# Don't Blink!



## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

I started this thread over on the HauntForum a while back to chronicle my progress on this project and figured you all might like it as well, so I'm copying my posts of the progress. Some of the comments might be a little out of context, but I will be updating as I continue building, so bear with me!

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My overly-ambitious idea for my haunt this year is to make two life-size weeping angel statues, like from the Doctor Who episode "Blink". I plan on having one in a "passive" posture, the other in "attack" posture.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Firstly, I coated a mannequin with a light spray of silicone to make the demolding process go easier.










The first layer of paper mache was put on with a simple glue + water mixture, again to make demolding work easier. I found the combination of silicone on the form and this lighter first pasting worked fairly well when I did this with skulls.










Note: I hate working inside on this, my table is a lot lower than my usual workbench and it's murder on my back. 

Second layer is applied using a more regular paste, as defined by Stolloween.










Something about applying the paper mache on such a realistic female figure makes me want to not have the kids in the room...


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

I figured three layers was enough for my skulls, it should be enough for my body. Not quite. Not only was it too floppy, but I didn't put enough silicone on the fiberglass form to act as a release. A lot of the paper stuck, leaving void areas... 









_Coming off in chunks..._









_Ready to assemble_









_Mostly finished assembling. Need more tape..._


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

> Fallen Angel, statue. A prop barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild her. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the haunts's first weeping angel statue. She will be that statue. Better than she was before. Better, taller, scarier.


After purchasing new making tape, Angel1 has been put back together. Humpty Dumpty has risen anew!










Now to reinforce what I've done, first layer will be mache'd with the paper from grocery bags. This will add the desired stiffness.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

After getting 5 layers on, I realized that to get the internal structure I want to support everything, I need to so major surgery.

So, I am starting a new body shell, with the first layer being Aluminum foil to avoid the whole sticking problem.










The first shell I made is going to be used to find the measurements I need, by slicing it apart into sections and measuring the inside diameter and shape (torso, hips, shoulders, etc). Once I got the structure put together, when I pull the new one off the mannequin, I will have something for it to wrap around.

The original one, I figure, I can put back together and use for a different project, maybe another witch, or something.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Taking a break from mache. I got foam insulation to start on the wing template. Turns out the lady I spoke with at Lowe's was also a Haunter, so I recommended the site to her! She was very helpful when I explained what I was doing...

They cut the 4'x8' foam into 4 - 2'x4' chunks for me to fit in my van. Very nice of them.

Drew on the rough outline of the wing on one block after gluing 2 pieces together (styrofoam glue, must read directions next time!). There is no real good pattern for the wing that I could find. Had to find stills from that Doctor Who episode to guide me...










I did a rough cutout with a hand saw with the idea to make my own foam cutter to do the rest. Didn't end well, the wall wart kept over-heating. Ended up using my band-saw, which worked well.










Here is my daughter trying them on for size. Pay no attention to the man behind the Angel!










My son and I worked at hallowing out the front part of one of the wings. The idea being to make the shaped curved, being about the thickness of one panel when alls said and done.










And here it is, curved fairly nicely. All I need now is to get the attach-point to match the curve of the shoulder blade and to detail in the feathers. Have to make that detail fairly bold to be visible when done in paper-mache.










The dog-deshedder works very well shaping the foam, BTW.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Finished the rough work on one of the wing templates. I still want to deepen some of the lines, due to the fact that I will lose fidelity when I do the paper-mache ontop of them..




























Started on the second wing.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Moving forward on the wings, I covered one of the wings with Aluminum foil last night. 



















This took about 2 hours and a sore back. The foil is the act as a barrier between the wing templates and the paper mache, but I'm thinking there has to be a better way. Before falling asleep last night, I thought about simply covering the foam with a good coat of furnature wax. Anything try anything like this? This wax is a paste you buff into wood to give a nice finish without having to shellac or varnish. It might work to prevent the paper mache paste from sticking to the template.

Note: Furniture wax doesn't work...


