This Month in Fibreglass: Military special

As we all know, Star Wars is real and this months' this month, is feeling the force. Not only dog uniforms but also a look into empire created special composites. So, check out how the Stormtroopers do it, while we hold tight to the bandwagon we just jumped onto.

Lord Vader Opens New Dog Unit

Dogs....Why do they always look like their owners?

I say! Our brave boys got a special treat this month, his Highness Lord Vader called in to visit the troops at a new canine unit and doesn't this new four legged soldier look ready for action. Our new trainee has some serious bite and will jolly well make those Rebels think twice if they want to take on the glorious empire, good show lads! Darth looks super pleased with events and is giving two thumbs up to these plucky fellows.

This is not the dog you are looking for.

Say hello to Penny, a Doberman who loves to dress up. Here she is in a foam/fibreglass trooper outfit

CHRISTMAS DELIVERY INFORMATION!

CFS offices are open until 5pm on Wednesday 23rd December 2015.

We will be closed for Christmas from Thursday 24th December 2015, re-opening Monday 4th January 2016 at 08:30.

To ensure deliveries arrive to you BEFORE Christmas please note the following:

NEXT DAY orders must be placed by 1pm on Tuesday 22nd December

THREE DAY orders must be placed by 1pm on Friday 18th December

Full delivery services will resume from Monday 4th January 2016.

Any orders placed online over the Christmas break will be processed when the office re-opens.

WIN a 64GB iPad Air 2 in our Free Prize Draw!

Our fabulous Christmas offer is here!

We thought we'd do things a little differently this year, so we're going to give one lucky customer a 64GB iPad Air 2!

All you have to do is place an order on our website between now and midnight on 17th December and you'll automatically be entered into the prize draw!

Keep it for yourself, or give an amazing gift! Either way, it's a pretty good Christmas.

Good luck!

You can read all the rules and regs here.

iPad Giveaway - Terms and Conditions!

This Christmas, we’re giving away the ultimate gift - a fantastic 64GB iPad 2 Air in Gold!

Every customer who places an order on our website from now until 23:59 on Thursday 17^th December 2015 will automatically be entered into the prize draw.

On Friday 18^th December we will choose one lucky winner – it could be YOU!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. The promoter is: CFSNET Ltd (company no. 8244956) whose registered office is at CFSNET Ltd, United Downs Industrial Park, St Day, Redruth, Cornwall TR16 5HY.

2. Employees of CFSNET Ltd or their family members, or anyone else connected in any way with the draw or helping to set up the draw shall not be permitted to enter the draw.

3. All customers who place an order on either http://www.cfsnet.co.uk or http://www.cfsfibreglass.co.uk between 00:01 on Monday 23^rd November 2015, and 23:59 on Thursday 17^th December 2015 will automatically be entered into the draw. One entry per customer.

4. However, there is no purchase necessary to enter this draw. Please enter in writing to iPad Draw, CFSNET Ltd, United Downs Industrial Park, St Day, Redruth, Cornwall TR16 5HY.

5. Closing date for entry will be 23:59 on Thursday 17^th December, 2015. After this date, no further entries to the draw will be permitted.

6. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

7. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the draw and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the draw will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.

8. If you do not wish to be entered into the draw for any reason, please contact media@cfsnet.co.uk.

9. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this draw.

10. No cash alternative to the prize will be offered. The prize is not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent or larger value without giving notice.

11. Winners will be chosen at random by online software, from a list of all entries received, and verified by the Promoter and or its agents.

12. The winner will be notified by email and/or letter within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.

13. The promoter will contact the winner to organise delivery of the prize.

14. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the draw will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

15. By entering this draw, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

16. The draw, and these terms and conditions, will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.

17. The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.

18. The winner’s name will be available 28 days after closing date by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the following address: iPad Draw Winner, CFSNET Ltd, United Downs Industrial Park, St Day, Redruth, Cornwall, TR16 5HY.

19. Entry into the draw will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

20. You are providing your information to CFSNET Ltd and not to any other party. The information provided will be used in conjunction with the following Privacy Policy found at http://cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/copyright.html

The New CFS Catalogue is Out Now!

It's been a long time coming, but the new catalogue is finally here!

