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Gonzo Puppet by Terry Angus
- Thread starter ButchCat
- Start date
ElecMayhem
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As someone who worked closely with Terry on the MR Muppet line, I can definitely confirm that (a) his work is top notch and (b) he truly is one of the kindest, most talented, professional individuals I've ever had the good fortune to cross paths with.
And once again Terry, I am so sorry that your Gonzo head went missing. I feel partly responsible for that, even though I wasn't the one who "borrowed" it, and I certainly don't have it... The person who WAS responsible for it is someone I haven't spoken to or heard anything from in over 5 years. I wonder if that person has it... That would be my assumption, as this indivdual selling all kinds of MR prototypes and rarities online after parting ways with the company...
Anyway, it still bugs me to this day how far the final product differed from Terry's wonderful Gonzo prototype. I fought so hard to not have that sock on his nose, and to find another solution... Obviously, it was a losing battle. But oh well, water under the bridge at this point...
The new Gonzo looks killer, Terry. Of course, I want one!
And once again Terry, I am so sorry that your Gonzo head went missing. I feel partly responsible for that, even though I wasn't the one who "borrowed" it, and I certainly don't have it... The person who WAS responsible for it is someone I haven't spoken to or heard anything from in over 5 years. I wonder if that person has it... That would be my assumption, as this indivdual selling all kinds of MR prototypes and rarities online after parting ways with the company...
Anyway, it still bugs me to this day how far the final product differed from Terry's wonderful Gonzo prototype. I fought so hard to not have that sock on his nose, and to find another solution... Obviously, it was a losing battle. But oh well, water under the bridge at this point...
The new Gonzo looks killer, Terry. Of course, I want one!
FrackleFan2012
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Great job on Gonzo! 
Sprocket77
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The greatest Gonzo replica I've ever seen.
Slackbot
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I have a general puppet-making question. As it's not relevant to this Gonzo and may wander into "tricks of the trade" territory feel free to answer it or not, as you wish.
I've been making puppets, mostly Fraggles, for fun. I'm trying to make them as well as I can, and one thing that's been a bit tricky is the mouths, specifically how the hand works them. Obviously you don't want the fingers to push up against the underside of the nose when they open their mouths; it feels sloppy and can distort the face. I've been attaching a strap to the inside of the upper jaw for the fingers to slip under (or some under and some over for a more exact grip) but that's not always stable, and tends to stiffen a mouth that is supposed to be more flexible. So...can you give me any hints as to ways to keep the puppeteer's hand stable in there?
I've been making puppets, mostly Fraggles, for fun. I'm trying to make them as well as I can, and one thing that's been a bit tricky is the mouths, specifically how the hand works them. Obviously you don't want the fingers to push up against the underside of the nose when they open their mouths; it feels sloppy and can distort the face. I've been attaching a strap to the inside of the upper jaw for the fingers to slip under (or some under and some over for a more exact grip) but that's not always stable, and tends to stiffen a mouth that is supposed to be more flexible. So...can you give me any hints as to ways to keep the puppeteer's hand stable in there?
MuppetCaper
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It really saddens me that we never got a good product like the one Terry made. And the money that we all put out for this thinking we where going to get what the prototype looked like until it arrived and then we realized it wasn't anything close to the original.
Very sad moment in the MR days.
Very sad moment in the MR days.
ElecMayhem
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This is ancient history so I am not sure why I am being ever-so-slightly-defensive, but
to be fair, the images posted prior to the Gonzo being made available for pre-order were not Terry's amazing prototypes, but the final product, as evidenced by this thread which you started, MuppetCaper:
http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/master-replicas-gonzo-photo-puppet.31885/
Click on the images in that 6+ year old thread -- they're still live. Those are not Terry's prototypes. You even comment on the fact that it's the "sock nose" Gonzo, and go on to say that you cannot wait to pre-order him. I am not angry or anything, but I think it's slightly unfair to say that we pulled some kind of a switcheroo. Yes, we did show Terry's beautiful prototype images when they first came in. But we also showed lots of development images as the product went through the various stages of production, and provided images of the final product before taking anyone's money.
Was I completely happy with the final product? No I was not. But did we provide people with an accurate representation of what they would be getting? I would say that yes we did. In fact, if anything, I got roasted publicly because some of my publicity shots were poorly posed, and a lot of fans were taking even better pictures with their actual products.
Sorry to be defensive.
