Replacing A Puppet

[faze]

I was wondering after how long should you use your puppet or character until retiring it and getting another one made.

Is like 6 months or longer good amount of time to use it and retire that one and get another one made?

like it be in good condition not all worn out and stuff eh.

Cause i was at the Chum Store downtown Toronto and saw a Ed the Sock 3rd Puppet that was used from February 1999 to August 1999.

After how long did Jim Henson get his Kermit replaced?

 

[JoeyMuppet]

I think it depends on what the puppet is made out of, and sometimes it depends on if you use it a lot.

 

[Whispers]

As long as the puppets looks fine, works and operates well and you're comfortable with it its fine :]
My church has a puppet we've used as an MC for over 10 years and he is still loved and working good

 

[D'Snowth]

I built my first puppet in August of 2004, now here it is a little over two years later and other than a couple of burst seems here and there (I was never really good at sewing, so my mom did MOST of it), he's still holding up good and strong! He's had regular maintenance over the years; the only major changes I had to make were to give him a neck (one of the first mistakes I made was attaching the foam head DIRECTLY to the foam body so he had no neck), and having to replace the cardboard in his mouth because it was too thin, it was wearing out quickly, and it was unprotected (I had to fabric covering the back of it keeping it dry from my sweaty hands).

 

[JoeyMuppet]

As long as the puppets looks fine, works and operates well and you're comfortable with it its fine :]
My church has a puppet we've used as an MC for over 10 years and he is still loved and working good

My Kermit puppet is the same way, it's around 8 yrs. old. It's little dirty looking(sourt've), but it stills works fine. Plus I can do a lot more of his expressions than I could around 7 yrs. ago.

 

[Teenager's]

I do it every 3 years...so far as a minimum

 

[Whispers]

My Kermit puppet is the same way, it's around 8 yrs. old. It's little dirty looking(sourt've), but it stills works fine. Plus I can do a lot more of his expressions than I could around 7 yrs. ago.

That's good! Its always good to hang onto a character, as long as they were well made they should last a good long time. I suggest trying to clean him up as best as you can then spraying some fabric protector on it. Would immensely help keep him clean!

 

[Ruben]

I have a puppet that I made a year ago named Ruben. He's a goofy, buck toothed guy whose been used in almost all performances that our puppet team has done and he is starting to wear out. He's probably our favorite puppet and has taken alot of abuse. he was the first puppet that I built and I have learned alot since then and I am remaking him with better materials and techniques. I think that this new ruben will last longer, even if we use him as frequently as the last one. Even so I will retire him when he gets worn just like the last one.

 

[JoeyMuppet]

That's good! Its always good to hang onto a character, as long as they were well made they should last a good long time. I suggest trying to clean him up as best as you can then spraying some fabric protector on it. Would immensely help keep him clean!

Thanks, I'll try that.

 

[SJohnson]

Many factors determine how long a puppet will last: how well it was built, what materials were used, how much (and how vigorously) was it used. I would guess that Kermit would last a long time because he is mostly fleece and is fairly durable. I’m assuming that Miss Piggy needs to be rebuilt more often because she is cast in a flexible and fraggle foam, one tear can ruin the whole puppet.

Here at Swazzle we have puppets that are going on five or six years old. Some are fine, some are due for repair, and some need to be rebuilt. Now that we’ve been shooting The Swazzle Workshop with Tiger and Mousedeer, I’ve been thinking more and more about rebuilding those puppets. Considering they were built around 2001, they have held up very well. Most of the wear and tear doesn’t show on camera, but on the inside they are showing their age.

The great thing about rebuilding puppets is it gives you an opportunity to incorporate newly acquired puppet building skills, and make design alterations. Gonzo is a good example of this. With each new version his look became more refined.