Can dummies swim?

I hope you got a chance to read the post below "A dreamer and his dream". It might be a Paul Harvey "Rest of the Story". If you haven't read it, I won't give away the ending, though this little tidbit may rob you of its charm.  But first read the post and then come back to this post for the "rest of the story".

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According to Wikipedia, the subject of the story eventually got tired of being the straight man while his dummy got all the laughs. So while on a troop ship (he was in the Army entertainment corps), he threw his dummy overboard. No more vent act.

That's one way to end a partnership.

I coulda been a contenda

He looks like an old prize fighter at this stage. He now has a coat of primer, so everything is the same color. It's a bit easier to see who he is, or should I say, is about to become. The addition of the furrowed eyebrows will make him look more like the persistent pessimist he's meant to be. Did you notice I added a big hairy mole on his right cheek?

Next step... first coat of skin color.

Okay, I'll try this

He looks rather frightening right now (and he may still look frightening when he's done), but I'm taking a tip from Buzz James of Braylu Creations fame to slightly alter the face of one of my cast heads to create a new character. In this case, I'm changing the nose and upper lip area of a "Mr. Winkle" head to make him a grumpy black character. We'll see how well my experiment turns out in the end.

More photos to come.

A dreamer and his dream

Note: This was emailed to me today. I thought you might enjoy the story as much as I did.

Let me tell you, Jesse hated this job. And you would too, I imagine, if you had to do it. Jesse was a chicken plucker. That's right.

He stood on a line in a chicken factory and spent his days pulling the feathers off dead chickens so the rest of us wouldn't have to. It wasn't much of a job.

But at the time, Jesse didn't think he was much of a person. His father was a brute of a man. His dad was actually thought to be mentally ill and treated Jesse rough all of his life.

Jesse's older brother wasn't much better. He was always picking on Jesse and beating him up. Yes, Jesse grew up in a very rough home in West Virginia . Life was anything but easy. And he thought life didn't hold much hope for him. That's why he was standing in this chicken line, doing a job that few people wanted.

In addition to all the rough treatment at home, it seems that Jesse was always sick. Sometimes it was real physical illness, but way too often it was all in his head. He was a small child, skinny and meek. That sure didn't help the situation any.

When he started to school, he was the object of every bully on the playground.

He was a hypochondriac of the first order. For Jesse, tomorrow was not always something to be looked forward to. But, he had dreams.

He wanted to be a ventriloquist.

He found books on ventriloquism. He practiced with sock puppets and saved his hard earned dollars until he could get a real ventriloquist dummy.

When he got old enough, he joined the military. And even though many of his hypochondriac symptoms persisted, the military did recognize his talents and put him in the entertainment corp. That was when his world changed. He gained confidence. He found that he had a talent for making people laugh, and laugh so hard they often had tears in their eyes.

Yes, little Jesse had found himself.

You know, folks, the history books are full of people who overcame a handicap to go on and make a success of themselves, but Jesse is one of the few I know of who didn't overcome it. Instead he used his paranoia to make a million dollars, and become one of the best-loved characters of all time in doing it!

Yes, that little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the record for the most Emmy's given in a single category.

The wonderful, gifted, talented, and nervous comedian who brought us Barney Fife was...

...Jesse Don Knotts.

Acrobats

Theatre black

While passing along a virtue, I will be forced to admit to a fault. Mightily as I try, my eye sockets are not perfect, nor are my jaw slots. So to deemphasize imperfections, I use an age old theatre trick by painting what I don't want seen... black.

I paint the back of the head (the trap door interior) black. The black backing makes the small eye-socket imperfections blend with the eyeliner. I also paint the eye tray black. This camoflauges small gaps when viewed from above.

The heads from Braylu Creations are bright white inside and out. To lessen the effect of light passing through the jaw gaps, I paint the inside of the neck black. It's the area that is just behind the jaw.

Sorry I'm not perfect, folks. But if you aren't either, then I hope this tip will suffice until we are.

