Mongrels - Nelson (the fox) fake fur question

[Howlrunner]

I love the new BBC Three TV series "Mongrels" and am considering having a go at making a replica of the Nelson puppet (to start with....).

Anyone know just from looking at it exactly what kind of fake fur has been (or could be) used on the head (the body fur looks a bit longer)?

The fur on the head/face is the same colour as the body fur, but is a lot shorter. Do you think it's the same fur that has been trimmed/shaved down, or is it completely different?

Best I seem to have found online is this:

Honey

And should it be White or Light Cream?:

White

Light Cream

Thoughts? Opinions?

Oh, and anyone know how the eye blink mechanism on the characters (including Marion) works? Do you think the eyeballs have been custom made or do puppet suppliers sell ready make ones like this (iris and pupil is kind of sunken/recessed, not just painted on)?

 

[Melonpool]

I know this is a super old thread, but did you ever do any work on this project? I'm a puppet builder and have a little bit of free time and was thinking about trying to build a Nelson. I know that I can pattern him out, but the blink mech and ear mech still kind of baffle me. I do know that the ear mech is cable activated and that the eyes are controlled by the middle finger of the puppeteer inside the skull.

 

[leviathanworksh]

There is a mongrels video on youtube where they do a studio tour and talk about the puppets. My friend Matt worked on it and from what I can remember the fur is a non synthetic one that they purchased from the states. It was all brought plain and dyed and trimmed per charecter. It is unfortunately not an off the shelf product.

 

[Howlrunner]

No, I never got round to doing anything about Nelson. Though I did find out that it was hair from National Hair and Fibre that was used - and they still had the info about exactly which hair product it was when I emailed them (forgotten it now).

 

[Melonpool]

I tell you, I have a pretty good idea on how to build the foam, mouthplate and how to pattern the fur (even if I end up using off-the-shelf synthetic fur and boil it to make it look less synthetic). But the mechs for the eyes and ears are a bit of a stumbling block for me. The ears are on shutter release cable (or possibly use a bike brake setup). The eyes are controlled by the middle finger of the puppeteer and are spring-loaded, I think. I may rough out the basic structure just to get an idea of what the build would be like, even if mine doesn't have working ears and eyes.

 

[Howlrunner]

Love to see what you come up with either way!

 

[practicecactus]

The animatronic mechanisms were done by John Nolan, so you'd have your work cut out for you. There's a bit of info and a little behind the scenes look of how they work in this video Eurofurence 19 - Mongrels - The Stories behind the Show - Warrick Brownlow-Pike & Andy Heath on Vimeo Well worth a watch.
That's about as much as I was able to find when I binge watched the show when I found out about it, a while back.

 

[Melonpool]

Those were some great videos! That screen capture of Marion's innards cleared up a lot of things for me about Nelson's eye mech. Will probably start patterning something in the next week or so -- at least a prototype!

 

[Melonpool]

So, I watched all of the videos that you posted links to today -- I had only seen some raw low-quality footage of some of these panels, so they were treasure trove of information for me. Of particular interest was this photo of Marion's mech (as seen from below -- your middle finger would rest on the white furry-looking part). I think this is pretty much the same set up that Nelson and the others have for their eyes. They even said in the video that Marion;s ears were made to spin and all of the other characters had a simpler "push back" mech on their ears.

The eyes look pretty simple to replicate -- at least in a simpler form. Any ideas on where to locate a similar aluminum mesh stock? Lighter the better!

 

[Othersesamegirl]

Hi,

Some great information here. I'm a student model maker looking to create similar puppets.

I am looking to create the same style eyes these characters have. The iris is like a reflective glass - any ideas on how to make these? Trying to figure out how to make the white plastic part too - I guess resin?

Thanks,