Doctor Who Handles Foam Pep Disaster

Dtrasler

Sr Member
Hi all,
This is the first time in months that I've started a new thread, so forgive me if I'm a little awkward. I specialise in making prop disasters, and previously have screwed up helmets from the Star Wars Universe and one from "How to Train your Dragon". My next project is going to be my first foam pep build, and my first Doctor Who project (although I did help my daughter build her Time Lord Headpiece last year).

First, my reference photo, stolen shamelessly from the internet.
Handles2.jpg
I have a complete set of pep files for a cyberman suit, but it's been so long since I got them, I can't remember where they came from. Sorry, but thanks to the hardworking person who put them together. Modelling and then unfolding pep files seems like a Herculean task to me, and these people deserve more adultation and cold hard cash than they get. Just sayin'.

Here's my first mistake.
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See all the pages I printed out? No, you don't, because I missed one. Then I have to figure out the missing margins, and even then the thing is not the right scale because (I think) the original files are probably intended for A4, not letter. So, only just printed out the paper references and already screwing up.

This is about par for the course with me. Please don't follow this thread expecting a masterclass. I am here to make you feel better about the stuff you do. And if this doesn't do it, remind me to post pictures of my bathroom reno sometime.

Well, until I get back from my road trip and over this whole "Kid graduating High School" thing that's going on, here's as far as I get:
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There's a lot more cutting and sticking to do before I have a full set of pieces. I'd appreciate your good will and patience, and feel free to offer advice. Just don't feel bad when I screw it up anyway.
 
This is already one of my favorite threads! You should see the horrible things I've done to a poor innocent storm trooper helmet. I'm about to fill his mouth in with Bondo and start over, if it makes you feel better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I DO feel better! My stormtrooper's mouth needs Orthodontic treatment, but I try not to mention it in case it gets self-conscious.

Stormtrooper teeth.jpg
I'm pretty sure some braces could close those gaps up a little in two years or less....
 
Just wanted to say that I always love your threads and dedication. Wish you the best of luck with this mask, I'm sure it'll come out looking awesome!
 
Ok, road trip completed (Dinosaur museum, Drumheller Alberta) and kid all graduated and stuff. Back to reality!

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So, I started small, with just cutting a couple of the shapes out of the paper and marking them out on an old foam camp thermarest. Don't tell my wife. She wants to use them when we go camping.

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And then I put a new blade in my scalpel (ESSENTIAL! I finally learn something!) and cut the shapes out of the foam.

Now kids need collecting from school and then I have work, BUT I have some shapes to start gluing, AND I get to keep the paper pieces to put together first and see how things fit. I haven't changed the tabs, so that might make it tricky to get a good fit.

Lots of experimenting to come, I think.
 
Ok, maybe I haven't learned anything. I kept the paper templates so that I could see how they went together before moving on with the foam.

But this morning I was passing my workshop, and plugged in the glue gun, and....

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Granted, this may not mean disaster straight out of the gate, but I should know better by now. Preparation means less correction later. I haven't even cut all the shapes out of the paper yet, let alone the foam.

Still, where would the fun be if it all went according to plan, right? Or if I even had a plan.

I'm going back to the stuff i get paid for this morning, since no one's buying my books. Hope your projects are going smoothly, rpfers.
 
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Ok, he's looking a little happier now, and so am I. No picture of me, though, you'll be glad to hear. I took a twenty minute break after reviewing three of the four scripts for today. That was an hour and a half ago....

Anyway, I've cut out the next major piece and I'm gluing it together now. Hope to match the two sections up next before getting back to work.

WP_20160607_006.jpg

And another ten minutes have passed, with a lot of glue and some painter's tape to hold everything together. There's definitely an issue with the thickness of the foam, which means I'll have to do some cutting and re-shaping once everything has dried, and there'll be more filling and sanding to make good. Isn't there always?
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Looks ok with the tape removed. I'd better stuff it up by adding paper mache to strengthen it.

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Ah yes.

It amuses me that this work is taking place next to my eldest kid's Timelord Headpiece.
WP_20160607_011.jpg
 
Hi DT,

Nice to see you starting on something new!

I have to confess to being somewhat confused by this build though? Firstly 'Handles' in the Dr Who 'New' series was a 2013 style Cyberman head and the templates you have look there like a 2006 Cyberman head?

You said that you were doing a foam build but usually when people do a foam build the get foam which only has texture on one side so you can use the plain un-textured side as your outside face.

I realise that this is one of your builds (where anything goes), and I see now that it is turning into a multi-media creation with Papier-mâché on foam (not something I have ever seem before, lol). I guess there is no point in saying that the Papier-mâché will lose all the details from the foam templates is there since you will already know this?