Bigger eyes

Actually, bigger irises. As some may know, I follow one of the eye-building options outlined in Michael Brose's "Figure Making Can Be Fun". I print out irises on paper with my computer printer, carefully cut them out, then glue them onto white eyeballs (wood knobs painted white). After the glue dries completely, I add a thin coat of clear glossy varnish. When that dries, I add 2 more coats of glossy varnish to get a shiny, glassy effect.

But my newest feller Henry has larger irises than I've used in the past. The look is cuter, I think. I'll probably go with larger irises on my next "Elmore" figure, too. I may need to enlarge the eye sockets on Elmore, though, to accommodate the bigger irises.

Shiny

Every now and then I discover a little something that improves the look of my little fellas. This time, I painted two coats of glossy varnish on the tongue, teeth and lips of my jaws. Makes a big difference. It gives the jaw and lips a lifelike wet look.

Double treat

Of course, the reason Jeff Dunham posed here is because young Kevin Barnett is a talented ventriloquist who performed at the VentHaven Convention last week. Brave, too. It must have been daunting performing before such an esteemed group of peers. I'm anxious to hear Kevin's stories about his experience. And, hey... I can't help but be a little proud that Kevin is holding Kyle in the picture. I built Kyle for Kevin awhile back.

It must have been a treat getting a picture taken with Jeff Dunham. Well... it's a treat for me, too. Thanks, Kevin for sharing the photo.

UnconVENTion-al for now

I've never been to a VentHaven convention. I was unaware of it until I re-entered the ventriloquism world after a short 45-year break. But after several years of convention photos and videos posted on various websites, I get excited about the convention even though I haven't made it to Kentucky yet. I'm hatching a secret plot (secret from my wife) to make a cross-country drive to Fort Mitchell two years from now... (sshhh.... more about that later). Meanwhile I look forward to seeing the images from this year's convention.

Hello to all the fine folks that made it there this year.

A good fit

After following my own advice (see below), I have successfully accomplished a free-swinging jaw. I installed a brass tube in the jaw. I cut the 3-1/8" brass rod and inserted it into the jaw's brass tube. Then I placed the jaw in the head opening and slid it into place. I used chunks of Klean Klay to temporarily secure the jaw and check things out. Then I replaced the Klean Klay with Magic-Sculpt leaving the slots open. After that I used the chunks of Klean Clay to temporally close the open slots. With the jaw secure, I did my filling, filing and sanding of the jaw and the opening (pulling the jaw in and out of the head as needed) to make a nice fit.

Next I'll pull the jaw out and paint it.

Partner wanted.

Uncle Earl is officially seeking a comedy partner for fun and/or profit. He's placed his "Situations Wanted" sign on Ebay. Looking for a sidekick?

The jaw bone's connected to the... brass tube

Here's a tip for folks who've bought or are considering buying a Kenny Croes Collection head from Braylu Creations:

After sawing off the back of the head, cutting the mouth opening and eye sockets, typically the next thing I do is install a 1/8" brass tube into the jaw. Then I cut a 3/32" brass rod 3-1/8" long. I insert the brass rod into the brass tube on the jaw. I place the jaw in the head. I want the jaw to fit in the opening of the head. I want it to swing freely, opening and closing. But it 's highly unlikely it will swing freely the first time.

You may have to shorten the brass rod to get the jaw all the way forward in the opening. You may have to file down the sides of the opening in the head or the sides of the jaw if the fit is too tight. You may have to do a combination of all of the above.

After you accomplish the free swinging of the jaw, use Magic-Sculpt to make slots in the head where the brass rod touches either side. Leave your slots open so the rod can slip in and out. Later down the line, you can place the jaw in the head and apply Magic-Sculpt over the open slots to close them permanently. But while they are still open, you can make adjustments, fill, sand, paint etc.

Pictured here is a "Cheeky Boy" jaw. Hint: I may use Magic-Sculpt to make the tongue a little larger and more rounded.

If I only had a tooth...

Uncle Earl is one of my favorite characters. The toothless old goat has a confused look most of the time. Which is why a ventriloquist will get some laughs when Uncle Earl says something surprisingly clever and funny. He'll be looking for a chaperon soon, particularly because he's been known to flirt unabashedly with younger women.