Raptor head in 1.5 wks!

Anthony Sterl

Yes its the 19th of October and I've decided to now start on raptor head to be worn over my own as as part of my costume. As for reference I'm going to use an old half finished raptor model. Ill post pics tomorrow of the model. I did buy the how to make a dinosaur series that is mostly making a trex head. I am competant with power tools and silicone rubber mold making. Suggestions and tips are welcome!

Chris Ellerby

Nice, looking forward to seeing your progress!

/Chris

Anthony Sterl

Here is the head im working from.  Of course I'l have to take some more detailed pictures with rulers and such, but this is what I'm working from.  If possible I intend to hook the lower jaw so It can move when I move my jaw.

Anthony Sterl

Here's a rough outline of what I intend to do. 

I'm thinking to do it so I can see out between the teeth as the mouth will never be fully closed.  Looking at this makes me think that maybe a paintball mask might be the best bast for this as it would need to be secured to my head.

Yes you can expect many double posts from me in the future.  Maybe even triple posts if you're lucky.

Anthony Sterl

Someone just gave me a good idea.  Use coat hangers/ thin metal rod to make a wire skeleton of the head and stretch pantyhose over it.  So heres my question, can pantyhose be painted with colored silicone like foam can?  Or should I use the wire and pantyhose as a base to add foam to?

Chris Ellerby

Nice.  You can also use the type of harness found inside hard hats.

Pantyhose are typically just nylon, which should work fine for silicone.  Though the heavy silicone may cause drooping, so you'll want plenty of structure.  You can also put a light weight layer of chickenwire over your armature to add a bit of support for any materials like nylon.

/Chris

Anthony Sterl

I could use hardware cloth to add strength as its light and i think chicken wire's gaps re a bit big. 

Although I am thinking that if I use foam over the wire skeleton, I would be able to use the chicken wire over the wire as it should be sufficient to hold the foam up.

Anthony Sterl

Can someone suggest an alternative to coat hangers to use as an  armature to attach the hardware cloth to?

Thanks

Chris Ellerby

Depending on how rigid you need it to be, you could use thicker aluminum armature wire.  Other options are: Thin PVC pipe, which you can bend with heat.  Wood (balsa wood, wooden dowels, etc).  Bent aluminum strips.

/Chris

Anthony Sterl

9 days left
I'm gonna try to grab armature wire this Saturday and I can start bending metal.

Anthony Sterl

3 days left (posted just after midnight on Wednesday morning)
Update time

I've got some rough proportions for sizing of the head.  Rough and dirty, but there is not much time left.  I got wire for the "skeleton" while out tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow night I get metal bending.

Anthony Sterl

I'm gonna bend the wire today to this size.  The head is the size of my head.

If you click the picture, It is huge.  It's about 30" wide so don't click to enlarge unless you want to wait to see this picture allot bigger.

Chris Ellerby

Looking good! 

/Chris

Anthony Sterl

ive got half the armature/skeleton for the top jaw done.  pictures soon.  itll likely be of a skinned top jaw

Anthony Sterl

AS its the day before Halloween ill just use this post with time stamps.

10/29  12:23--full wire top and lower jaw set done.  Moving to jaw joint.

10/30 12:00--skinned pics

Anthony Sterl

10/30 12:00--skinned pics


But alas, this morning (Halloween) some seams are coming apart and i dont have eyes yet.  If this doesnt happen, it is at least a good learning experience.

Lesson #1--Dont start 4 days before Halloween.