend more time redoing things and it sometimes drives me crazy !!! Yesterday I decided that the removable leg idea was a bad idea because it compromises the stability of this large top heavy metal beast. And come to think of it, I really don't plan on taking this Giraffe on any road trips in the near future. I was going to get him sandblasted but instead I think I'll use oxysolv (or the Eastwood equivalent) over the surface rust before I topcoat it.

Just when I'm about ready to finish him up I add ankles and Hooves pads. They look great and are solid as can be. BUT .... they add about 5-6 inches to the leg which makes the giraffe look grossly out of proportion. Big time. Like he grew overnight. So the only option is to cut 6-10 inches off the lower 4 legs which will be a bit of work. Very disappointing. I took him out to stand him up and it about killed me with the weight and cumbersome bulk. The wife helped a little but then she gave me this serious look and told me I need to start making smaller projects. I had a heck of a time getting him back into the garage.  Between heavy robots and now this giraffe I can see her point. Oh and a large vice from my welding workbench fell from the bench onto my big toe yesterday (just thought I'd throw that in for sympathy : ). 

Moving this beast to the back yard and positioning him will be a major crazy challenge. I have no clue how that's going to happen. Maybe I'll have to run cables and stake him down.  But that will take away from the look.  He needs to withstand wind and the elements. It's the old "be careful what you wish for" scenario.  After all, this is a wild giraffe we're talking about.