Rankin-Bass Rudolph puppets - re-creations?

[Freedmeep1964]

So I'm sure that by now most of us are aware that Rudolph and Santa are not the only surviving puppets from the Rudolph special.
A while back an exhibit opened showing off Tad Mochinaga's work. Including Santa and a Reindeer (possibly Donner) from the Rudolph special, they also showed off some other amazing puppets and armature made by Tad Mochinaga.

However only a handful of images can be found here in the US, mostly thanks to Rick. This always annoyed me since there is so much unseen work of Mochinagas that has yet to be seen here in the US. But it's completely understandable since the exhibit is in Japan.
However I was still very curious to see what else was shown at the exhibit. So I decided to do the deep digging using the Japanese language and I found some pretty cool images. Including an image of something that I have only heard Rick talk about but have never actually seen...... until today.

The images show some new angles of the Santa and Donner Puppets along with some very amazing shots of the armature used for of the puppets.
But here is the image I found most exciting.

This is a display showing off various wooden puppet heads, including the head of the one and only Mrs.Claus and Willy McBean. Very exciting stuff. Let me know your thoughts. Have you seen any of these images before?

-Side note: I think the Santa showen at the Tad Mochinaga exhibit looks more like the Santa used in the special, a lot more than the one here in the US.

 

[Freedmeep1964]

Check out this Amazing Sam The Snowman by @georjay from Instagram. This man is an incredible artist who makes Amazing figures and drawings and I believe he takes commission. Be sure to show him your support when you can! His work is AMAZING!!!

Here is a link to his Etsy shop where you can order some of his amazing pieces, or request a figure from him.

Georjay - Etsy

Shop Exclusive Collectible Handmade Figures by Georjay located in Anaheim, California.

www.etsy.com

- Also more updates on my replica puppets coming very soon.

 

[Bsarc1]

So I'm sure that by now most of us are aware that Rudolph and Santa are not the only surviving puppets from the Rudolph special.
A while back an exhibit opened showing off Tad Mochinaga's work. Including Santa and a Reindeer (possibly Donner) from the Rudolph special, they also showed off some other amazing puppets and armature made by Tad Mochinaga.
View attachment 1368473
However only a handful of images can be found here in the US, mostly thanks to Rick. This always annoyed me since there is so much unseen work of Mochinagas that has yet to be seen here in the US. But it's completely understandable since the exhibit is in Japan.
However I was still very curious to see what else was shown at the exhibit. So I decided to do the deep digging using the Japanese language and I found some pretty cool images. Including an image of something that I have only heard Rick talk about but have never actually seen...... until today.
View attachment 1368474View attachment 1368475View attachment 1368476View attachment 1368477View attachment 1368478View attachment 1368479
The images show some new angles of the Santa and Donner Puppets along with some very amazing shots of the armature used for of the puppets.
But here is the image I found most exciting.
View attachment 1368480
This is a display showing off various wooden puppet heads, including the head of the one and only Mrs.Claus and Willy McBean. Very exciting stuff. Let me know your thoughts. Have you seen any of these images before?

-Side note: I think the Santa showen at the Tad Mochinaga exhibit looks more like the Santa used in the special, a lot more than the one here in the US.

 

[Bsarc1]

This is an awesome thread about Rudolph, seeing different replicas that alot of you guys have made....I figured I would share pics of my collection of Rudolph replicas....A very talented felt artist friend of mine and her son who is a sculptor made all of these for me except for the Bumble and tree....The Bumble was made so well several years ago by a company that made Rudolph action figures that I didn't think he needed to be re-done to fit in with these guys....Let me know what you guys think...I just got Santa and Yukon Cornelius today.

 

[Freedmeep1964]

This is an awesome thread about Rudolph, seeing different replicas that alot of you guys have made....I figured I would share pics of my collection of Rudolph replicas....A very talented felt artist friend of mine and her son who is a sculptor made all of these for me except for the Bumble and tree....The Bumble was made so well several years ago by a company that made Rudolph action figures that I didn't think he needed to be re-done to fit in with these guys....Let me know what you guys think...I just got Santa and Yukon Cornelius today.

They look absolutely Incredible! I love Santa and Yukon Cornelius, they look very professionally made. Wonderful display!