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Started to paper one of the wings. This is a pain to get the paer into all the nooks and crannies.










One last layer of paper on the body form before I attempt to cut it off the mannequin.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

I was able to finish papering one of the wings earlier in the week, and demolded it. Adding the foil to the inside made the job of seperating the paper from the form trivial. I tried to tape it together, but it was still too moist and the tape wouldn't hold. I'll let it dry out more before trying again.

Some of the detail on the wing kinda got lost from the papering, but I figure I will re-emphasize the "feathers" with some paper-mache clay later on.

_Note: At this point, I should have put the shell back on the form to dry. Drying by itself encouraged warping which became a hassle later..._










Finally demolded the body form from earlier. Again, the foil made this job easier. I cut it off in a way that I didn't have to cut inside the "crotch", and as a result, I was able to get it off in one piece. The paper was still moist after all these weeks, due to the moisture being trapped inside next to the foil. This, too, will need to dry before I can tape it together.










First step after demolding was peeling off the foil. On the body form, since I used some heavy-duty aluminium, I was able to reuse some of it when I re-foiled the mannequin to start the 2nd angel body.

Note of caution: Don't leave any paper-mache wings outside of the garage when rain is due...


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Still working on getting the base layers of paper mache on all the wings. I have a half a wing and a full wing yet to go.

After putting on a coat of mache on a wing, I had time, so I put together the torso's with tape, then covering them with paper-mache. Masking tape is not the stickiest in the world, so I had to work quickly...










I also figured out how to get a uniform cut line so that I can seperate the top halves of the torso from the bottoms. I'm using scrap foam to hold a marker even. I tried it out on the original mannequin and it seemed to work just fine.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Started the assembly of the wings. I'm lining the edges of one side with cardboard, using regular office staples to attach strips to the wing. This adds rigidity and helps guild the two halves together. Then I am adding cardboard zigzags to help support the sides inside and stuffing the top part with newspaper.



















I had the idea of using heavy foam board at the spot that will attach the wing to the body, but now I'm thinking of replacing that with wood and securing that with expanding foam insulation. Also, I want to run aluminum strips from that wooden block to the far edges of the wings, rather like bones, and using pop rivets to secure the metal to washers on the outside of the paper. I need to build up the wing's outsides to add details anyhow, so I can use that to hide the washers and rivets.

_Note: I later aborted using the foam block and switched to wood. Wood was a MUCH better anchor for the peg system I devised later in the process..._









_My daughter's hand, not mine..._


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Assembled all the wing halves into whole wings. An interesting challenge as the humidity didn't want to let the tape stick. I inserted and glued down a chunk of wood at the point the wings will be attaching to the bodies, then pumped in expanding foam insulation around the wood and at different spots to help give it rigidity.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

I finished up the interior infrastructure of the Angel bodies. I had sliced each body form at the hip using a laser level as a guide. I had to mark where the laser was the brightest, since these bodies curved in unusal ways. If I had tried to follow the line of the level, when I rotated the body for a new area to mark, the line would shift due to the curve. Only marking the center, brightest spot along the line actually made a useful mark. In this case, a simple laser pointer might have been more efficient...



















After slicing the bodies, I used 1" boards to seal up the various openings, such as the bottom of the legs, the arm holes, neck hole and at the cut locations on both sides of the waists. Before totalling enclosing, I added vertical boards to the legs to take up the weight and distribute it between the top and bottom boards. I kinda did the same for the torso, using a 2x4 board that went from the neck to the bottom board. I also added horizontal 1" boards across the back, so that there would be something solid for the wings to attach to.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

And the final step before closing up was to pump expanding foam insulation into both halves. The foam would help reinforce the sides and also help the glue make the boards immobile. I made sure that the foam had cured before completely sealing the forms, so that there wouldn't be any shrinkage, like what had happened to my skull last year.



















The boards I used to secure the holes are held in position with wood glue and staples. I want to reinforce this with more layers of paper mache later, and possibly using fibreglass cloth and resin.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

On the two halves of each body, I added pegs and slots, so that the halves will "lock" together without sliding off. Overall it went well, but I might have to secure them more later on.


















