X-15 Cruise Basselope

by Hal Elsberry

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Silly Week 2009

 

History
I saw this picture on the internet several years ago and I always thought that it was silly. I had been looking to try my hand at sculpting and this seemed like an easy first project. I did not read Bloom County and am not familiar with the history of the basselope so I got this from Wikipedia.
Rosebud the Basselope was the world’s last Basselope (a cross between a basset hound and an antelope). 
Rosebud was part of a gag government weapon program against the Soviet Union. It involved Rosebud projecting a six megaton atomic bomb from between her antlers. Rosebud was likely based on Berke Breathed’s own pet basset hound.
 
Construction
I sculpted the Basselope out of Sculpy, epoxy putty and plastic card then mounted it on a 5 x 7 picture frame. The bomb is a plastic Easter egg that my 4 year old daughter donated to the project. It took about a week to get it done. 

Conclusion
I definitely need some more sculpting practice but I had fun making it. It is something different from the aircraft models in the display cabinet.

Hal Elsberry

Photos and text © by Hal Elsberry