I purchased one of these great kits from Blufive and Barry. I got the open mouth, "painted" kit, but I made several modifications. Barry's paint job on the head and stem were already top notch, but I added a little more detail here and there and defined the veins a bit more. I also sculpted some additional details on the stem that are seen on the screen-used piece, and sculpted some additional lip connecting the top and bottom halves of the head together. That way, the top of the head and the bottom look more like one continuous piece, a little more like the actual Henson puppet. I subdued the colors on the inside of the mouth a tiny bit with my airbrush, then painted the mouth parts with a thick coat of high gloss varnish so they would look nice and wet. As a final touch, I dusted the outside of the head with Rustoleum "Frosted Glass," a technique that makes the surface look a little more fuzzy and plant-like (like a peach).
I custom cut, sculpted, and painted all the foliage to look as close to the screen-used puppet as I could make it. I hand painted all the veins on the leaves and flower petals, then subdued them with the airbrush (a lot of work, but definitely worth it). The little leafy vines that hang out of the pot were custom made. I cut up several other artificial plants and joined them together, painted the stem purple, then coated the whole vine in satin varnish.
As a final touch, I mounted the head and stem inside the can at a bit steeper angle than the kit was originally positioned in. It has a little bit more dynamic look to it and this way, the head doesn't protrude to far forward and stays a little more balanced.
Here are a couple photos I took today:
Overall, this kit was a ton of fun to complete and it's now one of my favorite pieces. Thanks Blufive and Barry!
I custom cut, sculpted, and painted all the foliage to look as close to the screen-used puppet as I could make it. I hand painted all the veins on the leaves and flower petals, then subdued them with the airbrush (a lot of work, but definitely worth it). The little leafy vines that hang out of the pot were custom made. I cut up several other artificial plants and joined them together, painted the stem purple, then coated the whole vine in satin varnish.
As a final touch, I mounted the head and stem inside the can at a bit steeper angle than the kit was originally positioned in. It has a little bit more dynamic look to it and this way, the head doesn't protrude to far forward and stays a little more balanced.
Here are a couple photos I took today:
Overall, this kit was a ton of fun to complete and it's now one of my favorite pieces. Thanks Blufive and Barry!
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