Wednesday 30 December 2009

New Arai junior karting helmet - CK6

The first batch of the new Arai CK6 arrived in early December and we had several to get painted for customers for Christmas. These were finished before Christmas but we couldn't show them here until now, as most of them were surprise presents!






Friday 18 December 2009

Motorsport News Feature

Motorsport News visited the workshop a while ago and the feature they put together is in the Christmas issue which is in the shops now, you can view the whole article here. http://www.jlfdesigns.com/MN58-59.pdf

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Gorillaz Helmet.

Here's a helmet that was painted in a Gorillaz theme.
Under the characters are many hours worth of hand-painted grafitti over a metalflake base. Block colours with pinstriping over green candy were put through the middle to give a contrast to the detail on the sides.
This helmet was painted for fun in my spare time (which isn't often!)  and will be used as a show helmet for the workshop. We're planning to produce several themed helmets this year so keep checking the blog & website for updates!



Monday 30 November 2009

Showtime!

Sunday was a busy day as Del and myself made visits to the Kartmania Kart Show and the International Bike Show. Luckily the venues were only about 30 miles apart so first we visited the Kart Show where several stands had JLF painted-helmets on them, including the Arai stand. Also on display were helmets belonging to Vettel, Alonso, Kovallainen and Damon Hill so we were in good company!



After that flying visit we then went on to the Bike Show, where Arai had a hugely impressive double-decker stand featuring their full range of helmets, and right at the front was the 3 oversized helmets we had painted a few weeks before. The Show was pretty hectic so it was good to be able to have a break upstairs with a couple of Red Bulls.





While we were there we came across a stand featuring statues made from recycled bike parts including this 7ft replica of the Alien Queen from the film. I can't imagine the hours involved in making it, but I want one!



Tuesday 24 November 2009

Arai Bike helmets - Size XXXXXXL



With the International Bike Show fast approaching, Arai asked us to re-paint 3 oversized display versions of their helmets. The helmets had first been painted over ten years before, so were in need of refurbishing ready for Arai's stand at the show.

Two of the helmets were painted as replicas of Mick Doohan and Freddie Spencers' designs and the third was painted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Arais' first involvement at the Isle of Man TT races.


If you're at the Show, take a look at Arais' stand - you won't miss the helmets!



Thursday 6 August 2009

Suffolk Motorsports Show 2009


We recently exhibited at a motorsport show organised to showcase the local motor-racing scene. It was held in the centre of historic Bury St Edmunds, opposite the Abbey Gate. It was a relaxed, low-key day and was a chance to catch up with friends, local racers and people from the many local racing companies.




The last time a similar show was held was 40 years ago so hopefully the next one will be a little sooner! A lot of the cars on display were historic racers which fitted perfectly with the surroundings.





Wednesday 24 June 2009

Lewis Hamilton British GP Helmet



For the British GP we added a patriotic touch to Lewis's helmet with a Union Jack flag on the top, showing through a "torn" section in the yellow.
Silverstone was another frustrating race for Lewis with a late spin ruining any chance of a good result after some great overtaking moves earlier in the race. The results aren't coming but the determination's still there!

Thursday 21 May 2009

New Video

Monday 18 May 2009

Monaco/Indy 500 Helmets


It's been a busy couple of weeks, with one-off specials to paint for the Monaco GP and the Indy 500.


We designed a new cartoon for Lewis's Monaco helmet, and used a prismatic silver for the Vodafone halo to match the Steinmetz diamonds.

Dan Wheldon's Indy 500 design has the Lionheart Knight in a Lotus based on Jim Clarks' car, and digital camo to match Dans' National Guard-sponsored car. The whole helmet was finished in a matt effect.

Ernesto Viso has a new design for Indy, featuring the logos and colours of Herbalife; his teams' sponsor.

















Friday 27 March 2009

Lewis Hamilton Helmet Cartoon


Lewis's 2009 helmet design has a new addition! On the back is a cartoon of him spinning the decks as he does at some of the after-race parties. We wanted to update the design without changing his now world-recognised design, so I came up with a simple, eye-catching cartoon to bring a bit of fun to the design.

Thursday 12 March 2009

FIA Formula One Safety Crew Helmets

We have just finished painting 6 helmets for the FIA Formula One crew, and they are on a plane on their way to Australia for the first Grand Prix. The helmets are to be used at the races by FIA personnel including the safety car driver, so we might have another driver leading a GP at some point, apart from Lewis!

Tuesday 10 March 2009

Classic Alfa Romeo.


Customer Nick Eden recently picked up his new helmet on his way to a classic race meeting. With him was his stunning 1939 Alfa Romeo, and we all took a break from work to admire it. The car was immaculate and the craftsmanship made it hard to believe how old it was. The car also has a lot of history - it was originally raced successfully by Mussolinis' chauffeur!

Tuesday 24 February 2009

Heart helmet

We recently painted a helmet with a great story behind the design. Tim Gibson had a heart transplant several years ago and asked us to paint a helmet showing his irregular ECG readout from before the transplant, and the healthy, regular ECG readout after his transplant. Blue flake was used as a base colour and a fading Union Jack was incorporated onto the top.
You can read more about Tim on his website www.twgracing.co.uk.

Thursday 15 January 2009

Lewis presentation helmet.



We recently painted a special helmet to celebrate Lewis's F1 championship and I took it down to the McLaren headquarters to present it to him.

The design features one half painted in his 2008 design, and the other painted in the first design his father painted when he started karting. The two halfs were seperated by a gold laurel wreath.

The front was sculpted to look like the old GP4 helmet on the "old" side, with three new vents cut out. We'll have some detailed pictures on the galleries soon.

While I was there Lewis signed an airbrush mural I painted last year which can be seen on the table in one of the shots. The painting was airbrushed onto a sheet of carbon fibre.


It was great to catch up with Lewis and talk about his year, and wish him the best of luck for 2009. I asked him not to leave it till the last lap this time, though - my heart rate couldn't take that again!

Wednesday 14 January 2009

Autosport Show 2009




I hadn't been to the Autosport Show for a couple of years as it falls in our busiest time, but the Arai importers had some of our helmets on their stand so I went on the trade day to deliver the helmets. It was great to meet friends and customers that I hadn't seen in a while.


While there, I delivered BTCC driver Andrew Jordan's new helmet to him. He hadn't given us any instructions other than "flames, matt black...just go mad!" So look out for Andy at the BTCC rounds this year - you won't miss his helmet, complete with devil, dancing demons and gold flake!




Saturday 3 January 2009

Happy New Year!


We had the usual hectic run-up to Christmas and it was good to have some time off to recover before the new season starts! The waiting list is already up to the end of Feb so it's once again "full-speed ahead" in the workshop. Three of Lewis's 2009 helmets have arrived with one needed to be painted for the McLaren team launch on Jan 15th. The helmets are carbon versions of the new Arai GP6 and are very light and very cool!


It's been a tough time for the motor industry with the knock-on effects that are going to hit motorsport, so everyone here would like to wish all our customers a Happy New Year with best wishes for a safe and prosperous time over the next 12 months.