Beyond perhaps a cost saving using local craftsmen vs. molding/casting, would this have likely been done for weight reduction?When I first started making props for film, my first boss was Alan Lavine, he was one of the prop masters on this film. He told me he had local Filipino craftsman carve props for him. These look like some of those props.
We would typically make props like this with an RTV mold, and either a rigid foam or self-skinning soft foam. They would be just as light or lighter.Beyond perhaps a cost saving using local craftsmen vs. molding/casting, would this have likely been done for weight reduction?
[Using a wood that's lighter than resins and rubbers of the time?]
In any case, amazing craftsmanship.