Ellie has been busy working on the content and design for months, so when the final draft was sent off to St Austell Printers, she and Paul took a trip up there to see the whole process in action!

You can watch the video below.

If you've already received one from us, we'd love to know what you think of the new look.

If you'd like to order one for yourself, click here!

This Month In Fibreglass: This month is dirty!

Who would have thought that glass reinforced plastic would be so durable! Just to highlight our super products' resistance to decay, we put together a blog of fibreglass structures that really should have been cleaned up. This month, it's an abandoned holiday complex, abandoned theme park and an abandoned listening station - rude. 

Thai Curry

Reminds me of melons, or grapefruits....whatever.

This is the exciting, bustling holiday resort of Sanzhi in Taiwan. Once, the dream was all about knobbly knees competitions and probably some local light entertainer like Brobery Davlo banging out some songs. Alas, the dream has turned into a horrible nightmare. This complex of concrete and fibreglass pod buildings was conceived in 1978 and was being built - until 1980 when it was abandoned. Here we see what happens to fibreglass over the course of about 28 years......hint: it gets dirty!

Visit Sanzhi and wonder at strip covered ribbed GRP Panelling!

When a sacred dragon statue was moved to widen an access road, they say its annoyed spirit

How to make a spooky Zombie hand for Halloween!

It's the last week before Halloween, so we thought we'd share this really cool Zombie Plant!

This would be so simple to make yourself - you could do loads and have a Zombie Garden - or get the whole family involved and have kiddy zombies too! 

To make a cast of your hand, all you would need is:

A bucket
Alginate
Plaster
Your own choice of decorations - be it paint, bandages - or why not glitter for a glamorous, sparkly spook?!

How?
1) Mix your alginate according to instructions, and pour it into your bucket.
2) Then place your hand in, creating whatever shape you'd like with your fingers
3) Wait for the alginate to set (about 15 minutes), then carefully pull your hand out.
4) Mix up your plaster and pour it in! The plaster should have set after around 20 minutes, then you simply break away the alginate and you're ready to go.

Tips: 
1) Don't make your fingers too curled, it'll make it harder to remove your hand from the alginate without damaging the mould
2) Only immerse your hand up to your wrist - any deeper and again, it'll be difficult to remove without damaging the mould

You could use your plaster hands in loads of different ways to decorate your Halloween party or just generally creepify your house a bit! We'll be sharing some more ideas in the lead up to Halloween so keep your googly eyes peeled...

Carbon Fibre: cars!

A round up of all the latest carbon developments in the world of very-fast-cars.

First up, we've got the special edition 650S Can-Am from McLaren. Developed to mark the 50th anniversary of the first race of the Canadian-American series. If you've never seen one of those races, this video from 1971 will give you an idea. So much vintagey goodness!

Anyway, on to the car itself...

Andy dons a helmet!

If you've been a customer of ours for a while, you may remember that one of our longest standing members of staff, Andy, retired in October last year.

Now, knowing that Andy is a bit of a petrol head - we thought we'd treat him to a day driving some awesome cars around Castle Combe Circuit! (Better than a carriage clock, eh?)

This Month in Fibreglass: August 2015

This summer, step-thru to see sentient scooters, spectacular slates and a surprised sheep. Mmm... sexy.

Automatic Love

2 strokes and she's anybody's

If, like me, you've spent many a night worrying what would happen if technology began to think, it may be best to avoid Patricia Piccinini's vision of the future. Can we live in a world where our scooters keep wandering off to snuggle up to anything with two wheels? No we can't. I don't care how cute they are.
The website on which I saw these godless creatures says....

This Month In Fibreglass: July 2015

Artists: they do like a bit of the fibreglass for their creations, so we have put together our (cleanish) tribute to the artist who probably uses GRP to create some of the wackiest forms ever. This month: Atelier Van Lieshout and his fibreglass buildings - or 'walk-in sculptures'. Maybe he has inspired me to take some resin home, maybe not.

Meet the Flintstones

Blow down one end and it plays a tune

Starting with something almost normal is this "Original Dwelling", unveiled last month at last months Design Miami/Basel fair. It's primitive, made to make you think of cave dwellers, but it's a vision of the future as well - a future where we live in tribes and are all hippies. Kill. Me. Now.

