"L" of a deal

Say "hi" to Elmore. He's named that because the MORE he talks, the MORE "L" he creates. (Thank you, Paul Winchell). Soon he will be looking for someone's world to confuse and complicate. If you think he'd be perfect in your world, you can locate him soon on Ebay.

Collection of one

Braylu Ceations is now offering for sale the first casting in the "Kenny Croes Collection". We're calling the character "Uncle Earl". He's an old guy and should be fun to make into a vent figure. Click here for a look at the feller.

Owner Buzz James is sending me the first castings so I can build a complete figure. We'll add a photo of a completed figure and possibly a video, too. Braylu Creations also can sell you everything you need from head to toe to make a completed figure of your own.

Of course, a collection intimates that there is more than one item. So I'm feverishly working on a model for a second character. As they say... COMING SOON!

A good goof

This goofy fella is nearing completion. He needs a little more touch-up, but he's nearly ready for his debut on Ebay. He's the first using the new Braylu headstick design and he works very smoothly, too.

Kicks from sticks

The new headsticks made from PVC pipe have worked out really well. Here are a couple of photos showing how I set up the stick. (You can see the many experimental holes I drilled). :-])

In the end, the holes nearest the top worked best. I also drilled two holes at the end of the triggers for the cords, but the angle was too severe. So I re-drilled holes in the center of the triggers and that angle worked much better. I had to drill two because I double-up on the cords and the width of the trigger wouldn't allow for a hole large enough to thread two strands. The double-hole set up works fine, however. I'll smooth the edges of the triggers with my Dremel for more finger comfort. You can also see the hole at the bottom of the pipe where I’ve inserted a rubber band for attaching to the eye hook in the body to keep the head erect.

I really like this new headstick design. Want to try one out? They're available now at Braylu Creations, and they're very reasonably priced, too.

Will it float?

I love that silly Letterman bit when he and Paul Schaffer bet on whether an object will sink or float in a Doughboy swimming pool. Well, I'm wondering if an idea a friend of mine has will sink or float.

An unnamed friend in the vent supply business has offered to make a mold of a head I sculpted and make castings. Then he'll market the castings on his website and sell me castings at a steep discount so I can make and sell completed figures.

I love the idea. As you know if you read this blog, I make conversion figures from Charlie McCarthy toy vent doll heads. To acquire the heads, I used to buy used Charlies on Ebay. Then I was tipped off about a close-out of new Charlie McCarthy dolls at a great price, so I scooped up a bunch. But sooner or later I'll have to start buying them on Ebay again. My arrangement will allow me to make vent figures from castings of my head sculptures, too.

The above headshots might be the first character we try. He's a little different from my Mr. Winkle character, but he's in that generation. One interesting feature of this head is that he has a slight smile on one side of his mouth, and a slight frown on the other. If I recall correctly, Paul Winchell liked Jerry to have a smile slightly bigger on on side than the other. This figure will also use larger eyes (1-1/2").

A sharp stick

Buzz James of Braylu Creations and I have been trading ideas for a new headstick design using PVC pipe. I have been trying to reduce the amount of woodworking in my figure building because of the limitations of my in-home workshop. Here are some photos of what Buzz came up with.

Buzz sends me the pipe with neck transition attached, the top cap, the triggers and screws to mount them. I drill all the holes, cut the slot and assemble the stick.

Though the photos show the use of rubber tubing, I've actually 86'ed the rubber tubing. I use doubled-up cords and the tubes were too small. I do insert the brass tube n' rod eye control in a clear plastic tube, however.

The brass n' rod eye control will be secured at the top with a little Magic-Sculpt.

To secure the eye control at the slot, I have inserted ethafoam. The sharp-ended screws that mount the triggers penetrate the ethafoam and hold it in place.

This is still a work in progress (as you can see by the extra aborted holes drilled in the stick), but this first one is pretty close.

The final test will be attaching the stick to the head and seeing how smoothly the controls operate the mechanics.

Writing jokes that make me blush

A performing ventriloquist (yes, there are non-performing ventriloquists... like me) threw out the net on a ventriloquism forum for help with writing a routine. The ventriloquist is gay and all of his characters are gay, too. He sent me a photo of the four figures and a description of their personalities. I decided to write some jokes for a purple furry fellow named "Stan".

