Full-Size General Grievous Prop Build

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

He may not be the biggest fan favorite, but he sure is a unique villain within the Star Wars Universe. I'm building this prop to include in our Halloween experience this year - "The Dark Side of the Force" to create a ominous presence for the Episode 1-3 generation. For this project, I'm focusing on detailing his head (I'll keep his head in the movie room), whereas the body will be fashioned from recyclable prop making materials years past.

This project took 3 weekends and some evenings to make and was a ton of fun - also gave me an excuse to purchase the Black Series action figure to use as reference! At least that's my excuse!

Feel free to follow along -

SofaKing01 · Jul 7, 2016

He DEF doesn't deserve the amount flak he gets. GG was one of many highlights from the PT. Excellent job so far!

doctorDWwho · Jul 7, 2016

I always liked general grievous. Looks awesome!

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

Thanks guys for the comments - he totally doesn't get the love he deserves. I mean he's the only character that carries his guts out in the open. C'mon!

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 1:[/h]The frame for the body begins with 4, 8-foot sections of ¾” PVC from the plumbing department at the hardware store. In order to support the weight of the body and head, I opted to double up on the supports for the legs and use two separate poles per leg instead of just one. I typically use wood screws to secure the pipes so I can make adjustments and recycle the parts for next year.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

Step 2:

This prop actually stands best in a tripod configuration in order to secure proper balance. I don’t want this to be mounted to a base as “The General” will be gracing our yard next to the house. The pole for the tripod has a slight bend in it so that it can be spun around to find the best position on uneven terrain. The pole will be hidden between the two cape colors so as not to be noticed.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 3:[/h]In order to keep things light - remember, the body will be recycled at some point - the hands are made from pipe insulation foam with silver duct tape. Later, the tips of the fingers (small triangles) will be cut from the same foam and adhered to make it look like there is a closed fist around the lightsaber. The lightsabers are super light weight kids toys. These will be hooked up to motors later to get the spinning action!

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

Step 4:

I started with a Pepakura file for the General's Mask, but it proved to be too time consuming. Therefore, I opted to make the head out of cardboard and the face plate was a piece of craft foam which was heated and then shaped by hand. The eye sockets (meat) utilized crumpled tinfoil, and the eyes were made from small pieces of ping pong ball cut to shape. In order to get the spray paint to stick and cure to the foam, the entire head was coated in 2part resin epoxy and allowed to dry overnight. The paint was an antique-white spray paint from the hardware store.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 5:[/h]The General’s armor was constructed out of cardboard with masking tape run across the edges in order to hide the corrugated cardboard. The armor was painted with the same spray paint as the head.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 6:[/h]In order to make the guts of General Grievous, a ball (about the size of a racquet ball) of clear packing tape was crumpled and then spray painted red. A second ball layer of clear tape was wrapped over to create a sense of wetness through the high gloss sheen. Additionally, a rope of duct tape connected the two balls and was lightly misted with red paint.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 7:[/h]General Grievous’ support structures (hood, ribs, leg details) were created once more with the foam insulation pipes.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 8:[/h]The finger tips were wrapped in masking tape and attached to the foam/duct tape rings. Quick solution as they won't be very visible.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 9:[/h]Once the head is dry, detailing can begin. Start by blocking out the large sections around his eyes and mouth. A coat of yellow is applied over the eyes and the eye socket “meat” includes a deep red with a wash of black in the recesses.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

Step 10:

White pinstriping tape can be changed to any color with a Sharpie marker.

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Step 11:

The iris of his eyes can be painted with an Olive Drab green (tops and bottoms) with a radiating burst of brown. In this case, The General has long, black stripes on this helmet and the pupils of his eyes use the same material.

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Step 12:

Airbrushing completes the look by tying in the highlights, shadows and battle damage. Leveraging multiple colors helps achieve added visual depth. Pay attention to the edges of the cutouts (eyes, ears) and add additional battle damage to the helmet.

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

Step 13:

A permanent BIC marker is used to highlight and outline various details

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

Little friends helping out!

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

Step 14:

The final and most important aspect of completing the head is to create a layer of super gloss over the eyes. To achieve this, simply brush on 4-5 layers of Future Floor Wax. Don’t scrub it on or you risk creating bubbles. Simply dip the brush and allow the drop to permeate the entire eye surface.

PropReplicator2 · Jul 7, 2016

This is awesome work so far! GG was one of the highlights of the PT to me and I personally can't wait to see the end product!!!

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

alexmiller1 said:
This is awesome work so far! GG was one of the highlights of the PT to me and I personally can't wait to see the end product!!!

Hey Alex! SO glad there's some GG fans out here! I personally think Episodes 1-3 get an undeserved bad rap and GG was so unique and different from anything else! Glad you like the work so far - thanks for sharing!

FrightMaker · Jul 7, 2016

[h=3]Step 15:[/h]The General also sports certain mouth parts - which resemble some kind of alien microphone. Flat stirring sticks, heavy gauge wire and paint are all that’s needed to create this.

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The General - almost there!