Thread: Dog Soldiers Werewolf Help

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We're making a fullsize werewolf from the movie Dog Soldiers for this year's haunt. I have a taxidermist making the head, and the assembly is pretty easy except for the protruding rib cage seen below. The costume designers were trying to make the werewolf's chest look more like that of a whippet/greyhound dog than a musclebuilder, so they added a pronounced rib cage instead of a lot of abs.

We're using a mannequin as a base for the project, and I'm thinking I can add a rib cage from a plastic skeleton to the mannequin's chest, then spray Great Stuff foam to fill in the gap between the mannequin chest and ribs, and remove some of the foam from between the ribs to make the ribs stand out.

Where I need some help is with how to cover the rib cage and make it look like flesh. I was thinking of applying a coat of liquid latex, but I've never worked with that before. I also didn't know if the latex will react with the foam, if I can form a smooth transition from the chest "skin" to the rest of the body, etc.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

First, I wouldn't use a premade ribcage. It won't fit around the mannequin in the right way. Consider making one with newspaper tubes wrapped around the body form so you can get exactly the right shape. Something like this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Paper_Mache_Skeletons/

I would then go over the ribcage in mache, followed by something you can sculpt and smooth. Check out LaurieBeast's tutorial on The Bride.

I looked at the tutorial about making rib cages using a wastebasket, so if the cage I have doesn't work I'll make one using the wastebasket route.

My big question is how to make the skin going over it. On my Creeper figure, I used a real thin coat of Great Stuff to offer a rough, pebbled, surface skin for the wing arms, but I need smooth skin for the werewolf.

for your skin you could try something like this....

Latex help

scroll down about 3 posts for a picture of the usage. Im doing two christmas deer with it now but dont have pics yet, will be more than happy to post them though as soon as I do.

I would think for your use, get a cotton sheet and soak it in the latex and wrap it around the chest, cut off what you dont want/need and use more latex to blend it in with the lower body.

Dries fast, makes it waterproof.

hope this helps

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

Hi Bruzilla ! Interested in any updates on you werewolf -Dog Soldier - Lycan. Also interested in how you have or are going forth with the fur -skin-hair situation.
I am working on something similar ...but from scratch_ pvc armature - chckenwire - mache . I am at a standstill _ Florida heat and Florida rain...lol Casey Anthony trial and lycan balancing problem. lol Would love to see your progress.

The nice thing about the Dog Soldiers werewolf is that most of the body is skin, with the only furry part being the head. We were going to use a mask for the head, but after looking at lots of production photos, we saw the head was based on an actual wolf head and not a traditional Hollywood werewolf head, and no masks really came close.

We then checked into custom mask and puppet makers, but to get a mask or puppet head made would cost about $900+, which was out of our budget. We ended up getting an actual Timber Wolf cape (the head and neck fur) off ebay, and we have a taxidermist making a head for us. We're hoping the head will be finished early next month, and then we can figure out how tall a mannequin we'll need. Also, the taxidermist is just using a head form and not using the neck, so we'll have plenty of spare fur to use if we need it. The werewolf has a pretty robust mane that surrounds the face and travels down the back, and I'm planning on using Spanish Moss that's been treated and spray painted the same colors as the natural fur.

One thing we want to do is have the werewolf walking instead of just standing since so many static figures just stand there. The number of walking mannequins is slim, but there are a few.

Thanks for your reply !!! Going to PM you pic of mine. Its more my version of a Lycan with tail. He's almost 7 ft. Kind of walking ...that's why the balance problem. Now I have to redo a better foot base. Don't want to take over your thread here. not ready to post my guy to the forum cause I am at a stand still right this moment. lol

I feel your pain... the Dog Soldiers costume is 8 ft tall. I'm planning on making mine a skosh shorter than that so I can bring it in a house with 8ft ceilings.

Here are two pictures of how I'm planning on mounting my figure. These are shots of the actual costume, and how it was mounted by a guy who bought it. It's a square made of angle iron with brackets connected to the feet. Seems pretty simple and sturdy.

a couple of ideas i used for my version, i used a chickenwire/pvc frame, created the muscles with "great stuff" and carved a little. i then covered the body with pantyhose and carpet latex. added some "fur" from about a 1000 old halloween wigs from everywhere, applied everywhere, and it didn't come out too bad. sorry for no pics, but everything is stuck in my 1st generation digital camera - and there they all stay, keeping each other company throughout eternity. HM