I’m finally done and dusted with the Choi Sik Guan Gong lion (rainbow lion). So where to now?
I’ve decided to use this blog to document all my other little projects that I do relating to lion dancing and lion heads and to the lion dancing scene in Sydney (from my miniscule perspective). Just check the My Other Projects tab in the menu for updates.
I’ve got a couple of projects lined up already.
– There’s two more lion heads from the Dragon Style School that have taken a heck of a beating. Outwardly they still look good, but I’ve had a good inspection of them both and they’ll need a fair bit of work. One’s a Liu Bei and the other is a Zhang Fei. They’ll be a good start.
– I’m keen on making a golden/bronze/ orange coloured lion head, not too dissimilar to the Golden lion that Yun Fook Tong used in that 1986 lion king competition.
– I also have another rainbow lion tail sitting around which needs a head to attach itself to so maybe a fresh faced Liu Bei lion head at some point.
– My kung fu Senior in Hong Kong has also been kind enough to save me another battered lion head from a charcoal ending so I can see it out to its former glory. (I don’t know how I’m going to actually fix him especially with the lion being an 8 hour flight away. Maybe I’ll carry him home on my next visit that way).
To kick things off. I’m going to take you back in time to the the old black and white Zhang Fei head that I restored a few years back.
Zoe’s had a look at it and isn’t too impressed with my shaky paint job so she’s decided that she’ll give him a one over to sharpen him up. She’s still in the process of doing so. I’ve also ordered a black and white tail for him and it’s arrived so here is the complete lion minus a second coat of painted love from Zoe.
Front on view of lion. sitting on its new tail
The tail in all its glory
The original neck piece
Neck piece reunited with its head and new tail
wakeuplion 
Your really good at making lion heads!! Ever thought of making dragons??
Thanks Vinh. Amateur at best. Notice how the photos are blurry 😉 to hide how the ugly details.
No actually. I’ve never danced a dragon nor been up close to many to see how they work or look on the inside- hence I wouldn’t know where to start. I’m not as keen on making the newer style competition dragons (Secretly, I think they look like snakes from far away because the heads are the same size as their body). If I was going to make a dragon, I’d opt to go for one of them larger parade ones or the dragons in Once Upon a Time in China 4.
If you actually did make one of thoes, could I buy one off of you?!? Jkjk. Thoes could be a good project since there not made that much anymore…
great job! your efforts and enthusiam triggered me to consider picking up some restoration / production work on lions too ….. not at the moment ’cause i couldn’t afford the time, but maybe in a few years time — maybe it’s a good hobby for me upon retirement. for the time being, i might start with learning how to make a 大頭佛 (the big head buddha). it should more easy to start with (both in terms of paper-work and painting).
and i think i ordered this cheung fei from hong kong for sifu back in the late 80’s or early 90’s; i seem to recognize the neck piece. maybe i’ve ordered yet another one, not a cheung fei but a lau bei, for sifu around that time too, plus a drum, a gong, and cymbals (normal size ones x 2 or 3 pairs and a pair of small ones that they use in peking opera) ….. are they still around?
Hey Pan, you probably did buy this lion!!
Yes, we still have that Lau Bei Si. I’ve just added him onto my post (not pictures though). I think when I’m back from my holiday, he’ll be my next project. He’s main frame isn’t in too bad of a shape although the connections to the base are very shoddy and the mouth needs to be completely made again. And the bristle fur needs to be changed. Otherwise, for a lion thats 20 years old, he’s aged well.
We still have both of the old drums, 2 pairs of cymbals with the original paint written on it. I do remember the smaller cymbals! I was allocated those when I just joined because I was so small. I’m not too sure where they’ve disappeared to and likewise with the gong, that’s gone missing too.