Looks like you're having lots of fun though so that's really all that matters !!!:lol

Roughneckone:cool
 
Hello again Roughneckone! Welcome to the Who-side....
Yes, is the short answer - I didn't consult with my resident Whovian expert about the model of Cyberman. I'm pretty sure I downloaded the plans before deciding on making just the head. I know I've had them around for a while, but was too scared of the pep process to really get into it, until I discovered I couldn't make my TFA stormtrooper helmet any other way. Need is a powerful stimulant!

Anyway, here's the side-by-side comparison:
2016-06-08.png and it's clear you're right - they're different models. But the main difference is the shape of the crown piece, and now that I've committed to papermache (to cover the gaps, essentially!) then I can change that shape as I go. Yes, it's another Dtrasler kluge, but honestly, was anyone expecting less of me?

Today I'm fighting the urge to jump back in, but I have time with this - there's no deadline beyond maaaaaybe taking it along to FanExpo Vancouver in November, so I should cool my jets and make a solid construction. There's also the issue that I'm determined to add in the LED set so he glows from the inside, which means sourcing some translucent blue material, preferably plastic. On a budget, of course.

Oh, and I also have to find a cheap camping mat to replace this one before Mrs Dim notices it's missing. Yes, it was an odd choice, but, in my defence, it was sitting in the back of the car for more than a year, and it was the right thickness and colour. I kept seeing it there and thinking..."Hey, that's kinda cool..." The texture is completely wrong.

In between adulting today, I'm going to get the paper template for the crown piece, and maybe aim to transfer it to the foam, but the other to-do list is quite long as well.
 
Alright, since the rest of the day is committed to food prep and library shifts, I have to post this now and be on my way.

I cut out the crest piece and tried to cut into the foam to allow the folding. It's mostly worked, but I'll have to wait a while and check when the tape comes off. Now I'm thinking "I'll fix that in the next layer." which is where the trouble starts.

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But like Roughneckone pointed out, we're not doing this for the money and the fame, right? We're here to have fun and make awesome things. I'm having fun. And making things.


Awesome may arrive later.
 
Handles crest closeup.jpg
So one of the most obvious differences is that the Pep model has this lovely tear-shaped end to the crest, whereas the actual Handles has a much duller rectangle end.
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In this photo I have squashed the top of the crest and reinforced the inside with cardboard to hold the shape, and then I went down to the basement and cut away the front a little to remove the area where the two sides come together. Then I went overboard with more paper mache.

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I get the feeling there's going to be some cutting and reshaping along the way.
 
No pictures today, but I did grab five minutes to carry on re-shaping the crown. I want to get that right (well, closer to right...) before I bash on with the pipes.

And "Bash on" is probably an accurate description. Thanks to some twits in the UK crashing the pound, I have to work twice as hard to earn the same amount of money. People are so selfish, they never think about ME!

Hopefully I'll photograph the latest atrocity tomorrow, and maybe move it on a bit.
 
Hey Damien,

Look forward to seeing the re-shaping of the cyber bonce.

Very sorry to have screwed your perfectly worked out routine (I'm a Brit). I'd ask David Cameron to check with your PA and see what can be sorted to help you out, but unfortunately he's too busy disappearing into the Sunset to help right now!.

Look forward to the Atrocity Images as and when you get five microseconds to shoot them.


Roughneckone :cool
 
SO for Roughneckone and anyone else who's watching:
WP_20160628_001.jpgThis is the right hand side, unaltered. There's a lovely smooth curve from the crown on down, which is nice, but completely wrong. That crest should have vertical sides.
WP_20160628_002.jpgOn the left you can see where I've cut into that curve, and had to bandage things up with painter's tape. I'll add more paper mache, then when that's hardened, cut into it again until I get the right look. It's a long process, but I can't brain very well right now, and it's the best I got.

Roughneckone, I don't blame you personally for the UK disaster - the fact you're on the rpf shows you're a person of moral rectitude and impeccable taste. It's all the others! Still, no politics on a prop thread!

I'm intending to put the time on on this bit because this is the area where the pipes will join the crest, and if there's no clear vertical sides, then the pipes have to slide into an undefined area and won't look right. Cybermen are precise things. My props are usually less so.
 
Today I rescued a cat. Since she was up a very tall tree, this took some time. I explained that I had some work to do on a cyberman head, but she was not impressed. Cats are, apparently, NOT Whovians.

Anyway, when the drama was done I experimented with replacing one side of the crest with expanded foam-filled posterboard. This seemed a better match for the width of the real thing, and it's flatter.
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Again, just working on that left side.
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I think it makes the crest look sharper, so the next step is fixing the right hand side, and then moving on to the pipes. Since I haven't got any pipes yet, that could be awkward. There may be another uncomfortable silence for a while. If so, just talk amongst yourselves.
 
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Made those corrections to the right side too.

Although I haven't taken pictures of it, I've also used thin craft foam to raise the section beneath the crest, and put in one of the cheek pieces too. That'll make more sense when I post pics, but I won't do that until the glue has set.
 
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