Levers

There are some tasks I enjoy in figure making. I love building, inserting and perfecting the mechanics in the head. I like painting the head. I get a kick out of making the eyeballs. But I don't like making levers.

I cut lengths of 1-1/4-inch long flat brass pieces, mark and drill holes for the axle and string, and twist the ends to a 90-degree angle from each other. For some reason, I don't find it fun. Fitting the levers in the control post slots is a hassle, too. I think it's because I haven't perfected my slot-routing and axle-drilling yet. I've acquired a few new tools and I've thought out a new method that I'll try out on the next control post.

Thought I'd whine a little bit today, though.

Getting old

While I could easily be referring to myself, I'm actually referring to aging a Charlie head. I've wanted to make an "old guy" conversion character for quite some time. In doing so, I've wanted to use as little Magic-Sculpt as possible to alter the face. Magic-Sculpt is a wonderful substance, but too much of it can add an objectionable amount of weight.

So I've been studying people's faces (including my own), and observing the work of other figure makers to identify the facial areas that could be slightly altered to age the face. Here's my checklist:

• Add small bags under the eyes that trail off to the outside corners of the eyes
• Create small "crows feet" at the corner of the eyes. The charlie heads already have a couple of wrinkles there.
• Use small rolls of Magic-Sculpt that span the width of the forehead. Stack them across the forehead one on top of another from the hairline to the eyebrows. The areas in between each roll become wrinkles.
• Add a small amount of Magic-Sculpt on the side of the jaw openings to create jowls.
• Add a small roll of Magic-Sculpt from the corners of the mouth to just below the cheeks to create another pair of small jowls.
• Add a small ball of Magic-Sculpt to the earlobes.
• Add an upside-down "V" on the neck to suggest a "turkey-neck".

The list may suggest a lot of Magic-Sculpt, but actually the amounts are very small. The head will be slightly heavier than a young Charlie head, but not to the point of discomfort.

Painting the wrinkle highlights has also been challenging. While my technique is still not perfect, I think the fellow I'm working on will turn out well. He'll also sport a white mustache, white "Andy Rooney" eyebrows, and a white wig with a receding hairline.

Going down under

"Sheldon" has found a friend in Australia. Thought you'd like to know he won't be an orphan.

Another blog to read

I like finding new ventriloquism blogs, especially those that share experiences in vent figure building. It's fun to hear about the twists and turns of the process as practiced by other figure makers. Ken Souza, Jr. has a blog titled "Adventures In Ventriloquist Figure Making". I really love the look of the figure he sculpted and is casting.

I also was amazed at how his early interest in and later return to ventriloquism paralleled my own experiences.

It's good to know I'm not alone.

Wine, a bathtub and Seattle

I'm posting from the 8th floor of a very nice hotel room in Seattle. The company I work for is having its annual management conference here, so no dummy buildin' tonight. The view is spectacular from my window. In the bathroom, there's even a sunken bathtub right next to the floor-to-ceiling window. So after the sun goes down, I may take a bath overlooking the Seattle nighttime skyline (with a glass of wine, of course).

I hope no one has binoculars in the neighboring buildings. If so, they'll be in for a real disappointment.

"Sheldon" wants to be someone's buddy

Soon Sheldon will be advertising for a friend. No, he won't be placing ads in the "Personals". He'll be on Ebay.

Threading tip

It only took 50,000 years of evolution for my personal pool of genetic composition to think up this trick. I'm sure many of my experienced dummy-makin' readers thought this up generations ago. But for those of you that are as challenged as I am, here's the tip:

When trying to thread nylon string (the kind made of three strands that tend to unravel) through a small hole, apply a little Elmers Glue from the end of the string to about half an inch up. Let it dry. Now the string has a firm end similar to the little plastic doohicky at the end of a shoestring. The nylon string can be easily threaded through a small hole without unraveling.

Now that I have discovered this little trick, far fewer bad words will fly from my lips as I attempt to thread string on my dummies.

High brow

This fellow is getting a pair of eyebrows. The brows are made of Magic-Sculpt atop curved brass rods. I use a sharp carving tool to make little indentations in the Magic-Sculpt to give the eyebrows a hair-like texture. After they dry and harden, I'll paint them dark brown.

