Long Ma, the Halle de la Machine dragon-horse, undergoing maintenance before its arrival in Toulouse
Eight years after leaving the Compagnie la Machine workshops, Long Ma is back in Nantes for a complete overhaul. The dragon horse will be the future attraction of the Halle de la Machine in Toulouse, from February 19.
Long Ma, Compagnie La Machine’s dragon horse is back in Nantes for a facelift, almost eight years after its first outing. At the end of the week, he will leave for Toulouse where he will be presented on February 19. She, because in reality she is a lady, stayed there until May 8 to return to China.
From the wheels to the end of the mustaches
Over the years and travels, in China, Canada, France, Long Ma had lost some of her splendour.. Pierre Bellivier and the other technicians therefore gave it a complete facelift: “We really started from the base, the wheels, then we went up with the trolley, the hydraulics, the paint. We redid the colors and the coloring of the hulls, up to the tip of the mustaches and the tips of the ears We also adjusted its sensors so that it finds his original attitudes.”
We can imagine him angry, hunter, player…
Because that’s what makes the magic of Long Ma. For the spectators but also for the technicians who designed it, who had it evaluated and who now take care of its maintenance, like Mickaël Dimier: “it remains wood and mechanics but all the little functions he has, eyelids, ear movements, paws… When all that is done well at the right time, we can imagine him angry, a hunter looking away, a player Also. At this level, it is a very successful machine”.
UN big show weekend is planned in Toulouse around Long Ma on April 16th and 17th.