Save the Planet of the Apes!!! - PIX ADDED!!

[Jessica]

PS--Hopefully I'll be able to see SW soon, when I receive some DVDs from a trade. Every time it's on TV, I've already missed a good portion of it...and then I want to see it from the very beginning, so I end up not watching it at all. And I can't believe I never got to see it on the big screen when I was a kid.

I never noticed the doors before because the loudness of his bathrobe was too deafening.

Look at this behind-the-scenes photo I dug up today. Oh snap! I just remembered that I better start Dylan's costume!!

 

[Jessica]

Aw crap. I should have saved that image to my hard drive. Anyway, here's another fun photo I dug up today:

Been busy working on Burke again. I am finally happy this time. I can't wait to see him painted.

I basically resculpted his face on top of a bad cast...took a mold of just the face so that I could resculpt his hair. Tried to smooth everything out...this is how he looked before I took a mold. I also tried to make a two-part mold, but because I may not have sprayed enough mold release between the molds, it became stuck as one. You should see the ingenious way I had to cut out the cast...Oh...and because I could not cure the sculpey because of the plastic, I tried to spot-cure with an open flame. My stupid new BBQ lighter doesn't work so I need to return that. Instead, I went with a pair of tongs and did the flame over the stovetop--burned some of the hair while I was at it, too.

 

[angelofmusic2112]

Jessica - if you had that wagner heat gun you could easily "cook" those sculpts under a wave of very hot air much like a hair dryer. Remember they're about $15-$19 (at Wal-Mart) and they have many uses for a hobbycrafter such as yourself!

 

[Jessica]

Duh...forgot about the heat gun. I do have one and I know where it is...but I forgot about it. That would have helped out. The blow dryer doesn't get hot enough and fast enough for me.

 

[angelofmusic2112]

It doesn't work fast enough for you? It gets to be about 500 degrees in about 20 seconds! In fact, mine has a 2nd setting moving the temp close to 750 degrees.

 

[Jessica]

I was talking about my hair dryer--you could also use it to cure thin sculpey...but it takes too long.

 

[Jessica]

Here is Burke on a Sideshow body, so you guys can see his sizing:


These apes (and Bruce Lee) I am going to try to shrink. I was talking shop with another customizer, which lit up a lightbulb in my head...so now I think I can make casts without the dreaded unpredictable bubbles showing up in the most unexpected places of the cast. Look at the way I zigzagged Burke's mold to create a two-part mold because I didn't put enough mold release spray.

 

[Jessica]

OMG! That's a lot of chimps! You should make a portion of the steps in the stadium and take a photo of the camera panning the crowd of chimps. You wouldn't have to build the whole stadium--and it wouldn't have to be a perfect job (although I know you all too well)...and take a photo outdoors when the weather is better. It's so exciting to see a group of chimps for me!

 

[Jessica]

those pictures are impressive! I can't imagine how much those gorilla soldiers must've cost you

I'm still missing Ursus and the sideshow exclusive Taylor (w/ beard).

Forgot to welcome you to the madhouse, CW!!!

 

[Ironman1188]

OMG! That's a lot of chimps! You should make a portion of the steps in the stadium and take a photo of the camera panning the crowd of chimps. You wouldn't have to build the whole stadium--and it wouldn't have to be a perfect job (although I know you all too well)...and take a photo outdoors when the weather is better. It's so exciting to see a group of chimps for me!

I don't see any chimp groups?

And, while you're shrinking those simians, could you post a few pix of any you might be cast 1:6 copies of? I really need to jumpstart my POTA initiative.

 

[Jessica]

IM, I'm going to have to try making a cast from the newest molds I made and take a photo. Just not in the mood right now because I wanted to do a bit of gardening. I'll post what I can in a few days.

But here's something I'm currently massaging. Look how little!!

I'm also going to try to sculpt Virginia Lake in 1:6 scale, IM. Wish me luck.

 

[stickman]

Great job Jessica, getting all that detail in such a small space.

 

[wax murderer]

Jess, a little advice about using a heat gun with Sculpey...do it carefully. If you over-heat the Sculpey, it'll scorch. If you really over-do it, it'll blister(badly). Do NOT use the "Hi" setting. I realize that one tends to get impatient, but I can't emphasize enough the need to take your time. Improperly cured Sculpey is nobody's friend. Just a bit of hard won experience(don't ask)...PS

 

[Jessica]

PS--good advice. I've already scorched Burke's hair, but it went OK with the mold, since I only needed to cure the clay enough for that mold. Lucky for me the mold was fine. Because the clay was not cured, the hair crumpled into itself as I popped out the sculpt. Hopefully I won't have to do half plastic and half clay again.

 

[Ironman1188]

I'm also going to try to sculpt Virginia Lake in 1:6 scale, IM. Wish me luck.

good luck!

 

[Jessica]

Check out the shrinking process, guys. After a few days, this is how the shrinking material looks against the actual sculpt. It's a weird rubbery material after it has cured. I'll check on the shrinking process every couple of days and it could take weeks before I get the sculpts in the right size (1 inch). Ape City marches on slowly but surely. Shrinking is easier for me than expanding...maybe Hydrospan works better than Panocast...don't know. I am not going to spend $75 to figure that out though! One thing's for sure...it's cheaper if you can sculpt it yourself.

I cleaned this sculpt up with a stiff paint brush.


I can't sculpt now because I left my razor blades at my mom's house day before yesterday...going to have to go to the craft store and buy more. So...I will forage for some breakfast food, do some gardening, and wait for Sears Repair this morning and hopefully they can get the damned washing machine to stop leaking. Thank goodness for the washing machine tray that is connected to plumbing.

 

[Protozaius]

Found this amongst the news bits today:

Rupert Wyatt Monkeying With Fox Prequel?
By MIKE FLEMING
Rupert Wyatt has moved into pole position on 20th Century Fox's Planet of the Apes prequel. No start date, but Wyatt's come aboard to develop to direct. Script's by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Wyatt last directed The Escapist.

Looks like Fox just won't let this one go. I'm assuming that when they use the word "prequel" they are referring to the remake of Conquest concept and not a prequel to Burton's re-imagining.

Regardless, I'm hoping that any Planet of the Apes film made could help our chances of getting a second wave of Hot Toys classic apes into our hands.

 

[Darthgothikus]

Hi all

Only just started adding POTA figures to my collection, not read through much of this thread, so hope no one minds a bit of irreverence!

Bertram was quite the Ladies Monkey, here we find him swinging in his Simian pad...

It doesn't take long for a friend to arrive...

...but of course, we all know, the female of any species, is more deadly than the male...

Also got Brent & Taylor Astronauts, but they don't play well with others!

 

[wax murderer]

Bertram?...PS

 

[Darthgothikus]

He just looked like a Bertram to me...