_Insert Tab A..._

_Note: In retrospect, I should have used a MUCH thicker dowel for these pegs._









_Into Slot B..._

If you notice on the middle picture, it's apparent that I did not escape the contraction of expanding foam on this leg. I might have added too much foam too quickly.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Now that all the rough papering of the wings are done, next step is to make paper-mache mud, in order to build up some detail on the feathers. The recipe calls for paper fiber, and I have the bat of cellulose insulation from previous years. This year I made a mesh to break up the clumps of cellulose into a fine dust. Works rather well.

The resulting mud looks like a gray oatmeal. Doesn't smell much better either. I used a marker (and tempora paint) to mark the "valley" part of the feathers to help me visualize them as I add the mud. This helps a lot, especially where I've had to cut into the wings to shore it up.

With the hot weather we've been having this week, this stuff doesn't take all that long to dry. A couple of days for the thicker areas.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Using my daughter as a porportion guide, I managed to give the Angels some legs to stand on. And feet. Duck feet.

Quack.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

One of the next steps will be arms. I need a way to detach the arms for storage, but not have them loose when in use. I devised a template for spacing out socket holes that I used to cut into both the torsos and into 1" lumber. The lumber is used to hold the pegs, and the arm "bones" will later be attached to them as well.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Begun the process of constructing the heads for the Angels. I am starting with a paper-mache skull base, then will build the "flesh" over top like I did with my witch last year.

Here I am taking a Bucky skull on a stand I build, getting its paper mache layers. Once this is dry, I cut off the paper and reassemble the pieces.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

On the areas that the wings will be attaching to the body of the angels, I reinforced the surfaces with a layer of fiberglass and resin. Not sure how much difference it will make, but it did stabilize the surfaces fairly well.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Designed a peg system to attach the wings to the back of the torso. Works good, except that the wings tend to pull the whole thing off balance, tipping backwards pretty bad. This is going to take a little thought on how to stabilize without being obvious.










I was initially worried that there would be torsion forces on the wings, causing them to want to rotate away from the center, but I ended up fitting the wing ends right against each other, for room, if nothing else. Any torque that might have been present for a given wing is getting cancelled out by the reverse torque of the other wing.


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## deoblo (Apr 9, 2010)

thats awsome great work !!!!!!! keep the pics coming


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

WOW. 

That is one involved prop build. I so wouldn't have the patience to do all of the steps, but I'm loving how these are turning out. Can't wait to see the next build set!


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## kittyvibe (Oct 27, 2008)

fascinating read  I look forward to more!


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## siradam134 (Sep 27, 2010)

i literally just watched the blink episode yesterday...creeepy.... Great Prop idea..i can't wait for more....amazing.


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## billman (May 1, 2006)

Wow!! This project is really coming together. Great job!!


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## obcessedwithit (Jul 13, 2009)

Fantastic job, they are coming together perfectly, keep posting.......


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## Kymmm (Oct 1, 2009)

Those are going to look great when you get them done. What a wonderful addition to any cemetery!!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

It would be cool do use both Angels in some Pepper's ghost illusion


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## znelson710 (Apr 20, 2009)

I was thinking the same thing when I saw that episode. Too bad cant pose the mannequin torso. They will all have the same body pose but they are coming along nicely!


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## Corn Stalker (Nov 15, 2009)

WOW! Looks like a whole lot of work! Very nice job, will be watching for more pics......


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## annamarykahn (Oct 4, 2009)

amazing work, congrats

blink is still my fav episode

amk


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## Macchus (Apr 16, 2011)

MacabreRob, great great stuff!!! Looking forward to seeing the finished masterpieces.

And, I have to agree with some of the other posters here; Blink is a fantastic Doctor Who episode, and is a favorite of mine as well. Another of my favorites from the new era is "The Unquiet Dead". The Doctor and Charles Dickens fighting off reanimated corpses in the Victorian age! 

