# 3-Axis Frankenstein!



## Mr_Chicken

I'm getting really excited about this prop, so I thought I'd spill the beans sooner, rather than later.
I'm going to make a foam latex "skin" for one of my 3-axis skulls that is a reproduction of Jack Pierce and Boris Karloff's _Frankenstein_ makeup.

At this stage, I'm beginning the initial sculpt in modeling clay over a Lindberg skull. Future steps involve making both a mold of the final sculpt and a duplicate of the skull in Ultracal (a type of plaster), filling the mold(s) with foam latex, baking the thing, hoping it comes out okay, and painting the final skin. If all goes well, it'll be like having Karloff the Uncanny in person!

Here's the sculpt so far. It's got a long way to go, but I've still got time at this point, and I'd say it's beginning to shape up pretty well.

















Let me know what you think. I pretty much know what I need to do, but I'm always open to suggestions.


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## Terrormaster

Looking good so far.


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## SpookySam

Looks great! Nobody will have any trouble recognizing who that is.


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## HolyTerror

Hey .. I know , I know ... let me guess ... its .... its ...
its
iStewie Griffin​


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## HolyTerror

Hey .. I know , I know ... let me guess ... its .... its ...

its

Stewie Griffin








Only kidding . Looks VERY good . PLEASE keep us updated . I am also waiting to see how you do the hinged jaw for movement


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## DarkLore

Looks great. 

Post lots of photos of the process. I have to do something similar, so I'd appreciate knowing what you use, where you get it from, and how it works for you.


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## Mr_Chicken

HolyTerror said:


> Hey .. I know , I know ... let me guess ... its .... its ...
> 
> its
> 
> Stewie Griffin
> 
> ​
> Only kidding . Looks VERY good . PLEASE keep us updated . I am also waiting to see how you do the hinged jaw for movement


Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!

The jaw and everything else will be exactly the same as any normal Lindberg 3-axis skull, but with a Frankenstein's Monster skin stretched over the skull.
Basically like a simplified version of the animatronic in this video:


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## HolyTerror

That is awesome .
So , please tell me .. is it the latex that you make the mask and how thick , that allows it to have that natural movement there ? I tried that with a latex manufactured mask that I bought from a store , and did not have such luck .


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## smileyface4u23

Very nice! Can't wait to see more pictures - and the finished product, of course!


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## Mr_Chicken

HolyTerror said:


> is it the latex that you make the mask and how thick , that allows it to have that natural movement there ? I tried that with a latex manufactured mask that I bought from a store , and did not have such luck .


The secret is in the foam latex. Your mask is made of latex, which is essentially rubber. Foam latex is more of a hybrid between sponges and latex (but not really, actually). It is far more flexible and stretchy. Foam latex is what is used in stage and film FX makeup, as well as the skins for professional animatronics.

The foam latex I'll be using comes from http://www.monstermakers.com/


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## beelce

very very nice Mr. C


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## psyko99

Ok, that video is just sick.

The sculpt looks great so far. I wish I had 1/2 the artistic talent.


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## spideranne

That is one heck of a project you're taking on. Can't wait to see it finished, it's already looking so good.


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## Spooky1

Looks good so far Mr. C. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product.


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## RoxyBlue

Terrific job so far, Mr C. He looks really good.


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## Sickie Ickie

be sure to keep really good notes on temp in room, humidity, how long you mixed the foam, etc. All that plays a part in how it turns out. That's why you may get one great batch one day and one batch that is not that great on another day.


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## Mr_Chicken

Sickie Ickie said:


> be sure to keep really good notes on temp in room, humidity, how long you mixed the foam, etc. All that plays a part in how it turns out. That's why you may get one great batch one day and one batch that is not that great on another day.


Thanks Sickie. I take it you've done foam work before? I know I'll have a lot of questions in the coming weeks.
I'm getting most of my information on foam latex and mold making from this book: 
. It's well worth the fifteen bucks.


