Fraggle Rock Doozer build!

ecl

Sr Member
The latest prop build—A Fraggle Rock Doozer! Despite bring a fan of Jim Henson’s creations, I don’t know much about Fraggle Rock. But I’ve always thought the design of the Doozers to be instantly likable, and each one of them looks subtly unique.

Photo of original Doozers for reference:

50519A7E-AB20-4B2F-AD3E-E88AD7C9091F.jpeg



I got this incredible kit from a well known member here—who wishes to remain anonymous, so don’t ask me where I got it, haha—through a recent trade. The body is foam with a wire armature inside; resin hat, gloves, and boots; and urethane belt pieces. The parts have lineage to an original production piece, making it even more cool. All parts are very clean—I didn’t really need to do much prior to putting things together and getting ready for paint and flocking.

A quick cel phone shot of it in its raw state:

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Some minor trimming here and there, and attaching the limbs (not glued in yet at this stage)

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I gave the foam body a light coat of paint, to help make it easier for the flocking to blend with later, color wise. Also started to paint some of the accessories.

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Flock test:

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This was my first time working with flocking, but it worked out pretty well. I used a spray adhesive, but if i were to try it again I’d probably try using a brush on adhesive (I hear mod podge works too, but takes a very long time to cure). Blast the piece with the flocking tube. Afterwards, I gave the piece a few light sprays of matte medium mixed with water, to help make the flocking a bit more durable. I had to do the flocking outside—it’s a real mess and gets everywhere!

859A919A-4CDF-4244-A037-0925F3B313D4.jpeg


Experimenting with a few mustaches. I glued the hair to a small piece of thin wire, and the wire just simply pokes into the foam and stay put, while remaining removable. I also gave parts of his body a few light mist coats of Tamiya brown and green colors, to help create a very subtle hint of shading.

12B4319A-AD4F-431D-B38A-673FC91519D2.jpeg


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C7D52BF8-5CEF-4E19-9C87-4B9DC6042BB1.jpeg


Belt material is very flexible urethane. A lot of really nice detailing captured in the castings:

9C8927E4-961C-4D57-BD71-EB2E3FE6C6D5.jpeg


Belt assembled and glued together with superglue. I also changed his mustache. The eyes are sewing pins!

759C3376-49AB-4431-8629-96BF18721AC3.jpeg


The rest was fairly straightforward, but I decided to make a small pencil accessory for him, complete with a real eraser :D

35A9DF89-94E9-425B-972B-02ECC81A3B2E.jpeg


Tools:

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Current—finished?—state. I may add a few more accessories to his belt, but it’s basically finished, aside from the two little ‘antenna’ that are often seen hanging out of the bottom of their helmets. This was easily one of the most fun builds I’ve ever done. I think the variety of different materials used makes the piece even more interesting!

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Attachments

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  • 003191FD-AB5D-4960-BB8F-4D3FEA5C77E9.jpeg
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Last edited:
This is absolutely adorable! Huge props to both you and the anonymous kit maker.

Out of curiosity, do you know if this is roughly how the original Doozers were made? I've never really thought about their construction before. Always really interesting to learn more about the various techniques out there for puppet making.
 
From what ive seen in some reference pics I’d found, the original Doozers had a more complex construction. I’ll look into my files and post some that show the mechanism that enabled them to move. It was surprising hard to find good pics of the Doozers. I would say this build captures the spirit of how they were done, but is made to be more of a display piece. On at least some of the originals, the gloves and boots appear to be of a thinner material that slipped over the hands and feet (like actual gloves and boots would), but on this kit, they’re solid. Some might be something like ‘photo puppet’ types that don’t have the hand mechanism (Like the posable, non puppet Muppet characters). I’d say that this build is more like the photo versions.

Puppets with the hand mechanism (pic found online, by Tom Spina):

7B8A3BF9-A666-4826-B1E7-DF2E7EA7CDB2.jpeg



D8B64E2B-571D-41FC-9195-99455403F855.jpeg
 
Absolutely incredible work! I went through my old photos from the Jim Henson exhibit in LA to see if I had any Dozer photos but it doesn't look like they had any on display. There were a few fraggles though.
 
Love it! You've done it again!

I've always been fascinated with the puppet mechanics and control of the Doozers, ever since seeing the behind the scenes specials decades ago. I wonder if there is any good info out there about how exactly they all worked. Specifically the more analog ones, as opposed to the radio controlled ones. The way the ball end controlled the head always impressed me.

Edit: found the behind the scenes video clip on YouTube:
 
Love it! You've done it again!

I've always been fascinated with the puppet mechanics and control of the Doozers, ever since seeing the behind the scenes specials decades ago. I wonder if there is any good info out there about how exactly they all worked. Specifically the more analog ones, as opposed to the radio controlled ones. The way the ball end controlled the head always impressed me.

Awesome, thanks for the youtube link! I’d also would really like to see how the analog hand controls work up close. The movement is really smooth—i like how the mouths open and close too. Really awesome stuff!!
 
This absolutely made my day. Wonderful job! I grew up with Fraggle Rock and have always loved the doozers. Seeing this build brings back good memories. Thank you for sharing.
 
Wow. this is just awesome work. I remember watching Fraggle Rock as a kid. Your prop is very nicely done and the techniques are something I have not used before. So it is an inspiration to find a project where I could try flocking out. That video of the behind the scenes is just amazing too.
 
