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When Henry Ermer thinks big, he thinks really big.
The 14-year-old high school freshman has built what is believed to be the largest bobblehead in the world outside his home in East Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.
Standing 16 feet tall, the huge figure, which started out as a Jerry Seinfeld look-alike but has since taken a more general male form, took more than a year to build out of PVC piping, chicken wire, fabric papier-maché and springs.
"Last summer, I hadn't done anything except hang out and watch TV and I thought I should probably do something," said Henry, who is starting Edward R. Murrow High School.
"The world's largest bobblehead was my favorite record in the Guinness Book of World Records, so I decided to try and top it."
The figure's body alone stands 11 feet off the ground, equaling the previous record for world's largest bobblehead, a replica of game-show host Chuck Woolery built by the Game Show Network in 2003.
Henry's plans didn't start out so grandiose.
"At first, it was just going to be a broom nailed to another broom with a spring for a neck and a globe as the head, but that wasn't strong enough," he said.
"The first time we tried to put on the head, it fell off because it was too heavy."
So he switched to more sturdy materials.
"He's worked really hard on this bobblehead, and it is completely his project," said Henry's mother, Emily Waters, a graphic designer. "I'm glad it's finally finished. I'm ready for this bobblehead to stop sitting in my dining room."
After stints in the backyard and the dining room, the giant bobblehead now resides in front of the family's brownstone with a big sign that reads, "Don't take this. It's not trash."
Despite being relegated to the front stoop, the bobblehead is being put to good use.
"Everyone stops and talks about it," Henry said. "All the kids in the neighborhood like to play in the head."
The 14-year-old high school freshman has built what is believed to be the largest bobblehead in the world outside his home in East Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.
Standing 16 feet tall, the huge figure, which started out as a Jerry Seinfeld look-alike but has since taken a more general male form, took more than a year to build out of PVC piping, chicken wire, fabric papier-maché and springs.
"Last summer, I hadn't done anything except hang out and watch TV and I thought I should probably do something," said Henry, who is starting Edward R. Murrow High School.
"The world's largest bobblehead was my favorite record in the Guinness Book of World Records, so I decided to try and top it."
The figure's body alone stands 11 feet off the ground, equaling the previous record for world's largest bobblehead, a replica of game-show host Chuck Woolery built by the Game Show Network in 2003.
Henry's plans didn't start out so grandiose.
"At first, it was just going to be a broom nailed to another broom with a spring for a neck and a globe as the head, but that wasn't strong enough," he said.
"The first time we tried to put on the head, it fell off because it was too heavy."
So he switched to more sturdy materials.
"He's worked really hard on this bobblehead, and it is completely his project," said Henry's mother, Emily Waters, a graphic designer. "I'm glad it's finally finished. I'm ready for this bobblehead to stop sitting in my dining room."
After stints in the backyard and the dining room, the giant bobblehead now resides in front of the family's brownstone with a big sign that reads, "Don't take this. It's not trash."
Despite being relegated to the front stoop, the bobblehead is being put to good use.
"Everyone stops and talks about it," Henry said. "All the kids in the neighborhood like to play in the head."