Again, MacabreRob, great choice for a prop, and well done so far! Keep the pics coming!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Had to take some time off for family stuff. Still working on the wings, getting them sanded down and weather sealed. I will probably start working on the heads/arms after the 4th of July holiday.


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## Revned (May 21, 2011)

Amazing work, they are going to look fantastic once you have completed them, can't wait to see how they turn out.


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## kallie (Dec 4, 2007)

Holy...crap....I could never! I don't have enough patience. I can not wait to see when this is done!! It already looks great!!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

MacabreRob said:


> I figured three layers was enough for my skulls, it should be enough for my body. Not quite. Not only was it too floppy, but I didn't put enough silicone on the fiberglass form to act as a release. A lot of the paper stuck, leaving void areas...


Oh, I feel your pain, been there before myself. 

Major props for chronicling the difficulties, though.


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## scubaspook (Sep 8, 2009)

Good looking work. I wish I had the patience to do something like that.


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## Silver Spike (Sep 29, 2010)

Oh this all looks wonderful so far. What a great idea too.

A friend of mine made the wings for the original costumes seen on the show and so I know how much hard work goes into constructing these things.

Can't wait to see your project completed.


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## daniaingeal (Apr 29, 2009)

0.0

This is my favorite episode!!

*squeals like the fan girl I am*

They look so neat so far!!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

After the 4th is over with, I will be life-casting my daughter's face to build the Angel's. I am thinking about casting the positive out of fiberglass/resin and I read somewhere that I can mix Bondo about 50/50 with the resin and that works real well. Anyone ever try casting resin/bondo in an Alginate mold?


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Most people relax over the holiday, me, I do a life casting of my daughter...

I did this up to my parents' house in northern Michigan, as we were gathered there for a family reunion. My victim, Maggie, lay on a chase lounge with a trash bag over her cloths and her hair protected with cling wrap. I vasolined over her eyelashes and eye brows and any exposed hair.

I layered the alginate over her face. I would have like to have gotten her ears at this time, but figured that was a little too advanced. After the alginate, I added plaster bandages. I should have layered plaster first before the burlap, but that is hindsight.

After a while we removed the casting materials. The alginate seperated away from the plaster (see above), but did not tear. I was able to lay it back into the plaster shell when I created my postive.

I coated the alginate with vasoline and then laid in fiber glass and poured in the resin. All in all, it worked fairly well, although it didn't cure as quickly as I hoped.









Applying the alginate for the mask.









Adding plaster bandages and then pouring plaster over everything. I should have done the pour first, then the bandages.









Waiting the plaster to harden









Removing the mask. Unfortunately, the plaster seperated from the alginate.









The cast of Maggie's face. This is the negative mold, but it looks like one of those optical illusions.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

After the fiber glass and resin was added. Looks like we found Jesus!









The resulting mask. Have to fix a few spots, but not bad.









Maggie and her twin.









The mask fits perfectly with the paper mache skull I made earlier.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Since the fiberglass caster of Maggie's face did not include her ears, I needed to cast them seperately.

This time I just used alginate. I got a swim cap to cover her hair this time and had her lay her head on the kitchen table. I put cotton into her ear canal to keep it safe.

After the alginate solidified, I first tried to do a plaster pour. Both times I tried, I think I just did not wait long enough and the plaster snapped. Afterwards I went with a silicone and corn starch mix, which cures really quickly. (Smells strongly of vinegar though). Here is a link that I found to make this on Instructables:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/

I packed the silicone mix into the mold and within 10 or 20 mins, it was done and could be de-molded. Just need to trim the flashing.










Casting her ear.









Packing the mold with my silicone mix.









The unmolded ear. Needs a bit of trimming.


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

*I am so sad I missed this thread before !! Such creative, awesome and beautiful work! I can't wait to see more!!!*


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## RunawayOctober (Jul 3, 2011)

Have you seen this costume? Could be some good tips there.
http://www.therpf.com/f24/doctor-who-blink-weeping-angel-costume-49264/

I wish I could make one of these for me.


