Replacement Roger lives!

[DollyKim]

*As of June 2011 this project no longer qualifies as "Roger", it has been regulated to the parts box for later reuse. See the RIP post for more info.

As the original is half fragile glass unicorn it's time to start on a hopefully jointed and tougher Roger the Centaur.

Starting here http://dolfielittles.typepad.com/blog/2 ... roger.html all posts titled Replacement Roger will follow his construction step by step. I'll put highlights here.

To get started you need 2 toilet paper tubes, 2 bendy straws, masking tape, cheese cloth, and Rigid Wrap or paper mache strips. Must be bendy straws because they make the proper shape for the back legs.

The traditional tube and bendy straw horsey base. This gives a quick start with a hollow body to keep the weight down.


Wrap with cheesecloth strips to give the Rigid Wrap something to hold on to. Start with the legs so they dry and give a sturdy base.


Let the horsey dry.

[DollyKim]

With a satisfactory horse shaped base it's time to start making joints. Welcome to one of those only in doll making images.


It appears Roger is a gelding, that will never do! So a new crotch is started with a ring of mesh and some Rigid Wrap. This gives the Apoxie Sculpt or clay something to hold on to. If I go with a hole for stringing instead of a T joint this is easy enough to cut through.

I don't see settling on a final joint until I've made more hips and experimented a bit, remembering how the first attempt with joints didn't quite work out.

Meanwhile I've started on his feet. There will be lower leg joints so I'm keeping that area thin. While I work the hips out I'll need solid legs under him.

[DollyKim]

Put plastic on the top of the legs and built up the butt and body a bit with more Rigid Wrap.

I think we're going with ball joint style hips.

[DollyKim]

Well, I opted for good old fashioned Darice doll joints, those pivoty snap together kind to keep his legs on. Gives the swinging motion he needs.

[DollyKim]

Well, got to remember to slow down a bit as rushing him won't work.

This is the new idea for the hip joints. Just add Rigid Wrap then Apoxie Sculpt.


Progress is made on the legs, I'm seriously thinking the back legs should be one piece to balance beter although one has given its self a "knee" that refuses to heal. I can fidge that by making his joints knobbier.


It's make or glue factory time for him.

[DollyKim]

Alrighty then, after some major liposuction on his thighs, either I put the sockets on the wrong side of his legs or totally derped on the whole thing, I've stuck the back legs on to the hips. Pictures will be posted with the next patch job.

Had I thought to use doll joints from the get go I might have started him a bit differently but in general I would recommend starting with a whole horse half. To use doll joints I would have then suggested cutting the entire rear end off and chopping it in half, making the straw spine to hold the hip joints in place, then putting the other half of the joints in the thighs, putting the legs on, and shaping the thighs from there.

As things are it looks like Replacement Rog's legs may be a bit zwonky, like the real thing, but he'll be able to stand and hopefully rear up. The front leg "knees" will be hinge joints with a pin holding them together. They show how to do it in the Pop Sculpture book which is a must have for all sculptors.

[DollyKim]

One leg at a time. The thigh is pretty much shaped how I want it, when it's dry the plan is to wrap it in plastic wrap so I can build the hip socket up around that. The plastic will keep the socket from sticking to the leg. He needs to be able to swing his leg forward and strait back to kick.

Solid back legs are the way to go as he's already tottering a bit on his feet. At the moment I have enough give to spread the back feet out a bit to give him better balance but it's unsteady. I'm going to think how and if I want to address that.

The weather cooperated and I got some late afternoon work in.


So perhaps I can start with the sockets in the morning. Yeah, he's a bit turned in on the one side but meh, it gives him character. The work in the joints has to be done with a thin knife and very wet Apoxie Sculpt.

[DollyKim]

Off with the old human body, it was too far forward, and on with working on the front legs. This angle not only confirms that h's a stallion but shows the groves on the inner thighs. Those were done while the leg was wet and swinging it as far forward as I wanted it to go. From the side the ridge helps hide some of the joint space.


The pin problem for the front legs was solved by some of those short wooden dow thinggies that come with composite cardboard furniture. They will be stable when attached to the upper leg, the plan is to make the lower leg swing by putting plastic wrap around the pegs and building up the part of the joint on the lower leg.


Soon enough I'll need to figure if I'm stringing all of the human body or going ball and post. So far I want to string his arms like a ball joint doll.

[DollyKim]

Raise the roof!

[DollyKim]

It looks like Rog has got some front legs on him. I'll have to cut his front hooves off and rebuild them a bit higher on the legs. And the knees need some trimming.


In a way the shoulder joint should have been higher up in the body but it's too late, I've set that sucker in good, so I'll have to adapt. I also need to make his tail hole bigger than a straw so that can fit in there.