 

[Freedmeep1964]

I have started on my Sam a few days ago. Here is how his head is turning out. Haven't figured out the snow texture part yet but hopefully I will soon.
Also the mouth part isn't the final look

 

[Bsarc1]

They look absolutely Incredible! I love Santa and Yukon Cornelius, they look very professionally made. Wonderful display!

I have started on my Sam a few days ago. Here is how his head is turning out. Haven't figured out the snow texture part yet but hopefully I will soon.
Also the mouth part isn't the final one.View attachment 1374230

Looks awesome! Rick Goldschmidt could probably give you a good idea what was used for the original puppet.

 

[Freedmeep1964]

Looks awesome! Rick Goldschmidt could probably give you a good idea what was used for the original puppet.

I asked recently and he told me Sam was most likely made of wood like the other puppets. So I carved a wooden ball for the head and wrapped it in moldable rubber.

 

[Bsarc1]

I asked recently and he told me Sam was most likely made of wood like the other puppets. So I carved a wooden ball for the head and raped it in moldable rubber.

My Sam is made entirely of felt except for his clothing and accessories...Considering it’s felt my artist did an amazing job...Yours is definitely headed in the right direction.

 

[Freedmeep1964]

My Sam is made entirely of felt except for his clothing and accessories...Considering it’s felt my artist did an amazing job...Yours is definitely headed in the right direction.

Thanks.

 

[Freedmeep1964]

here is a size comparison of Sam and Rudolph. I absolutely love the way Sam looks so far but the sizing is off, based on the photo of the original puppets. My rudolph is 6 inches like the original so my Sam would have to be just a bit bigger to match the original, or at least be close. I'll definitely finish this Sam and probably make a slightly bigger one some time next year.

 

[renaissance_man]

I asked recently and he told me Sam was most likely made of wood like the other puppets. So I carved a wooden ball for the head and raped it in moldable rubber.

I'm guessing you wrapped it in moldable rubber not raped.

 

[Freedmeep1964]

How emmbarising. I do apologize for the auto correct mistake and will fix it right away.

 

[BrundelFly]

THis is my next project.

 

[Moviefreak]

How emmbarising. I do apologize for the auto correct mistake and will fix it right away.

You might want to fix that as well.

 

[Freedmeep1964]

You might want to fix that as well.

- embarrassing*

 

[Freedmeep1964]

THis is my next project.

I can't wait to see how this project ends up. It will be AMAZING!!!

 

[KOMakesThings]

I love seeing these come together... There's something so appealing about the Rankin Bass puppet designs, I can't put my finger on what makes them so charming, but you look at one and can't help but marvel at them. One day I'll have to take a crack at making some of my own, until then I'll just live vicariously through you all! I can't wait to see the finished Sam (And BrundelFly I can't wait to see Jack Frost, that film holds a special place in my heart).

 

[Freedmeep1964]

A while ago I mentioned that this won't be the Sam used in my Rudolph replica collection, because of it's size. Because of this and because I want him finished before Christmas I decided to not worry too much about how accurate his vest is. Finding fabric that is close to accurate could take a while so I decided to settle for this regular green plaid fabric. Anyway here is how he looks..... next to a very close to being finished Rudolph.

 

[SpyrofoamKyle]

Hey all! I've been on a journey the last four years or so trying to create my own replica of Rudolph. I make models of characters from films and video games and such by sculpting them out of styrofoam, mostly, and then covering them with felt. (With some additional materials like pipecleaners, dowel rods, craft foam, etc, for specific shapes and textures.)

It occurred to me some time ago that Rudolph would look very good as one of my models, since I could pretty accurately match the look of the real stop-motion puppet.

What I didn't know is how much of a little nemesis project he would turn out to be! Over the last four years, I've actually made four models of Rudolph (and countless false starts.) The cycle has been that I make him around Christmas, think he's good enough, put him on the shelf for a year...and then decide I can do better the following Christmas. (The upside being that the old ones have made handy gifts for my family!)

Throughout my endeavors I've enjoyed reading this thread, so I thought I would show off my latest attempt at creating everyone's favorite misfit. He stands about six inches tall, so I figure he's reasonably close to being the size of the real thing. I'm not guaranteeing that I won't end up remaking him yet again next year, but this is by far my best Rudolph to date.