Five giant hockey masks made in Ajax will be displayed in Molson Canadian Hockey House
Feb 06, 2010 - 04:30 AM
By Reka Szekely
AJAX -- Ajax businesses are making a monster contribution to the Olympics in the form of giant hockey masks to be displayed in Vancouver during the games.
Five masks, each more than six feet tall, were boxed up recently and shipped off from VooDoo Airbrushing on Finley Road and sent to Vancouver. Working with Plastiglas Industries, also of Ajax, the company made the giant goalies' masks which will be displayed at Molson Canadian Hockey House, a pavilion that's expected to welcome players, officials and fans of Olympic hockey.
"They're big enough to fit an elephant," joked VooDoo Airbrushing co-owner Gerald McLaughlin.
Each of the masks is meticulously painted, with some bearing the Molson Canadian logo and others bearing the logo for Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
It took more than two weeks to create the masks with Mr. McLaughlin's staff putting in extra hours. Each one was fabricated at Plastiglas Industries on Clements Road and then sent over to VooDoo Airbrushing where cans of paint with names like Alien Purple and Beast Brown were used to create intricate 3-D art.
In addition to the Hockey House masks, members of the Canadian ski and skeleton teams -- including Melissa Hollingsworth and Jeff Pain -- will be wearing helmets airbrushed in Ajax.
"They're all wearing VooDoo paint on their helmets," said Mr. McLaughlin.
VooDoo Airbrushing has been located in Ajax for 20 years and currently has about nine employees. The company does airbrushing on a slew of items and also fabricates some.
"I stared airbrushing T-shirts 32 years ago. I realized I could do the same amount of work on a gas tank and make 10 times the money," said Mr. McLaughlin.
This isn't the company's first brush with elite athletes. NHL players have sported its helmets as well.
"We've got a history of painting high-profile helmets and protective gear," said Mr. McLaughlin. "We're the only company allowed to paint the helmets for Major League Baseball."
The Olympics aren't the end of the giant masks; Canadian Tire has ordered 375 of them for permanent hockey displays in its stores and Mr. McLaughlin said they've also proven popular in sports bars.
VooDoo Airbrushing also has a link to Olympics past. It's currently working on sea creature sculptures, including 15-foot sailfish, for a water park ride to be housed in the Water Cube in Beijing. Plastiglas is also involved, creating the tubes for the water slides.
"That's in the Water Cube where (Michael) Phelps won his eight medals," said Mr. McLaughlin.
He plans to check the items out in person.
"I can't wait to travel over and have some fun in that water park."
As for the Vancouver Olympics, Mr. McLaughlin said he'd love to see his work on a gold medal-winning athlete and he plans to watch them in action.
"We wish them the best of luck," he said.
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