Buford Needs Perky Ears

[Fozzie Bear]

Hey, gang.

I'm trying to scout you all for some ideas.

Muley's best friend is a dog, no doubt. Buford the Dog, and he has perky ears depending on his situation. While building the puppet, I need to include a mechanism to give him perky ears.

But what? The more simple the better as I plan to build a few heads for him.

You can see pictures of Buford and his ears at the following websites.

www.picturetrail.com/muleythemule
www.midsouthcartoonists.com
www.cafepress.com/muleythemule (he's on the mug At The Show)

Any ideas?

 

[Melonpool]

I'm working on the exact same mechanism in the new Sam puppet.

My plan is to put a wire frame inside the top two inches of the ears, poking through the foam head at a 90-degree angle. They'd be hand-sewn in place , but the weight of the ear material would cause them to lie more or less flat, making the inside wire stick out inside the skull.

Inside the head, attach a piece of string to both wires and run a string down to the mouth palette (securing it along the way so it doesn't get lost in there someplace). When you pull the string with your finger, it should cause the wire to pull down, lifting the ears upward.

At least, that's my theory. I haven't actually tried it yet.

Steve

 

[puppetise]

im currently building one as i watched sprocket and figured it out ill post desings on my picturetrail

 

[Phantom]

I'm working on the exact same mechanism in the new Sam puppet.

My plan is to put a wire frame inside the top two inches of the ears, poking through the foam head at a 90-degree angle. They'd be hand-sewn in place , but the weight of the ear material would cause them to lie more or less flat, making the inside wire stick out inside the skull.

Inside the head, attach a piece of string to both wires and run a string down to the mouth palette (securing it along the way so it doesn't get lost in there someplace). When you pull the string with your finger, it should cause the wire to pull down, lifting the ears upward.

At least, that's my theory. I haven't actually tried it yet.

Steve

My inital thought was along this line except running the string out the bottom of the puppet and operating it with your rod arm hand. (Not as sophisticated, true)

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I'm thinking that Buford's skull is going to be a Cool Whip bowl! One of the deep ones. That way, there's some leverage when I pull the ears' mech down. I plan to have some tubing running down through the body so the strings don't get tangled up or rub my arm, and will keep the strings loose so the ears will fall back in place.

The ears are "weighted down" with 75-cents! 3 quarters.

There will be 2 different strings so the ears can go up together, or do one at a time.

The "mechanism" for the ear will be wire which has been bent into a "U" shape and inserted in chloroplast (?) board (the sign board that's made like cardboard). I'll have that siliconed into place.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

So, is there anybody else who has any suggestions? The tubes won't hold to the Cool Whip bowl.

 

[SesameKermie]

Don't attach the tubes to the coolwhip bowl. Just use it as a conduit down Buford's back--just sew it into the lining/or glue it to the foam so it doesn't show.

 

[Melonpool]

I just remembered what I used to use on Crow... bike cables!

Instead of using the real cable, though, I'd just use the outside and feed a thin wire all the way down. Once it was through, it was a simple matter to use it as a long thread to feed a piece of string theough there.

This might work better than the method you're using, since bike cables have a teflon or something inner lining that allows for very smooth motion.

I don't know if it'll work, though.

Steve

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Thanks, ya'll. I'll have to try those methods, too.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

I remember seeing a diagram for bird wings in The Foam Book, which sounds likes basically the same concept as perk-able dog ears. Here's a link on Amazon:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader/002-6309942-9799250?_encoding=UTF8&asin=0967857503