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## Sickie Ickie

What book? LOL Didn't show up.

I've been too "chicken" to try it myself, but have done a ton of research on it in case I ever get over my fear. LOL


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## Dr Morbius

Looking good, Mr. C. I have a question, what will you be using for a core mold? Foam latex requires both a core and outer mold. No way you can bake a plastic skull, it would melt! What I am doing with my skin is casting the skull first in UltraCal30, then sculpting over that. Once the sculpt is cast, the clay is removed and I then have the core mold and outer mold. You need an injection port in the 2 piece outer mold and vent holes for letting air escape the mold during injection. 

Let me know if you have any questions, it really is an ambitious project.


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## Mr_Chicken

Sickie, I suppose I should have mentioned it was written by the Invisible Man...
Must've accidentally deleted it
Amazon.com: Techniques of Three-Dimensional Make-Up (9780823052615): Lee Baygan: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@51JKGG4CYDL

That's what I'm doing too, but I decided to sculpt over the real skull for a couple of reasons
1) When I cast the skull in Ultracal, it's going to be slightly smaller than the original, then when I do the foam, it's going to be smaller again, and I still have to get it back on the original. Now that I think about it, this argument makes little sense, as the UltraCal skull is still going in the mold, but it made sense at 10:30 last night.
2) My latex mold of the skull still needs a couple of plaster of paris pulls to clean out the stray bits of clay that stuck in it before I can do a nice clean UlraCal pull. Unfortunately, Michaels is all out of my favorite plaster for the next two weeks.
3) It's a little easier to get the clay off of the plastic skull than the UltraCal one.
4) I'm impatient. Not a good quality to have for this kind of thing, but what can I say?

When I _do_ make the UltraCal Skull, I'm going to fill in most of the unnecessary details (teeth, especially) with more UltraCal before it completely dries to 
1) allow the foam latex to be as thin as possible
2) get rid of anything that would get in the way on the inside of the "mask" (ie: stuff that would catch on the skull).

I probably will not have a 2 piece outer mold, as the "mask" will only cover the face (the hair will cover the back).

Are you still going to do something like this, Doc?


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## Dr Morbius

Yup, I have all the materials, and the skull is prepped..I have to finish some more 3 axis skulls for people before casting. 

A couple things I heard you say, which should be addressed:

Do NOT use plaster of paris to clean out clay from Ultrcal...you can ruin the mold details..rather, you should use a thin skin of plain rubber latex inside the Mask mold to clean out any residual clay.

If you change your core mold in any way, your skin will fit incorrectly over the skull. You want your core mold to match as closely as possible to the real skull as you can other wise the foam skin will wiggle loosely when animated. 

Third thing, which you haven't mentioned but I will throw in anyway, is never let copper touch your finished piece! Even if you have handled pennies in your pocket, you MUST wash your hands before touching the skin. It will turn the foam latex black.

Good luck!


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## Scary Godmother

Wow, wish I had half the talent of my fellow haunters! Looks great so far, can't wait to see it finished.


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## Mr_Chicken

Dr Morbius said:


> Yup, I have all the materials, and the skull is prepped..I have to finish some more 3 axis skulls for people before casting.
> 
> A couple things I heard you say, which should be addressed:
> 
> Do NOT use plaster of paris to clean out clay from Ultrcal...you can ruin the mold details..rather, you should use a thin skin of plain rubber latex inside the Mask mold to clean out any residual clay.
> 
> If you change your core mold in any way, your skin will fit incorrectly over the skull. You want your core mold to match as closely as possible to the real skull as you can other wise the foam skin will wiggle loosely when animated.
> 
> Third thing, which you haven't mentioned but I will throw in anyway, is never let copper touch your finished piece! Even if you have handled pennies in your pocket, you MUST wash your hands before touching the skin. It will turn the foam latex black.
> 
> Good luck!


