This was originally posted a few days ago, but is without question our chosen nomination for Mask of the Week!
“Un-freakin’ believable.”
That’s the only thing I could spit out when these amazing photos of Jonas Hiller’s new Tornado Proton mask for the 2010 Winter Olympics came across my desk. Yes, my wonderful goalie friends, it is true. Alec Voggel, the amazing airbrushing alchemist from Airxess, has completed the latest mask in what has been an awesome string of Olympic mask designs popping up over the last few weeks!
The Olympics are one of my favorite events of all time, so getting a chance to catch up with Alec and learn more about Hiller’s new mask is important. It has been a pretty awesome learning experience for me and something I treasure and try to pass along to goalie fans everywhere.
It’s not every day you get a chance to make a friend half a world away and have it mean something! And even though Alec is in Switzerland and I’m in Colorado, he still took the time to send us these photos - when he should have been sleeping at 1:30 in the morning!!
That’s quite the “solid” for all of us Hiller and Olympics fans, so let’s celebrate the upcoming Men’s Hockey Tournament and check out some of these exclusive photos! Here’s a Swiss website with photos in a gallery format.
I’ve come to learn over the last year that Airxess’ dedication to goalie masks is simply unparalleled. Alec has one of the most unique and creative artistic minds I’ve ever known and he’s doing things with masks I’ve only dreamed of seeing. Considering this is how the mask looked like at first, I’m always blown away when I see a finished mask for the first time.
Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I’ll let them tell the story while you dissect the design elements. But I just have to point out one thing that I really love about this mask - the air vents on either side are actual Swiss crosses! AWESOME!
I had to add the photo above because nothing is cooler than removing the tape! I’ve seen Taeleen do this a few times and as a goalie nut just watching from afar, it is pretty exciting. I’m amazed by the precise lines an airbrush artist can achieve – and as you can see, Alec’s precision on this mask was flawless.
Above is a shot of the completed left side. I’m impressed with Alec’s ability to keep the air vents from splicing into the design. To me that’s a real sign of paying attention to detail and doing as much as possible with the painting surface. But maybe the most impressive airbrush work is on the backplate. It features all of Hiller’s traditional elements and the waves looks like they were drawn with colored pencils or charcoal.
There’s not much more I can say about this piece of art. Hopefully you enjoyed these photos while watching the Olympics and continue celebrating along with us. A special thanks to Alec for sending them over to us. Please be sure to visit AIRXESS and check out some of their amazing designs!
Also don’t forget to see our good friends over at INGOALMAG.COM for all of your latest Olympic goalie mask needs!
