I can hear out of both ears

It was a struggle to duplicate the ear on the left.  I think I made four or five attempts before getting it done.  It's hard to duplicate something because there's always a little luck in getting it right the first time.

I took a close-up photo of the left (its right) ear and displayed it on my large computer screen.  Then I formed the right while staring at the contours of the original.  But the luck comes in when you realize you don't have the very exact amount of clay under your thumb.The difference is small... but it makes a difference.   I'll add a touch of fill here and there and it will fix flaws.

Hey, I came as close as I could.

An earful

I made a cartoon ear for my full-size figure.  VERY difficult.  But I'm happy with the way the left one turned out. 


Now... can I duplicate it on the right? 

All ears

My full-size figure model, which I started months ago, is now in the process of getting ears.  I cut the ear-shape out of styrene plastic and used Magic-Sculpt to fuse it to the head.  After it dries, I'll do a little earlobe trimming, then sculpt the actual ear on top of the styrene with more Magic-Sculpt. 

Hit the wall

Already I've run into trouble with my "no eye tray" approach. If I wanted the eyes to just move side-to-side, no problem. But I use small eyehooks in the eyeballs with strings attached as part of my crossed-eyes animation. When the strings are pulled, the eyes cross. But I'm concerned that the torque from the eyes being pulled will dislodge the Magic Sculpt from the head. With an eye tray, the setting is so secure, nothing would loosen or break the set-up.

Back to the drawing board.

Eye am, therefore eye do

Here goes an eye experiment.  I'm going to make a figure sans eye tray. 

I put a brass bolt with washer at the bottom of the eye.  Then I topped it with a nut and washer.  I made sure the nut was loose enough for the eyeball to spin freely, but tight enough to keep the up-and-down motion of the eye to a minimum. I committed to this first step by securing the nut in place (and thus, the eye) with Tite'n For Bolts.  

My plan is to suspend the each eye individually from the top of the head.  I'm going to drill a hole in a small flat piece of wood (about 1/3 the size of the eyetray), then screw in the bolt just enough for it to be even with the other side.   I may drop some Gorilla Crazy-Glue to lock the bolt into the wood.  Then I'll secure wood to the top of the head with Magic-Sculpt. 

I may not even need the piece of wood.  But if I new that, then this wouldn't be... an experiment!

A little tongue

Actually more tongue. I like to add Magic-Sculpt to enlarge the tongue on my Cheeky Boy and Elmore characters.

By the way, the Elmore head will likely be discontinued soon. So if you ever thought of buying a head from Braylu or a completed Elmore figure from me, these will be the last in the line.

Evidence of progress

Poke in the eye

I'm thinking of doing away with the eye tray.  You know... just securing each eye separately inside the head with Magic-Sculpt.  I did it a few times on some earlier figures, but I wasn't completely happy with the result.  But I think I might have a way to do it more neatly. 

Hmmmm. (That's me thinking more quietly).

Oh... and I finally found my paint brushes!

An update from one of us

Awhile back, John wrote me for some advice on painting a figure. I recall he was having a problem with paint peel, so I suggested a primer coat first, then paint. He was nice eough to send an update:

"Hi, I'm not sure if you remember me asking you about paint but I just wanted to update you on my progress. I finally was able to get back to work on my figure and I'm no longer having issues with paint since I switched from craft paint to some model paint I use for my plastic models. I don't really plan to use the figure professionally I just enjoy building and painting things and vent figures lets me do both. He's got a classic old style paint job to him with black around his eye rims and bright red lips. I kinda kept the paint a little thin in spots letting his primer show through. To me it gives him a bit of character and a touch of that old style figures had. The head is finished just waiting some mechanics.

Well I just wanted to thank you for your great advice! If you want I can send some pictures of him when I get a chance to. He's a Brose casting."

Send us a photo, John, when you finish your feller.

Gettin' hooked up

Installing an eye hook at the bottom of the body is a lot easier if you drill a start-hole.  Because the inside of the body is too small to fit a drill, I use a small hand drill with a 3/32" drill bit. 

Now that I have a stylus Dremel, I bet I could use that instead.  It'll fit.  (This is me thinking out loud).

I use my needle-nose pliers to pull the eyehook's opening a little wider to make it easier to slip the elastic band (attached to the bottom of the headstick) in and out.

Back to work

The shop isn't quite finished, but I'm together enough to get some work done. 

Not every head casting comes out perfect.  There are occasions when bumps have to be sanded and dents have to be filled.  I used to apply Magic-Sculpt to fill the dents, but I got a tip from Buzz James and Mike Palma that wood filler works better on a urethane head.  And they're right.  The dried wood filler sands more easily and more smoothly.

I used to apply Elmer's Wood Filler back in the day when I used wood headsticks, but the texture was flakier than I liked.  Today I tried Minwax Wood Filler in the tube and I like it much better.  It comes out of the tube more like a paste, so it's easier to smooth over the indentation.  It also sanded nicely.  We'll see what it looks like after I paint on the primer coat.

Checking in

I have lots of unpacking to do to get my workshop up and running.

Step 1: Get the shop TV hooked up to the satellite. Check!
Step 2: Reassemble my computer desk and set up my computer. Check!
Step 3: Get connected to the network. Check!

Now comes the task of de-boxing all this stuff and figuring out how I want to set up everything. But hey... at least I'm here, and that was a BIG job in itself.

More "Checks"  later.

Shave and a haircut

Here are three very fun photos from Del Burkholder and "The Lighter Side of Del Ventriloquist Act".  The featured figure in the barber's chair is Abe Buzzard, the wild west outlaw built by Clinton Detweiler from my Uncle Earl head.

Space... where no dummy has gone before

My new workshop is nearly finished.  The garage door is actually still on the outside of the garage.  The contractor just built an interior wall over it leaving the openings to expose the windows in the garage door.  I'll be installing a curtain rod across the length of the windows to accommodate eight panels of red suede-like drapes.  I'll shoot video and photos of my figures against the red draped backdrop. (It'll be like a little TV studio!)

The carpet gets laid later in the week.  The electrical (more outlets, wall heater, ventilation fan) has been completed.  I'll probably add some shelving and a cabinet or two for additional storage since I won't have a closet. 

I will have my old desk, computer desk and a my workbench from the bedroom workshop.  I'll also add a 6-ft.-long table (a former audio console table) to the furniture.  Throw in my computer, an old TV, tools and drill press and I'm ready to go.

Meanwhile I'm occupying myself with unpacking and Netflix.