Regarding the plaster, I believe there's a misunderstanding. I have a latex mold of the skull already, and there is some residual clay in the mold that was used to fill in the gaps on the original skull. The easiest way to get it out, short of scrubbing the mold, is to do a couple more plaster skulls before I pour the UltraCal one.

Re: your second point: I want the lips of the mask to be relatively loose and not catch on the deep grooves between the skull's teeth. I'm going to fill in these grooves, but not much else. Thanks for the advice all the same.

One thing I noticed from that zombie video is how different the armature (which I presume was also the core mold) is from the skull. I expect the purpose was to keep the skin very thin in the areas where it will need to flex most.

I've never heard that copper bit before. Strange...I've been researching foam latex for the past three years. Thanks for the tip!


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## Mr_Chicken

I almost forgot...here's another update:
























The neck electrodes and the forehead clamps are just stand-ins, as they will probably be separate pieces.

This website is my main source of reference images: http://www.doctormacro1.info/Movie Star Pages/Karloff, Boris-Annex.htm


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## RoxyBlue

He looks like Johnny Thunder


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## HolyTerror

Wow ... myabe I should get a BLACK AND DECKER bat drill instead of my Ryobi one ... does the B&D one have THAT much juice to "power" up good ole Frankie boy ? LOL looks like its attached to his electrode there . 

seriously now. Are the electrodes gonna be screwed in ? or ???? How are you planning on attaching them ? Also , are they solid or hollow ?


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## Mr_Chicken

HolyTerror said:


> Wow ... myabe I should get a BLACK AND DECKER bat drill instead of my Ryobi one ... does the B&D one have THAT much juice to "power" up good ole Frankie boy ? LOL looks like its attached to his electrode there .
> 
> seriously now. Are the electrodes gonna be screwed in ? or ???? How are you planning on attaching them ? Also , are they solid or hollow ?


They'll probably be either solid plaster or hollow latex. Not sure how to attach them yet. Probably some sort of glue. Any ideas, Doc?


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## Draik41895

that is cool!the very first pic looks like herman munster lol


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## Spanky

Have you thought about Dragon skin?
http://www.smooth-on.com/Silicone-Rubber-an/c2_1115_1129/index.html


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## Mr_Chicken

Spanky said:


> Have you thought about Dragon skin?
> http://www.smooth-on.com/Silicone-Rubber-an/c2_1115_1129/index.html


Dragon Skin looks tempting, but I already have my foam latex kit.


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## PirateChris

You should take lots of pictures....do I hear how-to?


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## Frankie-s Girl

ooooh. I love the sculpt so far! I have a soft spot for the big guy!


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## The Watcher

Great Idea! He has always been my favorite. He is so much like me, poor guy. Everyone controlling his life!


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## Dr Morbius

Mr_Chicken said:


> They'll probably be either solid plaster or hollow latex. Not sure how to attach them yet. Probably some sort of glue. Any ideas, Doc?


If you make them out of any kind of latex, foam or otherwise, just glue them on with rubber cement. Sticks almost permanantly to latex.


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## Mr_Chicken

Dr Morbius said:


> If you make them out of any kind of latex, foam or otherwise, just glue them on with rubber cement. Sticks almost permanantly to latex.


Excellent!


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## dubbax3

As far as the bolts are concerned, are you molding them seperate? If not you can add a slush latex directly to the mold, where you want it to be stiffer. Not a ton just a coating. Then bake. I've done this in the past with good results.

Did you mention you were only creating a one piece mold? I've done core molds as well. Normally when ever I did this I made my sculpt first, this is for a two piece, three piece, what ever. Next I would de-mold then place some saranwrap on the inside of the mold. Following that I would put water based clay on the inside, sort of a reverse sculpt, keeping it thin in the ares that need more movement. The thicker the foam the less movement. I would then make my core out of ultracal-30 and burlap, two thinner layers of U-30, then adding some burlap dipped in the U-30, follow that off with more U-30 (if doing a one piece I would also get a wooden dowel and make a handle in your core, makes for easy handling). This would keep the weight down. wait till it dries, remove the clay, then your ready for foam. Anyway it's been years since I've done this and theres loads more but I think I've rambled on long enough.

