UFO Invasion at Area 51- 2.0

Step 3 Hull

The body of the ships are made out of patio umbrellas. I think the one's with eight panels have the best look. The umbrellas that I used were manufactured by Pottery Barn (as seen in the picture from the catalog). I got an awesome deal when I found all four of them (two for each UFO) from one seller on eBay for about $120. He was located an hour away so I didn't have to pay for shipping.

In starting the construction, remove and discard the small top fabric vent. Open the umbrella to it's maximum and use a steel pin to keep it in position. Cut off the main mast with a jigsaw, then paint the outside material with silver spray paint. It took about 20 cans of Rust-olem Aluminum 7515. Be sure to use a back-and-forth motion while painting to simulate a metal look.

The key component to couple/join the two halves together was old piece of shop vac tube cut to size, which turned out to be the perfect diameter, thickness and strength. To assemble, I simply guided the top half into the collar and gravity held it in place.

The nice thing about making the props out of umbrellas is that they are inherently waterproof. I've left the finished ships outside for more than a week exposed to heavy downpours with no problems.