Which coaster to tackle next? (Hardly anyone stops at just one tattoo.) It had to be both a coaster I liked and one with an eye-catching logo. I considered Skyrush but dismissed that idea when my tattoo artist told me the design would be difficult to execute, thought about Intimidator 305 but wasn’t really bowled over by the Nascar theme, and considered The Voyage but rejected it in favour of Maverick because the latter had a lot more going for it. So it was back for round two, and getting Maverick inked into my leg proved to be a test of endurance. Whereas El Toro had taken about an hour to do, Maverick took about an hour and 40 minutes. It also took longer to heal because of the heavier ink. Now that it’s finished, I’m delighted with it and think that this is as cool a logo as I’ve seen. The tattoo itself is almost a masterpiece, down to the detail in the horse’s mane and the rope.
I thought that I was done with tattoos – which can be addictive – for the time being and probably would have been except for one thing. I was invited to join people from four websites in posting our best ride experience of 2013. Of the five who participated, three including myself chose Outlaw Run as their best ride experience of last year. So of course I absolutely had to have the Outlaw Run logo tattooed, like the others in a spot where it wouldn’t be visible on a daily basis – because of my line of work. I don’t want to ever forget that I went all the way to Branson, MO just to ride a roller coaster and now I won’t. And Outlaw Run coordinates well with Maverick because of the equine motif. Although the actual logo is somewhat more elaborate than what I got, my tattoo artist and I agreed to simplify the design in order to cut costs and execution time. Surprisingly, the design was easier to execute than the last one and we were finished in about an hour and 15 minutes. Not only that, but it either wasn’t as painful as the last one or I’m getting used to it. (Only the aftermath was painful; a tattoo is, after all, a wound, and this one was in a sensitive spot.) It helps to have a good tattoo artist, and I was lucky enough to find one who’s easy to work with, can adapt any design and guarantees his tattoos. I’m getting a kick out of the tattoos but am not so sure that my tattoo artist shares my enthusiasm; he didn’t recommend any more coaster logos, saying that he didn’t want me to look like a refrigerator, lol. So for number 4, I ended up getting a cat tattoo after all. Tattoos by the awesome Bryce Nadeau, Body Graphics, 627 South 4th St. and 617 South St., Phila., PA. Thanks to Kevin Sommerville of Seger Playground for taking photos, and to Kate at Body Graphics for shooting a video.
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Some places offer temporary tattoos that could last a few weeks. This might be the better option when you might consider going on vacation at the beach.
The second roller coaster tattoo was Big Bad Wolf, since it was my first roller coaster ever and was taken down. That I got on my left leg by the same artist that did my Kingda Ka one and it looks amazing.
Roller coaster logos make great tattoos because the designs are made to stand on their own. It would be hard to melt them together into a sleeve or something but as a stand-alone image, they're perfect for it and can be modified so that it doesn't look EXACTLY like the logo if you don't want it to. The only people who recognize my Kingda Ka one are people who have been to the park and are familiar with that particular logo, otherwise people just see a very colourful, decorative golden sun with a tiger in it.
I already know my next one will be a watercolour style piece for Alpengeist. Nothing wrong with representing your favourite rides!
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