Good luck and be aware of undercuts. Also here's a great resource for all this stuff, lots of pros who know tons. www.theeffectslab.com


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## Mr_Chicken

dubbax, I was planning on making the electrodes as an entirely separate piece so it would be easier to mold and demold.

Let me see if I understand what you're saying. The clay is temporary and it serves to hold the space where the foam will be. You use it to craft the core. Yes? No?
Why would one go this route instead of using an ultracal cast of the actual skull?

Thanks for the link.


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## dubbax3

I have to take off right now but I'll try and drag out all my notes and diagrams.


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## Mr_Chicken

Another update on the sculpt. I made the nose smaller and the sides of the face a little bigger. There's about 5 lbs. of clay on this right now.
























I'm beginning to learn just how tricky it is to do this well.

Dubbax, I signed up for the Effects Lab forum and am awaiting activation from the admin. Looks like a lot of people who know this stuff a lot better than I do. Thanks!


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## HauntCast

That is looking sweet. Keep it up.


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## Sickie Ickie

I'm not sure dub is taking into consideration an actual understructure as much as making an understructure yourself and articulating it.


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## mechagrover

Mr_Chicken said:


> Another update on the sculpt. I made the nose smaller and *the sides of the face a little bigger*. There's about 5 lbs. of clay on this right now.


Actually you may want to pull the cheeks in some. I've read that Karloff removed his false teeth while filming to make his face as gaunt as possible.


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## Mr_Chicken

That's true, but it's only one spot in the corner of his mouth. See the dimple here?








Now notice how mine goes way in on the cheek here, while Karloff actually had a little more flesh.


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## Draik41895

nice comparison


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## mechagrover

Ah I see it now that you point it out. One of the drawbacks to not seeing something in person.

I can't wait to see the finished prop


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## dubbax3

Sickie Ickie said:


> I'm not sure dub is taking into consideration an actual understructure as much as making an understructure yourself and articulating it.


No I think I get the concept. Using a pre-existing skull as a core mold. Correct? No I've never worked that way. The only problem I see with that is all the undercuts in the skull, not to mention is there a neck in the skull mold? Foam latex is pretty expensive and less core means more foam. Also if you want the eyes to be solid that way will work, if you want articulation you need to build your own core otherwise you get into pouring the foam and cutting tons away, wasting money.

Mister C. your sculpt is coming out fantastic BTW. I dug out some of my old articles and I'll scan them up and send them to you probably tomorrow night, my wife just gave birth the other night so it's been pretty busy. Just trying to help. Working with foam is pretty daunting and by nooo means am I an expert but I have run foam in the past and made many mistakes but also had some succsess. Here are some pics of old stuff, some foam some mold prep.

http://dubbax3.deviantart.com/art/Knuckles-sculpt-47705187
http://dubbax3.deviantart.com/art/Knuckles-hands-47705444
http://dubbax3.deviantart.com/art/Second-appliance-47706060
http://dubbax3.deviantart.com/art/Tim-and-knuckles-47706826


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## Calloween

Looks good keep up the good work.


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## Sickie Ickie

some awesome sculpts, dub!


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## Mr_Chicken

Dub, looking at your site and at those pictures, you're quite a talented artist!

I see what you mean about the molds and the latex. How do you think it would work if I built up the core skull with more U-30 in the cheeks and neck? I want to make it fit over the skull, since I already have the animatronic setup on that, but it sounds like I'd get best results by at least using a larger core mold. Would there be any problems with the foam latex not fitting snugly on the final underskull?


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## bobzilla

OMG MR. C !
Sooooo cool 
I'm a huge fan of the Universal horror movies !!!


