Your Thoughts: Authentic Animal Replica

[Reevz1977]

Hi folks, due to the missus being fiendishly strong and ridiculously scary, I've given in and my Muppets have taken up permanent residency above my work station instead of in my living room. Heres the happy little fellows here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23001839@N02/2638933030/sizes/l/

 

[muppetperson]

Fantastic picture.You know how to pose them with character.

 

[Kevin Knight]

That is a great photo. Animal should be here in a few weeks time. I have considered posibly making the adjustments that some have tried. the tounge, the wetting of the feathers, but man I would've never noticed stuff like that if I hadn't seen comparisons. Darn! But yeah that photo looks awesome. I'm looking forward to making animal look like he's trying to bust out of the glass case. Like using those static clings of broken glass in front of his fists. We'll see.

Kevin

 

[antonydavanzo]

Hi folks, due to the missus being fiendishly strong and ridiculously scary, I've given in and my Muppets have taken up permanent residency above my work station instead of in my living room. Heres the happy little fellows here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23001839@N02/2638933030/sizes/l/

Wicked picture! How hard was it to get Gonzos eyes to stay and how did you get Kermits face to look soooo good!

 

[Reevz1977]

Wicked picture! How hard was it to get Gonzos eyes to stay and how did you get Kermits face to look soooo good!

Wow, long time no...read? How are you? I can't believe you're asking for advice, I genuinely believe your poses to be amongst the best I've seen, if not the best!

With Gonzo's eyes I threaded a needle and made a fairly big knot on the end of the thread. I then put the needle through the eyes in between the plastic mechanism and eyelid so that the knot acted like an anchor. I took the thread under the eyelid (making sure not to penetrate the foam) and out through the blue fur at the back of the head. I then turned the needle around making a very generous 'stitch' across the back of the head and then did the same in reverse, ending with tying another big knot to anchor the other side.

You with me so far?

With the big stitch at the rear of the head I can pull and alter the eyelids to how I want them to be, like a primative eye mechanism, and hold the eyes in place without risking damaging my little blue chum (just by tying a knot in the stitch). With Kermit I wasn't as gentle - I just jumped up and down on his head until the fleece gave a more loose feel, rather than it looking filled. I then just yanked on Kermits 'jowls' to give it a look as it it were hanging off a puppeteers hand. I'm still not 100% happy with it but in my upcoming holiday I intend to perfect the art of posing

 

[antonydavanzo]

Wow, long time no...read? How are you? I can't believe you're asking for advice, I genuinely believe your poses to be amongst the best I've seen, if not the best!

With Gonzo's eyes I threaded a needle and made a fairly big knot on the end of the thread. I then put the needle through the eyes in between the plastic mechanism and eyelid so that the knot acted like an anchor. I took the thread under the eyelid (making sure not to penetrate the foam) and out through the blue fur at the back of the head. I then turned the needle around making a very generous 'stitch' across the back of the head and then did the same in reverse, ending with tying another big knot to anchor the other side.

You with me so far?

With the big stitch at the rear of the head I can pull and alter the eyelids to how I want them to be, like a primative eye mechanism, and hold the eyes in place without risking damaging my little blue chum (just by tying a knot in the stitch). With Kermit I wasn't as gentle - I just jumped up and down on his head until the fleece gave a more loose feel, rather than it looking filled. I then just yanked on Kermits 'jowls' to give it a look as it it were hanging off a puppeteers hand. I'm still not 100% happy with it but in my upcoming holiday I intend to perfect the art of posing

Hey bud, I havent really posted for a while, I have been lurking though! Just checked out the new videos of the Muppets on YOU TUBE....Im loving it! Thanks for the tips, the Gonzo eye lid idea is a great trick, Ill get to work on my Gonzo ASAP. Where you going on holiday?

 

[Reevz1977]

Hey bud, I havent really posted for a while, I have been lurking though! Just checked out the new videos of the Muppets on YOU TUBE....Im loving it!

Yeah, they're absolutely mint! It's great to see them back on top form!

Where you going on holiday?

I don't know to be honest. The company I work for shuts down for 3 weeks in the summer and all staff HAVE to take that break. I'm probably gonna be hanging around my house for the most part, but I'm trying to convince the Missus to go Nice for a couple of days...we'll see!

 

[Kevin Knight]

Of all of you that own Animal. Can you give me some pointers, or points of caution on the replica? DO's and Do Not's of posing him. Limitations of the materials? Concerning the boas, the tounge, the eyebrows. Thanks guys. I can't wait for him to arrive. Hopefully Gonzo too by the end of August.

 

[frogboy4]

Of all of you that own Animal. Can you give me some pointers, or points of caution on the replica? DO's and Do Not's of posing him. Limitations of the materials? Concerning the boas, the tounge, the eyebrows. Thanks guys. I can't wait for him to arrive. Hopefully Gonzo too by the end of August.

I hope this helps:

First - don't panic when you open him. He looks wild and weird and un-Animal-like. He's huge too. But he does settle into a beautiful poser with rather minimal work.

The mouth hinge issue with Animal isn't ideal and the removal and/or replacement of the tongue doesn't appear to have helped others that much so it's likely best left alone.

I recommend allowing the head feathers to settle for several hours before slightly dampening your fingertips with water and gently taming his hair. I after a few weeks you want to trim a bit here and there to your liking, but I would suggest doing that sparingly.

The eyebrow shells are white and the edges are exposed. The adhesive has some "give" so I pulled them back, carefully Sharpied the tips in black and then tugged the fabric back over them. Make sure you don't get pen on the eyeballs. I then twisted the black mohair brows in little sections to make it pop separately rather than just look like one big clump.

The eyeballs were dealt with using this method at the very end of the Gonzo review:

http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/reviews/merchandise/replica_gonzo.shtml

There's also a collar available that member Muppet Caper and others might help point you toward. It was on some Halloween site and I ended up painting the black rubber part silver with a paint marker.

The stand is a bit short for Animal, but bending his legs accommodates this. Like Kermit it's best not to wear out the joints, but he does just fine. Those are the things I did to him.

Here's how I initially received Animal (sans-improvements) and my Muppet Central review. http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/reviews/merchandise/replica_animal.shtml

Here's pictures of his collar (before I corrected the eye focus)
http://wijitworld.com/stock_images/animal_collar.jpg

Here's two group shots with corrections
http://wijitworld.com/stock_images/mupp_group_cand.jpg
http://wijitworld.com/stock_images/new_mc_main.jpg

 

[Kevin Knight]

Thank you very very much

Kevin