Hey all,
I've just completed another restoration project and I figured you guys might get a kick out of this one.
This mask came from Stuart Freeborn, who'd kept the piece since ROTJ wrapped. It began life as an ugnaught in ESB (the one they based the kenner figure on no less.) and was reused as an alien in Jabba's palace. Here's how it looked on set and BTS...
Unfortunately, the years had not been kind to it (most likely due to excessive UV exposure) and when it was sent to me to work on, it was in pretty rough shape.
It was extremely fragile around the missing areas. Very brittle and crumbly. I began by gently pulling the mask into shape and pinning it to a headform. Loose pieces were pinned in place and then I started patching...
On the inside, I patched most of the major open areas with cotton fabric, so that I'd have something to work over when filling the large gaps. I also used cotton to patch smaller cracks and stabilize areas.
Patching continues, I recreated and blended the missing areas of the face, and then filled and sealed several exposed foam areas on the snout and lips. This was followed by an evening out of his (brown) skin tones. I had to start with the darkest tones on him so that I could have an even base to work over with the flesh tones.
Brandon and I discussed things quite a bit and considered carefully just how far to take the restoration. We both wanted to keep the piece as original as possible, but still make it recognizable. The head and hair were actually in excellent condition, and we felt it would be wrong (and dangerous to the piece) to strip the hair off and start fresh. So the back and top of the head are intact as they came to me.
For the face coloring, we chose to aim between the brown he was in 2005 and his coloring from the 1982 still shown above (red jumpsuit). The clear reference on this one was a huge help. The coloring is darker on the sides and blends back to the hairline where the original glue's discolored things to a reddish-brown. We didn't want the piece to look squeaky clean like a Don Post mask or anything, but rather to look (appropriately so) like a 26+ year old original movie prop in decent condition.
So, after that long post, here are a few shots of the finished product. Both Brandon and I are really pleased with how this project came together. It was exciting to work on this one. The other ugnaught I restored last year is great, but this one is far more recognizable to fans. I dunno, it just makes me think back to playing with action figures in the 80's.
For more photos and info, visit this link: http://homepage.mac.com/bluesnal/ug
thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the pics.
Tom
I've just completed another restoration project and I figured you guys might get a kick out of this one.
This mask came from Stuart Freeborn, who'd kept the piece since ROTJ wrapped. It began life as an ugnaught in ESB (the one they based the kenner figure on no less.) and was reused as an alien in Jabba's palace. Here's how it looked on set and BTS...
Unfortunately, the years had not been kind to it (most likely due to excessive UV exposure) and when it was sent to me to work on, it was in pretty rough shape.
It was extremely fragile around the missing areas. Very brittle and crumbly. I began by gently pulling the mask into shape and pinning it to a headform. Loose pieces were pinned in place and then I started patching...
On the inside, I patched most of the major open areas with cotton fabric, so that I'd have something to work over when filling the large gaps. I also used cotton to patch smaller cracks and stabilize areas.
Patching continues, I recreated and blended the missing areas of the face, and then filled and sealed several exposed foam areas on the snout and lips. This was followed by an evening out of his (brown) skin tones. I had to start with the darkest tones on him so that I could have an even base to work over with the flesh tones.
Brandon and I discussed things quite a bit and considered carefully just how far to take the restoration. We both wanted to keep the piece as original as possible, but still make it recognizable. The head and hair were actually in excellent condition, and we felt it would be wrong (and dangerous to the piece) to strip the hair off and start fresh. So the back and top of the head are intact as they came to me.
For the face coloring, we chose to aim between the brown he was in 2005 and his coloring from the 1982 still shown above (red jumpsuit). The clear reference on this one was a huge help. The coloring is darker on the sides and blends back to the hairline where the original glue's discolored things to a reddish-brown. We didn't want the piece to look squeaky clean like a Don Post mask or anything, but rather to look (appropriately so) like a 26+ year old original movie prop in decent condition.
So, after that long post, here are a few shots of the finished product. Both Brandon and I are really pleased with how this project came together. It was exciting to work on this one. The other ugnaught I restored last year is great, but this one is far more recognizable to fans. I dunno, it just makes me think back to playing with action figures in the 80's.
For more photos and info, visit this link: http://homepage.mac.com/bluesnal/ug
thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the pics.
Tom
