ROSEBUD - sled from Citizen Kane build!

[LukaFilm]

Hi!!
So, a couple of days ago it occured to me that it would be pretty cool to make Rosebud replica, especially since it's Christmas time and building a sled would be appropriate.
Of course, I searched the forum and saw that its been done a couple of times here (duh!), but that can only be helpful!
I would like to thank everybody that shared any information about the prop, and especially to Adam C, and misterfusion for measurements and some good photos - those helped me alot!
Ok, so lets begin!

First I converted all measurements to centimeters and trasfered them on wood.


Then I cut the wood.


I clamped those two pieces together so they would be similar after belt-sanding.


Next, I made the three pieces that connect those two pieces that I know not the names of since english is not my first language


Then I glued and clamped those parts. The top part is just clamped for now. I'll glue it after the painting..


And, here they are without clamps.. I really like the design of those sleigh, they are small, slick and cute.


I started to paint them - more photos to come! I hope you like what you see for now!

 

[Bizarro Lois]

Nice work so far. It's always nice to see props outside the usual fandoms(ie Iron Man, Doctor Who, etc).

 

[MAKE BELIEVE]

Nice!
Adam C was my inspiration when I decided to make my own sled
Keep us posted

 

[nick daring]

I've been wanting one of these for a while. Need to eventually get on that.

 

[phase pistol]

And it's wood, so it should burn really nicely! :thumbsup

Just kidding, it looks great! I'm a Kane fan myself, can't wait to see it finished.

The sled and an appropriate snow globe would make a great display!

Karl

 

[nick daring]

Interesting.
weecreate: Product Development - TCM

 

[Bigdaddy]

Very cool build, I did one as a sign for my mom's B&B (The Rosebud) about 15 years ago. :thumbsup

 

[Adam C.]

Hey! That's turning out great! Always cool to see another Rosebud in the works. :thumbsup Can't wait to see it when it's done!

The sled and an appropriate snow globe would make a great display!

I got my snow globe here by the way. Austrian Snow Globes made in Vienna by Perzy since 1900 They typically sell
out of them in a couple of months, but then always re-stock in the Spring or early Summer. (The base is natural wood though, not black plastic like what is seen in the photo.)

Susan Alexander's Snowglobe replica movie prop from Citizen Kane (1941)

 

[Apollo]

A Classic prop from a Classic!

Looking forward to seein her all painted up!

 

[Bioshutt]

I know that San Diego's Balboa Park was used for some of the opening scenes the sled looks great!

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

...Always cool to see another Rosebud in the works...

WAIT! WHAT? Rosebud was the name of the sled? How about a spoiler alert. Way to ruin a movie for everyone.

 

[Adam C.]

WAIT! WHAT? Rosebud was the name of the sled? How about a spoiler alert. Way to ruin a movie for everyone.

Oh, come on! Everyone knows that 50+ years is the cut-off point for spoilers!

 

[LukaFilm]

I'm glad you like it!!! Now, the painting is done!
I mixed a couple of colors to get the red i thought was good! (seems darker in this photo)


here, the red decorations are done:


The golden frame is painted, and the center piece is transfered


Some crucial parts were painted by my girlfriend, since she is way more precise with brush than me


Here I am, doing some finishing touches.


There is still much to be done.. Glue the parts together, lacquer them and so on..
I hope you like it!

 

[MAKE BELIEVE]

Nice work mate
(the rose was what I had more fun with, when I did mine)
Your girlfriend did a great job on that painting!

 

[LukaFilm]

Hi!
I tryed to work on the sled as fast as I could so it could be displayed under christmas tree on time for Christmas, and its 99% finished now!!!
Here is the last part of my build:

i wanted the wood to be a bit darker than pine is by itself so i darkened it with the mix of pigment and pure alcohole

and now my humble contrbution to future Rosebud builders I wanted to make iron parts on the runners as the prop seen in the movie had. Iron parts are missing on the archive photos you guys shared, but are seen in the film.

I had to bend it by hand since I have no machinery for that type of job. It was a total pain in the a**! I spent the whole day just on that, and it still isn't 100% perfect, but good enough for me.

Next, I had to locate screw holes so I made some screencaps:

I hope it will be helpful to somebody in the future I drilled the holes where i figured they would be..

I wasn't sure which type of screws the original had, but i googled and find out that the type i'm using existed 150 years ago - so it's not entirely incorect

And here they are in all their glory (plus the lacquering)

All that is left is to post a photo of the finished tree and sleigh together.. I'll do it later today!
Hope you enjoyed the build! by!

 

[Moviefreak]

Excellent addition with the iron pieces. Nice catch in those as most people missed them.
I plan to build one soon myself

 

[Feraud]

Awesome classic movie prop!

 

[Adam C.]

You are my HERO!!! I originally wanted to have metal runners added to my sled, but couldn't come up with an easy way to pull it off. Your sled is a masterpiece! Congratulations man. It really is beautiful!

 

[MAKE BELIEVE]

Very very good work, mate. Excellent
For those of us who have already built this sled could you share a bit more how you got and worked on the metal parts?
Congrats for a perfect job

 

[LukaFilm]

Ha,ha,ha! Thank you! Yes, as I said runners were the hardest part.. I got the metal in a nearby metal store, its the most common type that would rust if left in wet atmosphere. I was thinking about protecting it with some king of paint, but for now its left as it is. Unfortunatly I dont have any photos of the bending process. I clamped the metal in a vice and bent it around some pipe, very primitively. And then spent the whole day tweaking it. It was frustrating as hell, but here it is..

As I said, I figured the screw placement from movie, but only the upper two pairs.. the ones circled in green are not shown in the movie, but I figured they would probably be there..

and on closer inspection, I think the screws are wery similar to the ones I used..

Anyway, here is the finished Rosebud, under this years Christmas tree.. ..which is drawn with chalk We wanted to write words that reminded us of Christmas. Half of the words are in my language, but its mostly food and drinks (like turkey, stuffing, cakes, ham,...) which Christmas is all about anyway, right? :lol

So, here it is..
I want to thank everybody that shared their builds again, becouse I wouldn't even start mine hadn't been you guys.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!