Arms length puppets

[trooper_trent]

Well, Even though I have been taking my time to make sure I did a good job, Im almost DONE building my Armslength puppet already. It's really quite simple and the process doesnt really take all that long. I made the mouth plate, and put the foam head (ten pieces for the foam head) and body together 2 days ago, then yesterday I did most of the sewing (all except for the neck and spandex sleeve) and today I stuffed the arms, covered the body with fleece, attached the mouth plate, and built the eyes. Saturday I should be able to finish the neck so I can cover the head, then Im ready to start adding features. So far it has turned out almost perfect! I say almost because I had a little trouble constructing the mouth plate. The kit I ordered (version C) has a considerably smaller mouth than the others. David supplied the same size materials as for the other kits so the hand strap for the mouth plate was much too big and I was afraid it wouldnt fit inside the foam head properly. I did a little tweaking and it turned out wonderful. Nice clean lines, no rough spots, very comfortable too. I must say that I am completely satisfied with the way it is turning out. Thanks for all your help in teaching me a few things before I started. I know that you have all helped me avoid several mistakes.
Trent
edited for typos

 

[Show and Tell]

Well, Even though I have been taking my time to make sure I did a good job, Im almost DONE building my Armslength puppet already. It's really quite simple and the process doesnt really take all that long. I made the mouth plate, and put the foam head (ten pieces for the foam head) and body together 2 days ago, then yesterday I did most of the sewing (all except for the neck and spandex sleeve) and today I stuffed the arms, covered the body with fleece, attached the mouth plate, and built the eyes. Saturday I should be able to finish the neck so I can cover the head, then Im ready to start adding features. So far it has turned out almost perfect! I say almost because I had a little trouble constructing the mouth plate. The kit I ordered (version C) has a considerably smaller mouth than the others. David supplied the same size materials as for the other kits so the hand strap for the mouth plate was much too big and I was afraid it wouldnt fit inside the foam head properly. I did a little tweaking and it turned out wonderful. Nice clean lines, no rough spots, very comfortable too. I must say that I am completely satisfied with the way it is turning out. Thanks for all your help in teaching me a few things before I started. I know that you have all helped me avoid several mistakes.
Trent
edited for typos

Do you have an email address you can post Trent?
I just ordered both the armslength video and kit C as well as the foam book video series and book. Its alot of money forked out but the end result will be some great puppets (I hope)

 

[DPuppets]

The mouthplate on the C kit is smaller but the mouth strap does fit. When glueing the foam to the mouthplate you just have to take some time for it. But it does work.

 

[trooper_trent]

The mouthplate on the C kit is smaller but the mouth strap does fit. When glueing the foam to the mouthplate you just have to take some time for it. But it does work.

Yeah, It ended up working out okay. The problem was that when you rivet the hand strap to the top portion of the mouth plate, the part that you put your hand in is too tight for your fingers and the edge of the plastic hand strap is too thick so it interferes with the shape of the foam head. I trimmed the plastic hand strap to make it thinner and adjusted the width of the gap that the fingers go through. I only place 2 fingers through the hand strap(middle finger and ring finger) and the other two fingers go on the outside of the strap. It seems a little unorthodox but it actually gives me a surprising amount of control and since my fingers are slightly spread in a more natural position, my hand does not get tired nearly as fast. pic of mouth plate here
So, what once seemed like a flaw actually turned into a blessing.

BTW, I just bought foam for the ears and a great Feather Boa for the hair. I'm almost done except for the neck and facial features. I'll finish him up tomorrow. Here are a few pics of what he looks like so far. I havent glued the fabric down around the mouth yet so the line isnt as clean as it will be. I named him "Ardy"
Ardy 1
Ardy 2
Body 1
Body 2

 

[trooper_trent]

Do you have an email address you can post Trent?
I just ordered both the armslength video and kit C as well as the foam book video series and book. Its alot of money forked out but the end result will be some great puppets (I hope)

Yeah, I'll add it to my profile. I keep forgeting.
Its trooper_trent@yahoo.com

 

[DPuppets]

On the C puppet it is hard for pretty much anybody to use all their fingers in there. My wife can but I do the same as you do and just use my middle fingers. But, one reason I do use my middle fingers is that I use my 1st and 4th fingers to move eye lids and special effects. Doing a good job on it!

 

[Jinx]

Looks Great!

Hey, Trent!

He really looks great so far! I haven't had any time to work on mine yet, as I have had rehearsals and performances this week (symphony, my vocal quartet, and opera chorus!) and have only been able to study the pieces a bit. But I'm really looking forward to (hopefully) getting started this coming week!

Can't wait to see how you finish him!

 

[trooper_trent]

Can't wait to see how you finish him!

Well, He's finished!!! just about anyway. I was having some trouble sewing the feathers on for his hair. I dropped him off at my mother's house because she is an excellent seamstress. She said she could finish it tonight.
Im taking my wife to go see David Copperfield tonight for V-Day but I'll post pics of the finished "Ardy" Tomorrow after church.

 

[Show and Tell]

Well, He's finished!!! just about anyway. I was having some trouble sewing the feathers on for his hair. I dropped him off at my mother's house because she is an excellent seamstress. She said she could finish it tonight.
Im taking my wife to go see David Copperfield tonight for V-Day but I'll post pics of the finished "Ardy" Tomorrow after church.

That is one incredibly cool looking puppet Trent! I can't wait to see the rest of him. a few questions: Why do so many people use ostrich feathers for puppet hair? (not that its a problem just wondered) and secondly, what kind of material is Ardy's skin made of? it doesn't look like fleese which is what I would have expected. I'm still not quite sure what you mean by what you had to do there to make the fingers fit into the C kit. (thats what I ordered too) How do so many of you hide or remove the visible seams? do you have to pick out the material that gets sewn down or something? seems complex!

 

[Show and Tell]

oh I found that the Pick-me place Iron fan was talking about does have Dave's Kits and videos. http://www.pick-me.com/puppets/pup5.htm they mentioned something about there being a series of videos. Is there more than one video when you order or what did they mean by that I wonder?