THE NECK TUBE
But first, with help from TazMan2000, I successfully made a mold of a tube that could work. But I do not have a proper casting material to make the tube. So, I'm going to put it aside and hopefully someday use it when have the correct material. So, many thanks TazMan for your help. Most appreciated.
I made a mold of a plastic slinky toy using regular casting plaster.
Before I start on the Neck Tube, I had to correct the Neck Joints, which were a bit too loose.
I refined the Neck Joints by milling the gaps straighter and more even.
I then added thin washers between the Allen Bolts/Joints to help build up the tension.
Next, I permanently mounted the first and last Joints to their bases.
Now, for the NECK TUBE.
I've been struggling on how or what I can use to make the Neck Tube. After a few trials and errors, I came up with this.
I found these plastic slinky toys at the dollar store. They had an outside diameter of 1-5/16", very close to what I wanted.
After cutting one to the proper length, I did a test fitting with the Collars and the Head Chassis/Neck Joints.
Looks good to me.
After gluing on the Collars, I gave the Neck Tube a quick priming.
To avoid the paint sticking, I hung it up so the ribs would spread out.
All done.
When I bent the neck, the tube hardly showed any gap between the ribs, so I decided to bypass a flexible wall and use a piece of grey felt instead.
BTW, the Neck does have a good turn radius even with the plastic slinky.
NEXT, off with its Head.