Sea Kayakers rescue stranded dolphin on Scottish Island

These kayakers are total heroes - watch this video of them rescuing a dolphin that was tangled in seaweed on the Isle of Barra in Scotland.

This Month in Fibreglass: June 2015

This month is so eclectic even I can't think of a connection.

Half Baked

Say cheese

This is the "Roadcut" art exhibit by Mike Womack currently being displayed at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du La, somewhere in the US of A. A towering monolith of tasty cheese snacks stuck together with epoxy. Except sometime during the night.....

Facebook Promotions - Terms and Conditions

1. Entries will be drawn at random using a random number generator.
2. Promotions are only available for entry by UK residents.
3. Entrants must 'Like' the CFS Fibreglass Facebook Page, along with the appropriate promotional image.
4. Prizes cannot be exchanged for equivalent monetary value or vouchers.
5. Prizes will be sent via courier on a 3 working day service, upon receipt of winner's delivery address.
6. We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
7. Our Facebook promotions are in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

This Month in Fibreglass: May 2015

This month's mad mix of mouldings merges middle-east motors, a fifteen-foot fantastic floating Thunderbird and selfie-sticks for sad social media snaps.

Dubai-ous Circumstances

For the 21st Century boy racer that really needs to make a statement.

While most of us worry about the price of petrol, a thought may be spared for those who have lived in the country where that petrol is dug up. A strange phenomenon is happening in Dubai, some people are abandoning the country and also abandoning their treasured exotic motor cars. Extreme debt legislation and no bankruptcy means it is better to flee than face the music.

This Month in Fibreglass: April 2015

Arachnaphobes beware: this month we've got an 8-legged surprise! And if you're not a fan of creepy crawlies in general you might want to look away now...

First Spiders in Space

Tethers Unlimited’s “SpiderFab” is a robot designed to build structures in a similar way to how spiders build their webs.

This Month in Fibreglass: March 2015

Death. The end. The inevitable extinction. It doesn't just happen to the living, fibreglass can also die and sometimes it can be just as sad, much like my puns. Here's this month's news rehash, copy and paste!

Putting down the Daisy

The grass is always greener on the "other side"

The Kyloe cow, we barely knew you.
Loyal readers (I know you're out there) may remember our article on the plight of our bovine lady and the controversy of her situation. Well, the planning department won and she was given a funeral as special as any state one; complete with 60 mourners and coffin carriers in cow onesies. Touching. I got my info here.

Watching over us from above

This Month in Fibreglass: February 2015

This month's "This Month" is dedicated to being careful. It's health and safety gone mad. Hopefully the following blog will keep you safe, maybe out of prison, or help you avoid being cursed by an ancient Egyptian king. It's not just entertainment we provide here, but important lifestyle information too.

P-P-P-Pickup These Penguins

Just chillin' out - It's what penguins do best.

Fibreglass ice has berg-ered up these dumb penguins' footing at "The Deep" in Hull aquarium. It requires a non-slip coating. So be careful out there, fibreglass is slipperier than ice - FACT!

Penguin - showing off

Not suggesting that these penguins are spoiled but....

"Their £750,000 exhibit, based on an old South Georgia whaling station, gives visitors views of the penguins across three floors, both underwater and on land, and features the penguins' very own outdoor balcony with views overlooking the Humber."

Full story here.

This Month In Fibreglass: January 2015

Welcome to 2015! Can you believe it? Neither can we.

And to truly ring in the new year in style, what better than a random selection of news stories from across the globe - all with a tenuous link to fibreglass? Nothing! Here goes...

Northern Nudes

She's being restored... but she really ain't happy about it

The town of Doncaster is buzzing this month, amidst news that a beloved sculpture is to be restored to its former glory.
The giant fibreglass artwork, The Lovers, sparked much clutching of pearls when it was first unveiled in 1968. It was originally installed in the fountain of the then Arndale Centre, and proved to become a beloved fixture over the years. It seemingly disappeared in the mid-1980s during the centre's rebranding as the Frenchdale Centre.

But! In 2006, it came to light that The Lovers had been canoodling at the bottom of someone's garden for some 20+ years. There was even a Facebook group set up in its honour.