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## dubbax3

MrC, your tooo kind, thanks. I'm just a simple fireman who wasted lots on school and did nothing with it.

Alright I dug up some old articles on foam and molding, not the greatest but still some reference you can see them here Pictures by dubbax3 - Photobucket Here is a pretty decent handout I had from school









If you do decide to make your own core, after you press the wet clay into your negative mold, you could press your skull into the clay and that way you could see what you need to build up and take off. Also by making your own core you can use the eyes as keys (I can make some sketches if you need me to). Anyway if you've never done any molding it can be a bit daunting but once you get it you have it. I hope some of this helps a little anyway, if not sorry. Seriously if theres anything I can do just ask.


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## dubbax3

Mr_Chicken said:


> Dub, looking at your site and at those pictures, you're quite a talented artist!
> 
> I see what you mean about the molds and the latex. How do you think it would work if I built up the core skull with more U-30 in the cheeks and neck? I want to make it fit over the skull, since I already have the animatronic setup on that, but it sounds like I'd get best results by at least using a larger core mold. Would there be any problems with the foam latex not fitting snugly on the final underskull?


Yeah I think it would be less work to build the core from scratch. As long as the foam is thin enough in key areas, eyes mouth, brow, your skull should fit just fine.


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## Mr_Chicken

Thanks for uploading those. Where did the magazine articles come from? Looks like something I'd enjoy.

I think I'll take your advice. I especially like the idea of being able to use the eyes as keys-- I couldn't figure out how I'd do it before.


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## dubbax3

Mr_Chicken said:


> Thanks for uploading those. Where did the magazine articles come from? Looks like something I'd enjoy.
> 
> I think I'll take your advice. I especially like the idea of being able to use the eyes as keys-- I couldn't figure out how I'd do it before.


No problem. I got these from an old magazine, I believe Fangoria or Starlog put it out, called GoreZone. I think they stopped putting them out in the late 90's.

Just make sure you use vaseline any time you want to seperate the U-30 othewise it'll stick and break. The first "real" two part mold I made cracked due to undercuts. Luckily I fixed it long enough to run a few batches of foam through. So always watch out for them as well.


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## Mr_Chicken

Update!
























Any comments/critiques on the sculpt? It's getting near(er) to casting, so speak now or forever hold your peace!


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## Silent Requiem

IT'S (nearly) ALIIIVE!!!!! 
awsome. its also interesting to hear the tech. debates going on here. so many different phylosophies on the subject.


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## bobzilla

Looks great Mr. C. !


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## Mr_Chicken

Here's where he's at now. I did some detailing last night, and I think I'll start making the mold tomorrow.


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## RoxyBlue

He looks so serene


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## Mr_Chicken

RoxyBlue said:


> He looks so serene


He's meditating in preparation for being smothered in plaster


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## Mr_Chicken

Plaster time! I started making the mold yesterday...
First the mold walls built around the first half of the sculpt...








Then two brushed on layers of UltraCal-30 (actually, the picture is only of the first layer, but you get the idea)...








Then a thicker layer...








And an even thicker layer...








And then I ran out of U-30. Crap. I'm ordering some more tonight


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## dionicia

Looks good. Can't wait to see more.


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## Calloween

looking good mr.c


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## IMU

WOW ... thanks for the update ... looks very nice. Keep up the good work. I'm sure everyone wants to see how this turns out.


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## Dr Morbius

HA! your workbench looks like mine..nice progress! You also have an inate knack for sculpting..an understanding of form as they say.


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## The Bloodshed Brothers

thats awesome cant wait to see the finished project


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## Mr_Chicken

Thanks guys! The rest of the Ultracal-30 plaster should be arriving tomorrow so I can get back on board with this (just in time for AP testing! Yay!).

I forgot to mention that I gave the entire sculpture a coat of clear enamel spraypaint before plastering to act as a mold release.


