The Big Head - Easter Island Moai

yaris

Sr Member
Well I did build a small Easter Island Head http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=258551&page=2 and I did say I would build an 8 ft one, so let's get building ;)......the base shape was 8' but I had to scale it down to 7' to fit it under my patio, otherwise I would have to build the thing outside.

Sort of experimenting with materials, I want to do this as cheap as possible, but of course so it will last outside. I started to use fibreglass, which is probably perfect, but it would blow my budget big time, so I'm testing PVA paper mache with enough layers to get strength and then seal it, which from research does seem to stand up to the elements. I did consider foam blocks and spray foam, but again it makes it an expensive build because of it's size. So I'll test the PVA mache on one side and see how it hardens up and seals.

It will need some type of final finish that will replicate stone, but that's a way off.
 

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This summer my son and I made a paper mache shark for a library project, and I decided to try Scott blue shop towels and glue as the final layer. They not only added a great texture but they soaked up so much glue that they hardened really well. So you might try that for the finished surface. I'd do waterproof wood glue for extra protection.

-Rog
 
Thanks for the tip. I've just used newspaper, because it's free and I need a lot of it, the problem is the size, so the material has to be cheap in bulk, like free newspaper ;) Maybe paper towels might be better. I've already discovered that I should have internally braced it better, so I'm going to wrap the whole thing in tin foil several times to get more stability into the surface.
 
I tried paper towels and they just aren't the same. They usually have some kind of "quilted" texture, and they also don't absorb nearly as much so they weren't much better than newspaper as far as hardness. They're on the level of tissues when they're wet, versus shop towels which are more like cloth. Save the shop towels for the very last coat and you probably won't need more than a roll, which is like $2.

-Rog
 
That what I was thinking...build it up more with cheap materials like tin foil and newspaper and then something like shop towels and then a few coats of fiberglass resin, which I've used before on Pepakura. It's all a learning curve as I've never build anything big like this before and I'm a cheap skate;)
 
It just wasn't really working the way I was building it and it was going to be a lot more work to get the right shape scaled up.

So I printed the Pepakura file at a larger scale directly onto flute board and started cutting and assembling. This will give me a closer shape to my original smaller version, but of course a lot bigger, in fact, I think I've got the scale too big and it looks like it won't fit under my pergola to work on it with it stood up.....nutz!...oh well big is best right?;)
 

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Got a little more done, I was using hot glue, but zip ties work better. The usual suspects for scale, Coke, 1/18 X-wing etc;)

head.png
 
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Nice work sir ! That Coke can looks SO realistic! :lol

Thank you Pcoz;)....As you well know, some of our builds are at the large end of scale, so always handy to have a global identifiable scale reference.:D Everyone knows how big a Coke can is.
 
Thank you Pcoz;)....As you well know, some of our builds are at the large end of scale, so always handy to have a global identifiable scale reference.:D Everyone knows how big a Coke can is.

Haha, Come on man ! I know....

I just couldn't resist, lol

But seriously, that head is just enormous! Nice job
 
Haha, Come on man ! I know....

I just couldn't resist, lol

But seriously, that head is just enormous! Nice job

Very funny Pcoz, yeah I know you're just messin'..:lol....but I don't think you have time for fun right now, cause shouldn't you be finishing that awesome X Wing you've been scratch building??.......you know we're all waiting for it;).....chop, chop, less talky more worky:D

As for my big head:rolleyes......my wife is already telling me where it can and can't go and it's no where even close to finish!!......I reckon behind every RPF'er is a partner frowning....
 
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Finally I have the right shape. Why I didn't do this in the beginning:facepalm....anyway it's all a learning curve, so now I have to get the internal strengthened which I'm thinking wooded dowel rods completely through it on different angles to get rigidity then coating it. I thinking something simple and thick, probably flexible that I can coat on and stipple for rock effect and then paint. It may still need a coat of fiberglass first.

I think there are some concrete base flexible products I'll have to investigate.


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That is a cool project.
it will look nice at night with a little fire pit in front of it while you sacrifice marshmallows and smores to the gods.

Krylon makes a textured spray
http://www.krylon.com/products/coarse-stone-textured-finish/

Not sure if it's in your budget but have you thought about using something like Stucco, plaster of Paris or tile grout?
I was just thinking about materials that will handle being out in the weather.
Look up how to make fake rocks for gardens, It might help give you some ideas.
 
Not much work done on the big head.....got some lite structure inside and I used some foam and goop outside to test a final type of something to create a texture.

It's basically too unstable, so there's no cheat here, even if I add more internal, I'll have to fiberglass the entire outside.

My wife pointed out that he looks like he has vomited on himself......I told her that when he is finished, she will be the first to be sacrificed to appease to Easter Island Gods:lol

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Not much work done on the big head.....got some lite structure inside and I used some foam and goop outside to test a final type of something to create a texture.

It's basically too unstable, so there's no cheat here, even if I add more internal, I'll have to fiberglass the entire outside.

My wife pointed out that he looks like he has vomited on himself......I told her that when he is finished, she will be the first to be sacrificed to appease to Easter Island Gods:lol

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what about doping the paper , like canvas aircraft were doped to strengthen them, I wonder would this work on paper ?
 
Flute board is plastic, no?

A cheapish solution would be polyester fleece soaked in fiberglass resin (thinned with a dash of acetone to help it soak). The fleece is cheap, but it takes a lot of resin. Would be strong like ox though.

I've never tried thinned white glue with fleece, but it works great with blue shop towels. Just thinking on a bigger scale...

-Rog
 
Correct it is made of 5mm flute board which is a plastic not paper or card. It has rigidity and is light. I like the fleece idea, but a little research seems to indicate it can be a little haphazard with varying results, especially on large surfaces. Fiberglass is really expensive at the hardware shops, so I'll track down a supplier and maybe get a better price.

Thanks for watching and your op's;)
 
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