The ventriloquist likes to perform adult humor and even encouraged gay jokes. Not being gay, I was concerned I might offend accidentally, but he told me to go for it. So I wrote a short routine with double entendres, a little shock here and there and some general goofiness. Well... the ventriloquist actually liked it! So I've begun to add to the routine so that the act might eventually run for 10 or 15 minutes.

But I gotta say, I'm not used to writing or performing raw humor, so I find that I'm embarrassing myself. (But I'm also giggling).

At the same time, another ventriloquist who performs for kids and Christian audiences has asked for some funnies. Talk about switching gears!

Three amigos

Here are three fellas I'm currently working on. The guy on the left is a special order. He's my "Arnie" character with an African-American skin tone. He'll get black hair and brown eyes instead of the brown hair and blue eyes shown on my website.

The old feller in the middle is familiar to some. He's another incarnation of "Mr. Winkle". He has a few new features, but he's basically the same old curmudgeon.

Finally, the silly fellow on the right is a new face in my stable of characters. He's a goofy-looking fellow in the tradition of... well... goofy-looking fellows.

I'm about to start a 4th figure. The character? Santa Claus!

Using our heads

I've had a lot of fun trading ideas, drawings and photos with Buzz James, owner of Braylu Creations. We've been working on plans for making the next batch of control posts for me. I have an opportunity to help with the design because I'm switching from a wood headstick to a PVC pipe headstick. I want to run all of the mechanics down the center of the PVC pipe. Buzz is very helpful with his advice. We've both been trying to think outside the box, and we think we have an interesting approach to the headstick. He's sending me a prototype to work with, and if it's a successful design, he'll make all of my headsticks that way. I'm kinda excited about this!

Gotcha covered

Here's what Mr. Winkle looks like after applying the Magic-Sculpt over the foam. The forehead is a little more textured than I'm used to, but I think it's going to work out fine. I used the foam rods on his jowels, too. That worked great.

This version of Mr. Winkle will sport more detail on his baggy eyes.

Anonymous experiments

This scary lookin' freak is actually a victim of my most recent experiment. (If you hear a spooky Vincent Price laugh in the distance, don't be alarmed). One of my blog readers named "Anonymous" occasionally gives me excellent advice and tips to try. The latest suggestion was to use Poly Foam Caulk Saver to make wrinkles and save weight. The material comes in a roll of 3/8" foam rod, which I measured out and cut in half. Then I hot glued the foam on the forehead (flat side down) to create wrinkles. I'll cover the foam with as thin a layer of Magic-Sculpt as possible. I've either discovered a wonderful new technique or really screwed up my project. The beauty of it is that it really doesn't matter!

Centered

Mr. Winkle will contradict every little thing his new partner utters. And he will do so in Kansas, the very center of America's heartland. Hope the old grouch enjoys his new home.

Nailed it

The styrofoam carving didn't work as well for the ears. I still think it has possibilities. Rather than use a ball, I think it would be better to carve an ear shape from a thinner styrofoam rectangle. I'll check out the craft store to see if they sell something close.

Meanwhile, I cut out an ear shape from a thin sheet of styrene plastic. I drilled two holes in the styrene ear and used Magic-Sculpt like a nail to secure it over the Charlie ear. After the Magic-Sculpt dried, I covered the stryrene with Magic-Sculpt to form the ear. There was some weight savings because this tact allowed me to make a bigger ear with less Magic-Sculpt.

Carving

No, not wood. You may recall my diatribe about woodworking. Nothing against it. It's just that it's messy and not an appropriate activity for my bedroom workshop. No, I'm talking about carving styrofoam.

As you know, I've been trying out different ways to reduce weight in my dummy heads. I've tried using strips of foam padding with mixed results. But this time I tried something new.

I used a styrofoam ball sold in craft stores. I cut it up and carefully carved it into a rough shape of a nose. I carved the back of the styrofoam nose so it would contour and fit when glued to the top of the Charlie nose. I carved the nose so it would be larger than my intended finished size.

After the Elmer's Glue dried overnight and the styrofoam nose was secure, I carved it further so the size and shape would be slightly smaller than I wanted. Then I covered the styrofoam nose with Magic-Sculpt. The result is a large nose, the center of which is mostly air and styrofoam. It turned out pretty good.

Next I'm going to try it on the ears. (I'm so excited!)