Q&A

Q: You mentioned in an earlier chapter that you were experimenting with other materials under the build-ups, in an attempt to keep things lighter in weight. You abandoned at least one thing you tried. Are you still searching for a method? Will Mr. Wrinkle be "face-heavy?"

The amount of extra material makes the original head pretty much nothing more than an armature...which is good. I'm just wondering about weight.

Great looking character! - Anonymous

A: Weight is the downside to using this method of vent figure-building. But even with my most heavy-laden Magic-Sculpt characters, the weight doesn't prevent comfortable operation. After all, these guys sit atop a wooden body, so it's not like they need to be held up. The final weight of my figures (head and fully-clothed body) is typically under 4 pounds.

So far, sheets of craft foam in cut-to-fit pieces seem to work best, though I use it sparingly. In fact, I'll hot-glue a trimmed piece over Charlie's hair part to even up the two sides of the head.

After working with molds, silicone and liquid plastics, I decided to go with the sculpture-by-addition method in lieu of handling nasty chemicals. I'm not alleregic to Magic-Sculpt, I wear latex gloves while handling it, and I wash up often. I keep the Magic-Sculpt tubs closed when not in use to minimize exposure to any fumes.

If I had an outside-the-house workshop, I'd probably work with molds, too. But this method seems best-suited for my in-home workshop. (And thank you for the compliment!)