Thread: Don't Blink!

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I started this thread over on the HauntForum a while back to chronicle my progress on this project and figured you all might like it as well, so I'm copying my posts of the progress. Some of the comments might be a little out of context, but I will be updating as I continue building, so bear with me!

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My overly-ambitious idea for my haunt this year is to make two life-size weeping angel statues, like from the Doctor Who episode "Blink". I plan on having one in a "passive" posture, the other in "attack" posture.

Firstly, I coated a mannequin with a light spray of silicone to make the demolding process go easier.



The first layer of paper mache was put on with a simple glue + water mixture, again to make demolding work easier. I found the combination of silicone on the form and this lighter first pasting worked fairly well when I did this with skulls.



Note: I hate working inside on this, my table is a lot lower than my usual workbench and it's murder on my back.

Second layer is applied using a more regular paste, as defined by Stolloween.



Something about applying the paper mache on such a realistic female figure makes me want to not have the kids in the room...

I figured three layers was enough for my skulls, it should be enough for my body. Not quite. Not only was it too floppy, but I didn't put enough silicone on the fiberglass form to act as a release. A lot of the paper stuck, leaving void areas...


Coming off in chunks...


Ready to assemble


Mostly finished assembling. Need more tape...

Fallen Angel, statue. A prop barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild her. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the haunts's first weeping angel statue. She will be that statue. Better than she was before. Better, taller, scarier.

After purchasing new making tape, Angel1 has been put back together. Humpty Dumpty has risen anew!



Now to reinforce what I've done, first layer will be mache'd with the paper from grocery bags. This will add the desired stiffness.

[IMG]http://halloween.tittivillus.com/2011/2011_02_24_001_forum.jpg[/IMG

After getting 5 layers on, I realized that to get the internal structure I want to support everything, I need to so major surgery.

So, I am starting a new body shell, with the first layer being Aluminum foil to avoid the whole sticking problem.



The first shell I made is going to be used to find the measurements I need, by slicing it apart into sections and measuring the inside diameter and shape (torso, hips, shoulders, etc). Once I got the structure put together, when I pull the new one off the mannequin, I will have something for it to wrap around.

The original one, I figure, I can put back together and use for a different project, maybe another witch, or something.

Taking a break from mache. I got foam insulation to start on the wing template. Turns out the lady I spoke with at Lowe's was also a Haunter, so I recommended the site to her! She was very helpful when I explained what I was doing...

They cut the 4'x8' foam into 4 - 2'x4' chunks for me to fit in my van. Very nice of them.

Drew on the rough outline of the wing on one block after gluing 2 pieces together (styrofoam glue, must read directions next time!). There is no real good pattern for the wing that I could find. Had to find stills from that Doctor Who episode to guide me...



I did a rough cutout with a hand saw with the idea to make my own foam cutter to do the rest. Didn't end well, the wall wart kept over-heating. Ended up using my band-saw, which worked well.



Here is my daughter trying them on for size. Pay no attention to the man behind the Angel!



My son and I worked at hallowing out the front part of one of the wings. The idea being to make the shaped curved, being about the thickness of one panel when alls said and done.



And here it is, curved fairly nicely. All I need now is to get the attach-point to match the curve of the shoulder blade and to detail in the feathers. Have to make that detail fairly bold to be visible when done in paper-mache.



The dog-deshedder works very well shaping the foam, BTW.

Finished the rough work on one of the wing templates. I still want to deepen some of the lines, due to the fact that I will lose fidelity when I do the paper-mache ontop of them..







Started on the second wing.

Moving forward on the wings, I covered one of the wings with Aluminum foil last night.





This took about 2 hours and a sore back. The foil is the act as a barrier between the wing templates and the paper mache, but I'm thinking there has to be a better way. Before falling asleep last night, I thought about simply covering the foam with a good coat of furnature wax. Anything try anything like this? This wax is a paste you buff into wood to give a nice finish without having to shellac or varnish. It might work to prevent the paper mache paste from sticking to the template.

Note: Furniture wax doesn't work...

Started to paper one of the wings. This is a pain to get the paer into all the nooks and crannies.



One last layer of paper on the body form before I attempt to cut it off the mannequin.

I was able to finish papering one of the wings earlier in the week, and demolded it. Adding the foil to the inside made the job of seperating the paper from the form trivial. I tried to tape it together, but it was still too moist and the tape wouldn't hold. I'll let it dry out more before trying again.

Some of the detail on the wing kinda got lost from the papering, but I figure I will re-emphasize the "feathers" with some paper-mache clay later on.

Note: At this point, I should have put the shell back on the form to dry. Drying by itself encouraged warping which became a hassle later...



Finally demolded the body form from earlier. Again, the foil made this job easier. I cut it off in a way that I didn't have to cut inside the "crotch", and as a result, I was able to get it off in one piece. The paper was still moist after all these weeks, due to the moisture being trapped inside next to the foil. This, too, will need to dry before I can tape it together.



First step after demolding was peeling off the foil. On the body form, since I used some heavy-duty aluminium, I was able to reuse some of it when I re-foiled the mannequin to start the 2nd angel body.

Note of caution: Don't leave any paper-mache wings outside of the garage when rain is due... :-P