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## RunawayOctober (Jul 3, 2011)

Also, oh my goodness. Your daughter has the patience of a saint.  What a sweetheart!


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## Nikita (Sep 21, 2009)

Such an amount of work! I respect your sacrifice to the angel!XD good luck!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

RunawayOctober said:


> Have you seen this costume? Could be some good tips there.
> http://www.therpf.com/f24/doctor-who-blink-weeping-angel-costume-49264/
> 
> I wish I could make one of these for me.


Yes, we saw this costume. My daughter's idea is to be one of the weeping angels herself, so I will have 3 out in the yard, one that actually stalks...


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Finally begun construction of the heads of the Weeping Angels. Attached the life cast to the skull for Angelica, and added teeth and tongue to Lilith. I also started to build up the flesh on Lilith, but don't have a photo yet.









_Front view of Lilith's head_









_Profile of Lilith's head_









_Profile of Angelica's head_


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## PaganFly (Jul 4, 2008)

All I have to say is...This is gonna be wicked-cool! Fantastic build!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Added some air dry clay to the head of Angelica last night and attached the ears. As expected, the clay started to crack later. I'm attempting to remedy this before it gets too bad by brushing on paper mache paste over the layer to moisen it and help to bind it. I will do a layer of paperclay over this one and that should serve to finish it off.

Looking at the head face on, I think I will use my dremel to cut away some of the fiberglass on the edges of the cheeks and under the chin. The way Maggie was posed when we did the casting caused those areas to bulge some. I will fill in those areas with more clay afterwards.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

I attached the head to the body last night. Definitely need to trim back the chin and jowls...


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## tinafromidaho (May 8, 2008)

That's the coolest thing I've ever seen someone build. Plus you have the patience of a saint.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

To get the hands right for the Angels, I want to cast Maggie's hands in their pose. I could do a alginate mold, which the internet seems to recommend. However that would only ever allow one resulting casting, as the mold is destroyed, and I would be very limited in what I could cast out of.

My idea is to create 2-part molds of each hand in each pose. Here we see the process of making Angelica's right hand, the top part of that mold. I created a bed of clay going half way up her hand. When this plaster hardens, I will coat it in Vaseline, make a new box, position Maggies hand back into its pose and pour new plaster over that, which should make the other half of that mold.


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

wow, that is such a amazing prop, the details are breath taking, and I love it that your daughter wants to be one too, what a fabulous scare,


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Here we see the casting process of Maggie's left hand in order to create the hand from Angelica. After we had a total messup earlier, with plaster spilling all over Mom's kitchen table and floor, casting now occurs in this plastic tub.









_Maggie awaits the casting of her left hand._









_The bed of clay that is the start of the mold_









_Waiting for the paster to harden_









_Preparing to cast the other side of her left hand._









_Maggie's left hand mold is complete_









_A view inside the mold_


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Angelica's face suffered from a double chin and pronounced jowls. To cure this, she had to go under the knife (or dremel) in order to remove the excess fiberglass.









_Angelica during her face lift surgery_









_Extra fiberglass has been removed_









_After sanding_


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

At this point, I figured the mold for Angelic's right hand was ready, so I did a fiberglass casting of it. Unfortunately, the fiberglass got in the way of the resin in places (like the fingertips) so the resulting cast has some large voids to fill.

Another unfortunate thing was that the resulting cast was locked into part of the mold, so I ended up having to remove it with a chisel, destroying the mold in the process. I was hoping to get multiple casts, but I will settle for at least one usable one.









_Laying down fiberglass to cast the right hand_









_The resulting right hand, still waiting to be completely demolded_


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## Silver Spike (Sep 29, 2010)

Blimey, the effort you're putting into this is simply amazing! I can't wait to se the finished item.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Worked this weekend on fleshing out Lilith, my attack angel. This is going to take a while...



















