Pee-Wee's Big Adventure Clown

Cool, hopefully the scan comes out well. If you wanted to adjust the drawing for the 'skinny neck' original clown head, I can take more photos and measurements. I definitely want to have some metal molds for vacuum forming .. since these heads are so fragile, I want to be able to make new ones in the future if necessary (besides for the movie clown I'm working on).

Is the 'skinny neck' clown head actually just longer in length? If so, it should be relatively simple to extend the neck. If it actually smaller in diameter, that may be a little more complicated... possible, but complicated.
 
It's skinnier in each direction and slightly longer (I can't remember how much, I posted crude measurements a few pages back). The little holes on each side are smaller too if we were going to get that picky.

Since the PWBA clown has ruffles around the neck, it's not too noticeable. But if someone wanted to restore a clown or make a Night of the Comet Clown, it would be more obvious. Looking at my clowns side by side, the Custom Displays head looks pretty different just because of that neck.
 
Preview of scanned clown head. I can now divide it in half and put back the lip and indents.

scanned_clown_head.png
 
Speaking of Pee-Wee, my cousin, Michael Varhol, who was one of the writers of PWBA is writing a book about the making of and behind the scenes on the movie. I can't wait to read it!
I read the Pee-Wee's Playhouse book behind the scenes and it was pretty good but the movie is what really got me hooked on Pee-Wee!
 
PWF - What program do you use to edit those drawings? If it's easier, I could take a swag at modifying your drawing to match my Custom Displays clown (instead of having to pass along all the measurements). Just a thought ..

Do you think the scan came out well detail-wise? Looks good to me, but I'm sure you can compare better against a real head casting
 
PWF - What program do you use to edit those drawings? If it's easier, I could take a swag at modifying your drawing to match my Custom Displays clown (instead of having to pass along all the measurements). Just a thought ..

Do you think the scan came out well detail-wise? Looks good to me, but I'm sure you can compare better against a real head casting


I use a student version of ProE Wildfire. To shrink the neck diameter, Mudbox may be a better program.

Detail-wise, I think the scan came out amazing. It looks really good! The question is now can it be milled. I plan on submitting it to some different companies for quotes.

I did have an opportunity to divide the head and add back in the lip and indents (at least for the fatter version). Pic below.

clown_head.jpg
 
Cool, that looks great. I didn't realize the indentations were smaller on the top .. looks pretty close to the Custom Displays indentations on the side. I guess a trick will be modifying that drawing to make a good mold. Is it possible to shrink everything in by the thickness of the plastic? I'm guessing that would be a pain.

I do have access to TechShop here with all manner of CNC mills and routers. If the other places are too expensive, I could see about doing it there. They also have a vacuum former that would be perfect.

I wish I could get these original Custom Displays shoes scanned too. I wouldn't mind mailing them off to have you take them to the same place, I'm just paranoid about them getting lost or destroyed in the mail system. Maybe I can still plan to mold them, and just mail one of those off.
 
Cool, that looks great. I didn't realize the indentations were smaller on the top .. looks pretty close to the Custom Displays indentations on the side. I guess a trick will be modifying that drawing to make a good mold. Is it possible to shrink everything in by the thickness of the plastic? I'm guessing that would be a pain.

I do have access to TechShop here with all manner of CNC mills and routers. If the other places are too expensive, I could see about doing it there. They also have a vacuum former that would be perfect.

I wish I could get these original Custom Displays shoes scanned too. I wouldn't mind mailing them off to have you take them to the same place, I'm just paranoid about them getting lost or destroyed in the mail system. Maybe I can still plan to mold them, and just mail one of those off.

I'm still working on subtracting out the thickness of the plastic. I played around with it a little last night. I just need to get the proper steps figured out in my Boolean subtraction.

TechShop might be an option. I'm guessing special software is required to convert a 3D file into machine code. Where I work, all the CNC coding is done by the operator. I can't even imagine how someone could do something as complicated as a face without software assistance.

It would be great to have the original shoes scanned at some point. If you were ever to send them, I would definitely double-box them!

A couple of the shops that I have talked to about CNC milling the heads has suggested using tooling board. Apparently it withstands heat well, maintains its original shape over time, and is less costly to mill. Still doing some research on it. I still like the idea of aluminum though.
 
Send in the clowns!, my nightmare is complete, or is it just beginning?, finally have them both finished,

Nice job! I always like to see projects get completed (probably because mine seem like they rarely do :lol). They turned out really nice. Cool '50s motif, too... if that were a diner, I'm pretty certain I would request a table away from the clowns!
 
Thanks PWF, I never realized how many people actually have a phobia of clowns, several of my friends were creeped out by them, especially in action!
 
Yep. That would interest me, PWF. I would be in for a set of faces if you could eventually make that happen. I'll keep an eye on the thread. Thanks. -- BB

Now that I have the 3D scan of the head, I should be able to upload just a model of the face to Shapeways. You should be able to scale the head however you want. They have a nice porcelain option. It's actually the most affordable material. It would work great for a wall hanging.
 
Now that I have the 3D scan of the head, I should be able to upload just a model of the face to Shapeways. You should be able to scale the head however you want. They have a nice porcelain option. It's actually the most affordable material. It would work great for a wall hanging.

Sweet. Thanks for remembering, PWF. I'm still on the fence about having a full clown in my home. I like the idea as the ultimate accessory for my bike ... but that clown creeps me out. (Not all clowns do ... but this one does.) The face as good and evil masks seems like a good compromise. Thanks again. -- BB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK3psQmIdnU
 
Thanks for sharing the link! I had not seen the trailer for Big Holiday, yet. Looks like they are keeping some of PWBA's flavor. Very cool!
 
I was worried but the trailer made it look hopeful. I thought it had a good Pee-wee-feel to it. Nothing will ever compare to Big Adventure for me ... or Playhouse. As long as it's better than Big Top, I'll be happy. Although I like Big Top better than most. And I really liked the Club Nokia and Broadway Show.
 
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