Heh. I got phenomenally lucky: a few months out of art school, a dear friend called me up, asking if I wanted to work for the guy who made the 'Band. In between making new works, the T would call us up a couple times a year, asking us to make repairs. I'm not sure what's going on these days: AFAIK, the T has jobbed out the work to some art council or another.
I'm not sure what to suggest, apart from writing to Rhodes and explaining what you want to do, and what your qualifications are. It's entirely likely that he's getting on in years, and wouldn't mind an understudy to help preserve his legacy.
Find me at the end of summer party and we can chat one-on-one about it.