I also started the finishing layers on Angelica's hands. I must say, I am loving this PaperClay. It is SOOOO much smoother than Celluclay. I wish it was cheaper, but hey, what are you going to do.


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## HauntedDiva (Oct 1, 2009)

Bravo. Keep up the awesome work and keep posting pics!


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## PaganFly (Jul 4, 2008)

I haven't followed a thread with this much anticipation in a long while. I can't wait for updates. Keep up the awesome work! And kudos to you and your daughter/model for her patience in what must be a painstaking but fun process.


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## rebelxwing (Oct 7, 2008)

You have a lot of patience, sure looks like the eventual result will be worth it! It is so nice to have a patient casting model too!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Got a lot of the rough shaping done on Lilith's head this week. Now to work on some of the finer details with the paper clay.









_"Finish me!"_









_Angelica, having decided that bald is NOT beautiful, tries on a new look_

After putting this off for far too long, we began the process of making Lilith's hands. The two-part mold process was a bit of a bust (haha), I decided to try the candle wax mold idea someone suggested. We found a bunch of old, dead candle laying around and melted them down in a sauce pan (don't tell my wife!). Using a digital thermometer, we waited until the temperature was just above the melting point of wax (about 65deg C). Then Maggie posed her hand, dipped it in ice water and started going back and forth between wax and water, 5 or 6 times.

We slit the mold up the side, and with some tugging, popped her hand out. I then pushed the walls of the slits back into position and used somemore wax to close the gap. After it hardened a bit more, I proceeded to pour plaster in it. I'm still waiting for the plaster to cure more before trying to demold it. Maybe I should just melt it off?

It wasn't until I had already started pouring when I realized that her hand was not in the pose I wanted... This was an easy enough process that going back would not be too bad to do.

Interesting effect, the droplets of water that remained on the wax actually got a skin of there own, those are those weird warts on the walls. Don't think they hurt anything, however.









_Candle dipping Maggie's hand_









_The resulting mold and a good look for my daughter..._









_A peek inside_









_Filled with plaster_


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## BobbyA (Aug 20, 2010)

Awesome prop, daunting amount of work. Thank you for taking the time to document it. If you ever decide to take a break and relax for a few minutes, here is a link to the short story that eventually led to the terrrific Don't Blink episode. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/blink_annual.shtml


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## Mystikgarden (Aug 9, 2008)

That is one of my favorite Dr. Who episodes! Awesome work, bravo for your kids helping out as well!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

First attempt at plaster hands using the candle was technique was not so good. Maggie's hand relaxed. For the later attempts, I placed sticks between her fingers, which seemed to work better. The end of her pinky and most of her thumb on her right hand did not develope, but I used the fingers from my very first attempt to make up the loss.

Also, a number of fingers snapped off in the process of demolding. It was an interesting process of removing the wax this time. Because the wax hardened in the water between tips, it developed discreet layers. I also stuck the mold in the freezer before pouring the plaster. The brush on super-glue (of all things) seems to be the best thing to adhere damp plaster to itself. White glue just got absorbed into the plaster.









_The first attempt at making a hand._









_Second attempt turned out a little better_









_Both of Liliths hands_

Added a coat of paint to the Angel heads so I could see areas that I needed work on easier. It also serves to stabilize the paper mache, less flaking. The paint did not take to the silicone ears very well, however. Need to find a better solution for those.









_Compare and contrast, Lilith and Angelica_


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## kittyvibe (Oct 27, 2008)

MRob, this is so cool and I love it. That other persons Dont Blink Costume(cosplay) and how she did the arms/hands was brilliant. Im definitely using the technique, because dealing with body make-up and the heat is no fun.


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## Silver Spike (Sep 29, 2010)

Oh this is all coming along beautifully.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

I've seen that costume. One of the things my daughter will be doing differently is no mask.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Tick tick tick. Time's a wastin'. I need to get my Angels finished. Re-attached Angelica's head and started to anchor it with some paper mache mortar.