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## Frankie-s Girl

This is just a beautiful sculpt and I can't wait to see what's next...


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## playfx

Really nice job on this!


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## dubbax3

Mr. C, 
Hows Frankie comin? Did you finish up the mold yet?


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## Mr_Chicken

Well, I was going to wait until I had finished the mold to pick this thread back up, but since you asked...
I saw this nifty little trick to make a flat surface for the mold to sit on in Lee Baygan's book.








It worked out pretty well.








Here's the underside with the escape holes modeled in (before I cleaned up the edges and keys with a dremel).









I expect I'll finish up the second part today.


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## Mr_Chicken

I finished the second half of the mold yesterday, having coated the the exposed U-30 of the first half with vaseline. It's about four layers of plaster, a layer of burlap soaked in plaster, then another layer of plaster.








I managed to separate them after a half hour of shoving pliers and paintbrush handles into the escape holes...








Then I spent an equal amount of time trying to get the skull out. I ended up working the jaw off, then using the PVC (which was screwed on) as a lever to work it free...








Finally, I cleared out the plaster (which came out very easily because I sealed it)...








I think it came out pretty good. There are some imperfections which (I hope) I can easily clean up, but overall I'd say it's in pretty good shape.


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## Silent Requiem

i can't wait!


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## Bone To Pick

Awesome thread! Thanks for the show-as-you-go MrC, and the input from everyone else. A few more of these and the casting process may actually make sense to me!


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## Eldritch_Horror

When I see terrific talent like this, it makes me feel like a hack. Keep up the great work!


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## Mr_Chicken

I finally got back on track with this guy.

I started making the mold for the core mold last night. Basically, laying thin ( roughly 1/8-1/4", sometimes thinner) pieces of clay on plastic wrap (so as not to damage the detail) in the mold and testing the skull's fit. Wherever I put clay is where the foam latex will eventually be, as the remainder of the mold will be filled with Ultracal to create the core mold. Make sense? Yeah, I'm not good at describing things. I'll let Dubbax's notes do the explaining:









Here's mine after the initial fitting:








Then I put the two halves together and blended the clay


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## IMU

WOW ... looking good ... keep up the progress ... thanks for sharing.


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## The Archivist

*what's the difference between a lindberg skull*

and a bucky?


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## Ms. Wicked

This is amazing!


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## Mr_Chicken

The Archivist said:


> and a bucky?


Lindberg weighs half as much and has a much cooler shape, if you ask me.


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## Mr_Chicken

Poured the mold yesterday








1st half separated...








I just like this pic...








The core...









And a little incident....The back side cracked, but I'm told I can fix it, and since it'll be covered in hair, I'm not too concerned.









The good news is it all separated, and I'll be ready for foam as soon as I put together an oven and find a mixer.


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## Devils Chariot

keep us posted Chicken!


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## mechagrover

Atta boy Luther!


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## Mr_Chicken

Here's my tentative fix...Gorilla Glue








You'll notice I have a piece of plastic wrap protecting the rest of the mold, as I've decided the best way to keep it in shape while the glue dries is to actually put the mold together.
I dripped glue in the crack and smeared some on the outside just to be safe.

Will it work? Beats me, but I think it's worth a try.


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## Draik41895

hope it works!


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## dubbax3

Was it because of an undercut? I cant tell from the pics. Gorrilla glue might work but I'm not sure how that holds up in high temps. I think I told you how I broke a mold once, undercuts. What I did was to build up the mold more and add some glue to the mixture. Either way good luck.


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## Mr_Chicken

Not an undercut, actually. I was using a rubber mallet to release the core, and apparently didn't use it evenly, so it ended up breaking. The Gorilla Glue appears to be holding it quite well, though, as you said, I don't know how it will do in the oven (which I have yet to assemble).


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## Devils Chariot

(((sigh))) so much work, ovens, latex, my head hurts (massing temples with silicone 2-part mold) ahhhhh. that's better. silicone, take me away!!!


