Cornelius from Planet of the Apes

[Jessica]

Yes--I am definitely going to read through these two books. Whenever I come across something really interesting related to foam latex and it is something I know I won't remember, I usually write myself an e-mail and keep it in my drafts folder. That way, I can skim through the notes before I do a foam run and at least I know where my notes will be should that time come.

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Wow, this thread has slowed down the last few days!
I dug up this old photo from the Eighties when I was a teenager. It's a Cornelius mask I sculpted from hot plastic. I rigged the jaw with hooks and elastics under the faux fur so that the mouth would move when I talked. Unfortunately, after sitting in a box for a couple decades the plastic became brittle and has fallen apart. I never got around to making the costume to go with it, which is a shame.

MOD EDIT: Link removed due to a virus alert

No laughing at the MONKEES poster, it belonged to my sister (although I suppose that Monkees is fitting in this case)!

 

[Sparticle]

Back during the POTA Series era, I sculpted all the characters in 1/4 size. Jessica, please correct me if I am wrong, but I recall all the ape lips to have a gentle curve, up at the corners and a slight lift in the center of the upper lip. Most people sculpt the mouth absolutely horizontal.
Am I right or just imagining?

 

[reddwarf81]

Jessica these are outstanding.

FYI....back in the 90's I experimented with and alternative to foam latex called Polysoft from Burman Foam Latex. It's an extremely soft polyfoam that mimics foam latex without the baking. The only down side is it's not self skinning so you have to stipple a thin coat of latex on the mold and the lifecast then pour in the foam and close the mold. This worked very well for me. At the time I had all of the foam latex molds for the Klingons of Star Trek 3 The Search for Spock and I reproduced every piece over and over. Now that was 20 years ago and I'm not sure if they still have it but they might.

 

[Jessica]

Back during the POTA Series era, I sculpted all the characters in 1/4 size. Jessica, please correct me if I am wrong, but I recall all the ape lips to have a gentle curve, up at the corners and a slight lift in the center of the upper lip. Most people sculpt the mouth absolutely horizontal.
Am I right or just imagining?

Yes I believe you are correct. The apes almost have a smile. It's subtle but it's there. And when the lips are closed, there is still a gap. I can never tire of studying this makeup. It's really just incredible to me.

The gorillas are not as obvious as the chimps although this was from the TV series...the corners of the lips are still upturned a little bit.

Jessica these are outstanding.

FYI....back in the 90's I experimented with and alternative to foam latex called Polysoft from Burman Foam Latex. It's an extremely soft polyfoam that mimics foam latex without the baking. The only down side is it's not self skinning so you have to stipple a thin coat of latex on the mold and the lifecast then pour in the foam and close the mold. This worked very well for me. At the time I had all of the foam latex molds for the Klingons of Star Trek 3 The Search for Spock and I reproduced every piece over and over. Now that was 20 years ago and I'm not sure if they still have it but they might.

Thank you. I have not experimented with Polysoft--never heard of it. Wish I had though. I like to try everything. Did you find that you could sweat through it like you could with foam latex?

Here's a 1:6 sculpt I made:

 

[Black Thorn]

Jess that all looks wonderful. Really brilliant work as per. Sorry foir digging up this old thread but for those who were asking about the backs of the Chambers appliances, they look hollowed out to me. I have two screen used ones. One from the TV show and one from the original movie.

I'll try and post pics.

 

[Black Thorn]

Here we go..

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Thanks for posting those pics, Black Thorn, you're the Bomb!!!

The backside was not what I was expecting... it has the rectangular sinus channel but the whole nose area is open and it looks like the inside of the muzzle doesn't extend much farther than the back side of the teeth.

The details on the front of the muzzle are great too, the "wrinkles" or "grooves" on the muzzle look deeper than one would expect.

Your post has a broken link, should there be three pictures?

(and Jessica, thanks for your reference pics, too - great stuff!)

 

[Black Thorn]

Oh yes. God only knows why though. I re upload it.

 

[Black Thorn]

Does this one work?

The dealer I bought it from said (If he can be believed of course) that it was one of the appliances worn by the Ape jailer.

Here's the back of the Chimp one.

Very old and crunchy now I'm afraid.

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Great pictures, Black Thorn!!!!
The picture of the gorilla has fantastic details - the muzzle looks like it has some pockmarks, particularly on the nose... a great detail I've never noticed before on the screen shots. Also, there's not much "flat" surface on the upper muzzle... everything is rounded bumpy hills and sharp trenches (the wrinkles)... I think I'm going to play around a little with the detailing on my two gorilla sculpts to reflect this...

 

[Jessica]

wow those photos are just incredible! Thank you for posting them!! I spotted photos of the back side of the masks once but I don't know where I had kept the photo or if I was even lucid enough to keep a copy. The trench works perfectly well. If you sculpt it into your positive, then you won't have to worry about hollowing out the trench later. Perhaps I shall do this with Cornelius. It's never too late to add that addition on the positive, as long as I pre-wet the positive...and then I'd have to dry out the molds for hours upon hours anyway before I even attempt to pour some foam.

Even though this thread may seem old, I have not completed the sculpt due to other life things that keep getting in the way. So no matter how long it will take me to make my Cornelius...I shall make him as good as I can make him.

 

[Black Thorn]

I shall look forward to seeing him, and glad to be of service.

 

[Jessica]

Time to dust off this project.

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Yay! Please post plenty of pics!!!

I can't wait to start the foam latex on my sculpts... I've been tooooo busy!

 

[Jessica]

Can't wait to see your foam latex. Looks wonderful so far.