The brass rods underneath the Magic-Sculpt are protruding from brass tubes on the side of the head. The brass rods rotate inside the brass tubes and the eyebrows raise.

No stamp collecting today

As you can see, my jaw molds came out perfectly. I'm always amazed. The mothermolds pried apart rather easily. The slit I cut with an Exacto-Knife in the silicone rubber mold to free the model was easier than I expected. And the silicone mold slipped back into the mothermold perfectly. Of course, I haven't done a casting yet. Another adventure awaits. Now I have to buck up the courage to attempt the molds and mothermolds of the two heads. That may take a couple of weeks, but my confidence is increasing.

It's a plastic world

Here's a blow-by-blow of my moldmaking work today. As mentioned before, I'm making two molds, both jaw pieces of the heads I've sculpted. I already showed you the application of silicone rubber over the models. Today, it's mothermold time.

First I trimmed the excess silicone rubber around the perimeter. Then I built a clay wall and covered it with tin foil. I applied Sonic-Wax, a toxic smelly wax, to the areas surrounding the trimmed silicone rubber. The Sonic-Wax will keep the Plasti-Paste from sticking to the wood platform. Then I mixed the 3-to-1 Plasti-Paste and applied it to one side of the silicone rubber.

After the first side dries in about 90 minutes, I'll peel away the clay wall and foil, then apply the Plasti-Paste to the other side. When that dries, I'll pull the whole thing apart, slice a seam along the ridge of the silicone mold and release the model. If I've done everything right, it should slip out easily and leave me with a hard-backed silicone mold in which I can cast more jaw pieces. If I've managed to commit any of the multitude of mistakes that can be made doing this, then I'll toss it all in the trash and find another hobby.

Maybe stamp collecting... or model trains. (Oh, wait a minute. I've already done model trains).

I'll get back to work this weekend

I'm pleased "Calvin" has found a home. He ships out to Arkansas tomorrow. He's actually one of the few figures I've sold to a U.S. buyer. Some others are entertaining audiences in the United Arab Emirates, the Phillipines, Belguim, France and Germany to name a few.

I'm getting close to finishing another conversion figure, but I haven't made progress on my mold projects. This weekend I'll move it along. Thought I'd better check in with you, though, before you kick me off your blog-check list.

Say howdy to "CALVIN"

"CALVIN" is searching for a home on Ebay!

Reality

Once again, reality is interloping on my figure-building efforts. (Job, community involvement, visitors, family, you name it). Not complaining, just explaining.

I completed the silicone rubber layers on the jaw pieces of my two original character heads. The silicone rubber hardened into a solid mold. Next step is to build a clay wall atop and around each rubber mold to begin the process of building the mothermold. I will use Smooth-On Plasti-Paste for that. You may remember that I didn't like plaster bandages as a mothermold because the dry plaster in the bandages tends to flake off. Plenty solid, but they make a mess.

I'm still spending some time building my conversion figures. Every figure is a little better than the last. But the most satisfying aspect is that I have projects that can be finished in a few weeks time. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I really missed finishing figures during the initial processes of creating my own original character molds. Being able to complete figures, even conversion figures, helps to maintain my forward momentum toward the completion of my first two original character molds. And as I mentioned before, I learn and perfect stuff.

I like that.

Messy stuff

I've finally started the molds for my first two original characters. One is a cheeky boy, the other an old coot. The first step is to make molds of the jaw pieces. That's my job today.

The Smooth-On 10-to-1 silicone rubber mixture I'm using is messy stuff. The Part A substance is white, thick and gooey. It's difficult to transfer from it's tub to mixing cup. The best way seems to be with a large popsicle stick. The Part B stuff is a purple liquid in a container that doesn't pour very well. It tends to run down the side. Not a very good container design, I'm afraid.

I'm weighing the ingredients on an electronic gram scale. It seems like it's mixed properly, but I won't know until the mold is finished.

Smooth-On has a video that I'm reviewing as I make these molds. I sure hope this works because it's a lot of work and not much fun.