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## Mr_Chicken

DC, I think you're being too subtle...what are you trying to say?


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## Devils Chariot




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## Kaoru

Keep up the good work. I love were your going with this prop. If you keep this up, you'll have a good sized Franky in no time! Thanks to the link to your blog pics.


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## IMU

That is one heck of a mold ... WOW


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## hpropman

Hey Mr C when all this mold work is done will you be able to make masks for all of us? Seriously I will pay for a mask of that quality.


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## Mr_Chicken

_If_ it turns out as expected I do plan to sell a few copies. I don't know how much they'd go for yet, but shoot me a PM so I remember you're interested, hpropman.


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## Mr_Chicken

Update!
The gorilla glue appears to be holding it together quite well. I'll just need to put a little extra mold release in the crack.

















Also, I went and got a mixer off craigslist today for $25. It's going to be perfect for this job.


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## Richie

Mr_Chicken said:


> Another update on the sculpt. I made the nose smaller and the sides of the face a little bigger. There's about 5 lbs. of clay on this right now.


That is fantastic. I wish my Glenn Strange Frankenstein had animation like you're doing. I can't wait to see your creation in action.


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## Dr Morbius

Mr C...

Go ahead and fill the crack with some more plaster. The seam will show otherwise. Great job so far!


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## Mr_Chicken

Dr Morbius said:


> Mr C...
> 
> Go ahead and fill the crack with some more plaster. The seam will show otherwise. Great job so far!


Oh yeah....duh....
Thanks doc!

and thanks for the compliments everyone


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## Mr_Chicken

So, as suggested by Morbius, I filled in the crack with more Ultracal-30. It should be a non-issue now.

In other news, I built the oven last night. It's that foil-backed foam in roughly a 2 foot cube. It fits around an old electric stove top. So far, it looks like I only need one burner to get it up to ~180°F.








The mold will sit on this rack:








That thermometer sitting on top turned out to be unable to handle the heat, so...

This is the steampunk side....uh, I mean the thermometer


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## hpropman

Hey that looks great - that gives me an idea I can glue the foam to plywood panels and make a smoker just like the ones that they make out of the barrels. The ones like on this website

www.bigdrumsmokers.com

sorry for the detour now back to our regularly scheduled thread.


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## Devils Chariot

nice decoration on that foam oven too! Now you just need to bake your latex souffle!


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## Terrormaster

Love the oven Chicken - man I'd be afraid of burning the house down with that thing though. Anything home made and involving intense heat makes me nervous.


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## Mr_Chicken

The heat isn't that intense, TM. It only has to get up to 185, which, in a closed box, means one or two burners on their lowest setting. Nothing particularly dangerous, but not something to leave unattended, either.

I ran my first batch of foam today. It didn't foam half as much as it should have, and after posting on the fx lab forum, it seems I used the wrong mixing attachment. It did bake, though I only ended up with enough to do a small section of the mold. The result was very dense, though flexible.

I'll try running another batch in the morning.


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## Dr Morbius

Did you use the wire wisk atachment? I think that is the standard one of choice.


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## Mr_Chicken

I tried again with the wire attachment, still no foam (though a little bit more than before). The problem may be humidity. I shall try again regardless.


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## 5artist5

hpropman said:


> Hey that looks great - that gives me an idea I can glue the foam to plywood panels and make a smoker just like the ones that they make out of the barrels. The ones like on this website
> 
> www.bigdrumsmokers.com
> 
> sorry for the detour now back to our regularly scheduled thread.


Man, I would avoid that! Mixing foam insulation and food seems like a recipe for some sort of health problems!


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## hpropman

5artist5 said:


> Man, I would avoid that! Mixing foam insulation and food seems like a recipe for some sort of health problems!


After thinking about it I came to the same conclusion. I might still try it with the wood wrapped in several layers of foil. In the scouts we bake with a cardboard box covered in foil and I am not going near those temperatures with a smoker. Thank you for looking out though.


