Scooter-Style Reconsruction for Old Puppet

[ReneeLouvier]

Okay, I have found my 15 year old puppet yesterday, and....she's in BAD shape. My camera decided to die a week before, so I have no way to upload pictures just yet, but I will describe what has happened. It may sound gruesome to puppet lovers/makers.

Apperently my closet had a rat. That had a great taste...for puppet foam. Tina, my puppet had a Scooter shaped head, with no hair currently, and a simple foam tube for a body. Antron teal blue fleece covers her body and head. The current problem is this: She has no mouth board to speak of, but her face is not flexible. Also said rat, decided to chew a hole into her cheek, and ate half of the foam inside of her!!

It was like something out of a horror movie when I found her...cause...uh...the rat slipped out from inside of her head through her eye, and crawled up my arm, jumping off onto the floor.

I've currently set out rat traps for it, and I'm hoping it will DIE soon. I also found out it had pretty much destroyed what puppet foam I had left. I figured with what it ate, it might die soon anyways...

The big matter is, as I'm rebuilding Tina, I'm wondering, how would I make a good flexible mouth board?

In The Great Muppet Caper, I noticed during one of the scenes, particularly when the dogs are chasing after the entire gang, when Scooter sees the dogs, he makes an odd expression, it's almost as if his upper mouth pulls inwards. Like when we open our mouths, and jut our lower jaw outwards. I'd never seen him do that before, and I'd love to incorprate that ability towards Tina, but I've not a clue how to do it!!

If anyone could help me I would greatly appreicate it.

 

[TheGirlIsABear]

I am so sorry about your puppet. I hope the RAT DIES!
Flexible mouth pieces are incredible and can be made from a number of different materials... you know those plastic 5 galon ice cream tubs? The flexible lids make good mouth plates. An expert told me that maliable muppet mouths are made of gasket rubber but I don't know where you would get that stuff. Have fun re-building and patching. Tina will be good as new, despite the rat. (great horror visuals with your discription of the rat coming out of Trina... gave me goosebumps!)

 

[TheGirlIsABear]

Check out the site through the Quinney's thread (I'm not allowed to post the link yet) because his puppets have the flexible mouths that you are looking for. Dense foam like "Foamies" would work well also. I have been meaning to try that. I'll let you know how it works.

 

[puppetise]

for gasket rubber look at your loacal foam warehouse but for a difrent aproch scott foam and shape to the mouth shape the at the tips place gasket rubber grips to keep shape of mouth but its easily flexible or visit swazzle thay have a more discriptive way of doing what i said

 

[Jinx]

You can find gasket rubber at your local Home Depot type store in the plumbing section.

What I used for Garth (in my avatar) is neoprene. It's about 1/4" thick with red lycra bonded to one surface. It holds its shape extremely well, but is flexible too. With it I can perform exactly the type of face that you describe Scooter making in GMC.

I am fortunate to work at a factory where we manufacture pouches and straps from neoprene, so occasionally I am able to get some scraps, but if you can find an old wetsuit at a second-hand store ot some such thing, then you've got your neoprene!

 

[SesameKermie]

Actually, If I'm not mistaken, Mousepads are also neoprene. Find a neutral one (or cover the design.) It should work for smaller mouths.

 

[Jinx]

Many, but not all mouse pads are neoprene. And a lot of those are a neoprene pad but with a plasticized coating on the mouse surface. They're certainly worth looking at.

 

[TheGirlIsABear]

I totally forgot about neoprene! Thank you so much! I love the stuff. HOwever, I can not find a place that sells it by the yard. My husband and I were going to use it for a project but couldn't find the material in bulk.
Do you know your factory's resource? That would be awesome! And Jinx, where is Belgrade, MT?

 

[wes]

First of all you should capture the rat and torture the thing for messing up the Puppet...no not really I hope he die quick...any way,

When I talked with Terry Angus In November He said that he used plastic Ice cream Gallon buckets, I have used them to make a kermit like puppet and it worked Great. I could bend it any way make al;l kinds of faces and it would pop right back. Hope this Helps

PS: I checked out my mouse pad and if thats neoprene you can get that stuff at craft store's in all colors! check it out!!

 

[ReneeLouvier]

Thanks. I found the...rat. It was in my chi's bed then. She had found it, and...was sniffing at it. A great thing to wake up too. I don't think it did anything to her, cause it was stonecold dead, and it just looked like had drug it out from underneath something, but I'll be taking her to the vet this week, just to make sure.

I threw it outside. Blegh...*shudders* The only rat I like is Rizzo. Every other rat can die as far as I'm concerned. XD

So, I'll try that with Tina, when I'm able to find more ritculated foam. She was made out of that, and I had about 4 square feet left over, until that stupid rat destroyed it.

It'll be nice to have a flexible mouth finally. She's a little flexible, but nowhere near what I've seen the muppets be able to do. I was honestly suprised when I saw Scooter be able to do that, but I think they only had that in one run of him, because I've never seen him do that in any other movie, or show.