_Reattaching Angelica's head._









_Cementing things in._


While the mortar on Angelica's head dries, I started to take apart my mannequin arms and bend them to my will. Turns out, fiber glass doesn't bend all the well, so I decided to cut them to my will...









_Mannequin arm, ready for surgery._









_Post-surgery, or should I say, post-butchery._









_Lilith's right arm attached, sans hand_









_Will someone *please* give this lady a hand?_


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Finally had enough pieces done to assemble Lilith. 









_Lilith, fully assembled and standing tall._

First issue is I did not mark who's wings were who's. Once I got that straightened out, I thought I would have the issue where she would still want to tip over backwards, so I stationed her so that she would lean against the freezer. 









_Size comparison between Lilith and her creator._

As it turned out, since her head is leaning forward as much as it is, she was close to the balance point even without the arms. After adding the first arm, she righted immediately. Adding the second arm put her even better in balance. I've accidently brushed against her a couple of times in the evening, and she just wobbled a bit, no threat to tipped over at all.









_Don't Blink!_


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

No comments? I can't be an attention ***** unless someone pays attention to me!!


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## DannyK (Sep 21, 2008)

alright, I'm paying attention!! 

Honestly though, I've been watching this project for quite sometime (lurking in the shadows you might say) and I really have enjoyed the transformation. I also envy your patience on something like this, if I don;t finish something in the first few days I'm working on it, I get all cranky, tear it apart b/c i'm unhappy with it and then start all over...this really shows some skill!!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Getting ready to add the hair to the angels. The layer of paint I had added to the heads turns out to be a bad idea. On Angelica, it's flaking off badly where moisture had gotten in. The air-dry clay must have expanded and caused the paint to buckle. This weekend I sanded off the scalp areas as best I could to expose the clay. In places, I also knocked off the clay and exposed the layer of paper mache clay.

To add the hair, I'm going to try a mixture of papercrete and drywall mud. Hopefully it won't try to shrink as badly and crack a lot. I've inserted a series of screws into the scalp area as well, so that the mixture for the hair has something to wrap around and grab onto. I get the idea that just relying on adhesion to the air dry clay will just bring about tears.









_Angelica, getting ready for her "do"._


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

Got the hair on my Weeping Angels just about done. I just need to let it dry all the way and then sand off the rough bits. 









_Angelica and Lilith's hair is almost done._









_The back of Lilith's head, show the detail on the hair._

I am fleshing out the huge gaps in the elbows and shoulders with expanding foam. Once it is set, I trim it to below the "skin" line, then flesh it back up with paper-crete. I purchased an old twin-bed sheet set this weekend at goodwill, that should be enough material to construct the dresses. I've decided that the outfit should be what are called "Peplos", which is basically a large sheet of cloth folded about the body and pinned at the shoulders. That should hide my arm seams, hopefully...









_Expanding foam fills out the missing chunks of shoulders and elbows._


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## nhh (Oct 7, 2008)

OMG this is one episode that scared the crap out of me... I love it!!

It's looking really awesome. I can't wait to see the final outcome. I lurked this thread ago and you're right, attention *****'s need attention!  

Awesome work!


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## camsauce (Sep 20, 2008)

This looks awesome, but also looks like a lot of work. So much work that it's making me exhausted... sooo sleeepy... going to go take a nap.


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

The time had finally arrived to dress my girls. They are almost finished except for clothing and color. I had bought a set of twin bed sheets at Good Will previously, and looked up how to create their garb. They will wear on outfit from Ancient Greece known as a "Peplos". It's basically a rectangle of fabric folded across the body and pinned at the shoulders. Women in more modest cities would also sew up the edges on the one side. Since I did not finish the legs on the Angels, they must have come from one of these more modest cities...

After measuring and cutting for size, I dressed Lilith. I can see now why women had slaves or servants help them dress, this thing is awkward. I eventually got it, and sewed up the shoulders where normally it would be pinned. When it came time to do Angelica, I ran into a bit of an issue. Her outfit was being made from the fitted sheet, which was a bit smaller than the top sheet Lilith was wearing, and once I released the stitches from the corners, there were 10" squares missing. I had to cut patches out of some rags in the garage and replace the missing bits.









