I still enjoy making conversion figures. I offer three conversion dummies on my website, Stanley, Grampa Carl and Andy. I do very little or no altering of the face on these figures, I go with the standard Charlie McCarthy face, but with solid professional mechanics inside.One thing you'll notice on a newly manufactured Charlie McCarthy doll is that the mouth doesn't open very wide. To make the jaw open wider, I mark the underside (with a pencil) where the open jaw touches the bottom of the neck opening. Then I mark the closed jaw where the underside of the jaw touches the neck opening.
After that, I cut away the area between the two marks. I cut the front underside about 1/8th of an inch farther than the mark Pop the jaw back in the head and it will open farther.
Of course, you can't leave a gaping hole in the jaw, so I stuff wadded-up paper towel inside the jaw (from the hole in the back to serve as a barrier) and form a smooth depression with Magic-Sculpt. Then I sand and prime. A little more light sanding and it's ready for the next phase.
Oh yeah, after the Magic-Sculpt dries, I pull out the wadded-up paper towel with a pair of hemostats.
I spent quite a long while trying to picture all of that. Since I don't have a charlie here as reference I had a little difficulty. After two visits, I think I've got it! Pride of craftsmanship, eh? Good deal!
ReplyDeleteYeah... sometimes explaining my madness is difficult. Not surprised it's even harder to understand. - Kenny
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