The latest prop build—A Fraggle Rock Doozer! Despite bring a fan of Jim Henson’s creations, I don’t know much about Fraggle Rock. But I’ve always thought the design of the Doozers to be instantly likable, and each one of them looks subtly unique.

Photo of original Doozers for reference:

View attachment 1449175


I got this incredible kit from a well known member here—who wishes to remain anonymous, so don’t ask me where I got it, haha—through a recent trade. The body is foam with a wire armature inside; resin hat, gloves, and boots; and urethane belt pieces. The parts have lineage to an original production piece, making it even more cool. All parts are very clean—I didn’t really need to do much prior to putting things together and getting ready for paint and flocking.

A quick cel phone shot of it in its raw state:

View attachment 1449154

Some minor trimming here and there, and attaching the limbs (not glued in yet at this stage)

View attachment 1449155



View attachment 1449156

I gave the foam body a light coat of paint, to help make it easier for the flocking to blend with later, color wise. Also started to paint some of the accessories.

View attachment 1449157

Flock test:

View attachment 1449161

View attachment 1449158

This was my first time working with flocking, but it worked out pretty well. I used a spray adhesive, but if i were to try it again I’d probably try using a brush on adhesive (I hear mod podge works too, but takes a very long time to cure). Blast the piece with the flocking tube. Afterwards, I gave the piece a few light sprays of matte medium mixed with water, to help make the flocking a bit more durable. I had to do the flocking outside—it’s a real mess and gets everywhere!

View attachment 1449159

Experimenting with a few mustaches. I glued the hair to a small piece of thin wire, and the wire just simply pokes into the foam and stay put, while remaining removable. I also gave parts of his body a few light mist coats of Tamiya brown and green colors, to help create a very subtle hint of shading.

View attachment 1449160

View attachment 1449163

View attachment 1449177

View attachment 1449180

Belt material is very flexible urethane. A lot of really nice detailing captured in the castings:

View attachment 1449164

Belt assembled and glued together with superglue. I also changed his mustache. The eyes are sewing pins!

View attachment 1449165

The rest was fairly straightforward, but I decided to make a small pencil accessory for him, complete with a real eraser :D

View attachment 1449166

Tools:

View attachment 1449168

Current—finished?—state. I may add a few more accessories to his belt, but it’s basically finished, aside from the two little ‘antenna’ that are often seen hanging out of the bottom of their helmets. This was easily one of the most fun builds I’ve ever done. I think the variety of different materials used makes the piece even more interesting!

View attachment 1449167

View attachment 1449170
View attachment 1449171

View attachment 1449172

View attachment 1449173
How can I get this kit? I would really like to buy one for a build!
 
The latest prop build—A Fraggle Rock Doozer! Despite bring a fan of Jim Henson’s creations, I don’t know much about Fraggle Rock. But I’ve always thought the design of the Doozers to be instantly likable, and each one of them looks subtly unique.

Photo of original Doozers for reference:

View attachment 1449175


I got this incredible kit from a well known member here—who wishes to remain anonymous, so don’t ask me where I got it, haha—through a recent trade. The body is foam with a wire armature inside; resin hat, gloves, and boots; and urethane belt pieces. The parts have lineage to an original production piece, making it even more cool. All parts are very clean—I didn’t really need to do much prior to putting things together and getting ready for paint and flocking.

A quick cel phone shot of it in its raw state:

View attachment 1449154

Some minor trimming here and there, and attaching the limbs (not glued in yet at this stage)

View attachment 1449155



View attachment 1449156

I gave the foam body a light coat of paint, to help make it easier for the flocking to blend with later, color wise. Also started to paint some of the accessories.

View attachment 1449157

Flock test:

View attachment 1449161

View attachment 1449158

This was my first time working with flocking, but it worked out pretty well. I used a spray adhesive, but if i were to try it again I’d probably try using a brush on adhesive (I hear mod podge works too, but takes a very long time to cure). Blast the piece with the flocking tube. Afterwards, I gave the piece a few light sprays of matte medium mixed with water, to help make the flocking a bit more durable. I had to do the flocking outside—it’s a real mess and gets everywhere!

View attachment 1449159

Experimenting with a few mustaches. I glued the hair to a small piece of thin wire, and the wire just simply pokes into the foam and stay put, while remaining removable. I also gave parts of his body a few light mist coats of Tamiya brown and green colors, to help create a very subtle hint of shading.

View attachment 1449160

View attachment 1449163

View attachment 1449177

View attachment 1449180

Belt material is very flexible urethane. A lot of really nice detailing captured in the castings:

View attachment 1449164

Belt assembled and glued together with superglue. I also changed his mustache. The eyes are sewing pins!

View attachment 1449165

The rest was fairly straightforward, but I decided to make a small pencil accessory for him, complete with a real eraser :D

View attachment 1449166

Tools:

View attachment 1449168

Current—finished?—state. I may add a few more accessories to his belt, but it’s basically finished, aside from the two little ‘antenna’ that are often seen hanging out of the bottom of their helmets. This was easily one of the most fun builds I’ve ever done. I think the variety of different materials used makes the piece even more interesting!

View attachment 1449167

View attachment 1449170
View attachment 1449171

View attachment 1449172

View attachment 1449173
I'm a huge doozer fan and would absolutely love to build one. Any chance you could point me in the right direction for that kit?
 
I'm a huge doozer fan and would absolutely love to build one. Any chance you could point me in the right direction for that kit?
Good luck. He wrote: "I got this incredible kit from a well known member here—who wishes to remain anonymous, so don’t ask me where I got it". :lol:
 

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