hAPPY hALLOWEEN!

A near slip

Learned a great lesson the other day. Always check the packing slip when you receive an order. I recently purchased some wood pieces from a supplier. I didn't open the box right away. A week or so later, I opened it to retrieve one of the wood pieces. I was about to throw away the packing slip without reading it. But that little voice we all have that reminds us to be thorough suggested I take a gander at the slip before I tossed it. And there it was. I forgot that I also ordered some brass hook eyes. They were listed on the packing slip. Sure enough, the little bag of hook eyes was bureid at the bottom of the box.

"Hey", I said to myself, "I really needed these!"

End of an era

By now, many of you have read that Mike Brose of Puppets and Props will discontinue his figure parts business at the end of the year. My current obsession of vent figure building started after I ordered parts from Mike and built my first "Fred Project". Much of what I learned came from his book "Figure Making Can be Fun". So the bad news is that we'll lose him as a parts resource.

The good news is that Mike will spend more time building figures, a passion he has honed into a splendid art form. He states that he'll still be available for advice. I imagine we'll still see his name and comments in the forums.

I admire Mike Brose's work and contributions to the vent community. I wish him well and really look forward to seeing his future creations.

Looking for Santa's helper

I think it'll be fun for children of all ages to tell him what they'd like for Christmas. He'll be available on Ebay today so he can be there in time to make his list, check it twice, and see who's naughty and nice.

Ho ho ho

Yes, I know it's not even Halloween yet. But I thought I'd give you a first look at my Santa Claus vent figure. I just added the mustache. All I have left to do is trim his mustache a bit, finish some detail on his hands, assemble the body and dress him in his Santa suit.

I think he'll be ready to slide down someone's chimney soon.

More Elmore

The Elmore sculpture is done. I sealed the back of the head today. After I sand the seam, he'll be packed and shipped to Braylu Creations for mold making. I hope folks like him.

Tell all

I'm managing several projects at once. The victories create elation. The failures make me crazy. And because I'm working multiple projects, the reactions are exponentially more intense. Weird.

But here's a progress report.

My project for the 10-year-old entrepreneur is going along quite well. I'm using a Braylu casting for the head. I've cut out the jaw and added sidewalls and a platform for the lower teeth and tongue. Now I'm working on the eye sockets and I've installed the brass eyebrow tubes. I've added the first layer of Magic-Sculpt to the under-portion of the jaw so that it will open and close without showing too much space.

My Elmore sculpture is almost finished. After some sanding, he'll be shipped to Buzz James at Braylu Creations for mold-making. Buzz will be selling Elmore castings as the second in the so-called "Kenny Croes Collection".

My Santa is also nearing completion, though he's presented a few challenges. I think he'll turn out fine, but not without some consternation.

In between, I'm sanding and painting hands so the body assembly can be completed.

Oh... and in between that, I go to work every day.

A Winkle in time

Someone (I hope) will decide to take in "Mr. Winkle" after winning the auction on Ebay. I warn you, he's as crotchety as ever. Will someone claim him for their own? Only time will tell.

Busy hands

I'm busier than usal with my dummy makin'. Between special orders, my own projects destined for Ebay, and my Elmore sculpture for Braylu Creations, I've been reeling with work.

The jaw I mentioned is pictured to the left. Teeth and tongue have been added. I did a bit more jaw-opening adjustment last night. Just one more "plug and play" addition to the head, and I'll be ready to start sanding. I want to add side walls inside the jaw opening with slide-in slots for the tube n' axle placement.

My first Uncle Earl, now being built with the Braylu-supplied casting from my sculpture, is well underway. He's been painted and the eyebrow mechanics have been installed.

I'm also nearing the final stages of my Santa Claus figure.