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## Mr_Chicken

Well, I got some new information from the FX Lab guys, so the next batch should work perfectly well.

In the meantime, I was able to whip up enough to cast a face...and now I remember why I bought a new camera (shot this on the old one) 
frankietest1.flv video by theskeletonshand - [email protected]@[email protected]@http://vid429.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid429.photobucket.com/albums/qq14/theskeletonshand/[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@qq14/theskeletonshand/frankietest1


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## Monstermaker

Mr. C that prop is going to seriously rock!!!


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## Kaoru

That looks great! Great job Mr C. So you finally got the cast on there! Great job with the 3 axis head, very nice movement going on there. Looking forward to the end result!


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## dubbax3

HA HA! Dude thats looking great, keep it up.


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## Draik41895

Whats Happening?


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## Mr_Chicken

I have to order some new supplies. Once I've done that I should be in business


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## 5artist5

Wow! That is looking great!


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## Mr_Chicken

Well, I got my best pull so far this afternoon.

Here it is straight out of the mold:









and after a little bit of snipping (the final product will be trimmed much cleaner-- I just wanted to see how this would look):

















Here's the three I've done so far...none will make the final cut for my haunt, but it's getting close:








^that one on the far left I used to test paint colors (which I haven't figured out yet) and hair punching (which I will not be doing)

Incidentally, I found out that he looks rather dashing on a bucky skull, even though it was sculpted on a lindberg initially:








(you're just going to have to believe me that there's a bucky under there...yes I mounted it on a blucky body, but what's a cheapskate haunter to do?)


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## Devils Chariot

neato!!!


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## RoxyBlue

He's looking handsome, Mr C!


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## IMU

Looks great!


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## tot13

That is so awesome! Hey, if those others don't make your cut, I can send you my address, lol.


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## The Watcher

Very nice! I am green with envy.


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## hpropman

looking good Mr C


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## Kaoru

Nice! I like what you have done thus far with the face you have set up. Great job Chicken, looking forward to seeing the final product!


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## debbie5

WOW. I love men. I would nnneeeevvveerrrrrrrrrrrrrr have the patience to do that. God bless Mr. Chicken.


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## Mr_Chicken

Until I get the haunt video together, here's a little preview of the finished product. I didn't have time to make a better cast, so he has holes in his ears and some messy seams, but no one seemed to notice


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## bfjou812

Looks great regardless!! Can't wait to see the video!!


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## hpropman

Agreed his does look great - the best Frankenstein prop I have seen!


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## fritz42_male

Awesome!


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## billman

Excellent!!! yeah, can't wait to see the video!


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## scary rick

looks great!! can't wait to see it in action!


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## Mr_Chicken

VIDEOS!
Here are the first of four:








Frankie's animation is ugly, but that's because I forgot to glue the face to the skull until after I put the hair on, at which point it was too late to do anything...oh well, the TOTs didn't know the difference


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## fick209

Mr_Chicken said:


> Frankie's animation is ugly, but that's because I forgot to glue the face to the skull until after I put the hair on, at which point it was too late to do anything...oh well, the TOTs didn't know the difference


I never noticed! 
Both videos are great. The movement and details are incredible. Your work is in a class of its own IMO. Great job and thanks for sharing.


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## Mr_Chicken

One more video of the group:


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## hpropman

Wow awesome! any shots of the animatronics under the masks?


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## Mr_Chicken

hpropman said:


> Wow awesome! any shots of the animatronics under the masks?


No, but that's not really anything interesting, anyway. They're just 3-axis Lindberg skulls.


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## fritz42_male

Just he says!


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## Systematic Chaos

That is so flipping awesome! I longed to be there actually watching it. Great job! Where are you located?


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## Mr_Chicken

lol Fritz

Thanks SC-- I'm flattered. I'm in California.


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