_Lilith getting ready to be dressed for success._









_Dressed in her hot pink peplos._









_Angelica is in tears because both she and her sister wore the same outfit to the party._

After both were dressed, I took some waxed string and tightly pinched the dress at the join between the top and bottom halves, so that some of the fabric was pulled inside. This was so I would have something to attach the dress to the body form. I tacked all the folds and pleates were they were, then cut the fabric, freeing both halves of their bodies from each other. Afterwards, I stapled the fabric down so that the folds stayed put.

Once that was done, the next step was to coat all of it with Monster Mud. Generally the idea is to put the cloth into the Mud to saturate it, but I knew I would never get it like I wanted that way and settled for applying it with a brush. Very tedious and tiring. Towards the end, I just glopped it on with my hands. I've added a second coat already to the leg sections, because it's more or less freestanding and more likely to be damaged than the top section, which has the cloth right next to the body form.









_Tacking the edge of the sections to hold the creases in place._









_Added reinforcements to the legs while I still have easy access to them._









_Exposing the mounting holes for the wings._









_Monster mud applied to the lower half of one of the Angels, and no, she's not supposed to look like the Statue of Liberty._









_Monster mud all over Angelica's blouse._


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

*Angels are done!!!*

After painting all the individual components on my Weeping Angels, I staked out some rebar in the back yard and assembled them for the first time in their finished state. The arms gave me some grief. I had removed them to paint everything after monster mudding, and some of the material must have shifted. I finally got them seated in properly and you can hardly see the seams. 

The base color was some grayish-brown that was Oops paint from the local hardware stone. I stippled two shades of gray on everything with a sponge and they look pretty good. Next step is aging with the black patina, but it was getting dark on Saturday when I took these shots, so I deferred to the next day.









_Angelica with the base color applied_









_Lilith with the base color applied_


My Weeping Angels are done! Maggie and I moved them to the front yard were I applied the black wash to give them their patina and they turned out great. When the paint dried, I hit them with some spray varish to toughen up their skins a bit. I positioned them to the left and right of the big oak tree out front. I will be hitting them with my mini spotlights soon so they will show up at night.









_Lilith, finished in the Cemetery_









_Angelica, finished in the Cemetery_









_Close up of Angelica from the side, showing the aged patina_









_Another close up of Angelica_









_Close up of Lilith's patina_









_Another close up of Lilith_


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## James B. (Oct 8, 2009)

Great props, and as a reenactor I have to say nice job on making the historical costumes on the statues.


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## Kooz (Mar 27, 2007)

One of my all-time favorite Dr. Who episodes!


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## Dwain77 (Nov 6, 2007)

Wow, those are great. I like Dr. Who...and while I've only seen a handful of episodes this happened to be one of them. Perfectly creepy!


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## MacabreRob (Oct 28, 2009)

_Lilth, being lit with her own spot light_









_Angelia, lit from below. The black light from my ghost can be seen behind her_


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## Kooz (Mar 27, 2007)

MacabreRob said:


> _Lilth, being lit with her own spot light_
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Both look really great--excellent job!


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## Raven's Hollow Cemetery (Jul 3, 2011)

Astonishing! Beautiful work, and great lighting! Love them!


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## MsLemon (Jul 14, 2012)

Very cool! I'm a huge Dr. Who fan and I've had the angels sketched out for a year trying to work up to the large amount of work they'll be. It was such fun to follow your progress.


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## SonofJoker (Aug 26, 2010)

Awesome job! They both look great!


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## annamarykahn (Oct 4, 2009)

congrats they look amazing!

amk


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## bloodygoatlord (Aug 16, 2012)

those are amazing!


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## werefox (Oct 17, 2008)

Very nice! I wondered if anyone else had attempted weeping angels. I just uploaded a video of our new animated angel prop. It's a work in progress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0zTm8pOZrk&feature=plcp


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