Fixing the back piece to the body

This sketch shows my idea to fabricate the wings over a wire structure supporting each foam section to the wings. The wire will be angled outwards from a metal supporting plate, strapped around the body.

Second cast

Fibreglass tissue lines the thin car body swill to help support the piece once removed from the mold. I have paid specific attension to the headband section which runs around the head and supports the rest of the piece.

A much smaller quantity of car body swill is painted into the recouvered silicone. I have mixed this batch roughly two thirds filler to one third resin in order to create a thicker mixture that is easier to prevent from running over the parameters of my silicone mold. To help maintain an even, smooth layering of the car body swill, each layer has been smoothed with a rubber kidney as it sets.

The silicone is placed back inside the car body jacket. The fibreglass needed more cleaning as car body mixture had filled some of the inside. Any bits that did not come off with the hot air gun and chisle were remouved with the drennal. One advantage to this fibreglass jacket is that I am more able to reach inside the mold from all angles as there is far less excess fibreglass surrounding the silicone.

What happens when you forget release agent

The split, damaged first cast. One half has lost the tip of the headband and both halves are far too thick and heavy for my piece, requireing much sanding and repair work if they were to be salvaged. Fortunatley, The silicone has come out in one piece so I am able to recast the headband.

The inside view of my mold shows how the car body swill has spilled over onto the fibreglass jacket. This would have been far easier to remouve if I had first applied release wax to the fibreglass. As I missed out this step, the resin has bonded firmly with the fibreglass resin, incasing my silicone mold. During the first attempt to break open the fibreglass, The resin cast split in half with the impact of the hammer and chisle. In order to recouver the silicone, I had to use the oscallating soar to cut through excess fibreglass and car body swill to get better access. I then had to use a heat gun and chisle to carefully remove the remaining excess car body swill. Eventually, I was able to prize apart the mold and recover the silicone and two sections of the cast.

Mold prep and car body swill fill

The first layer of car body swill is applied. This mixture contains about half car body filler to resin, with the car body fill hardener added as the last component before being painted into the mold.

Holes are drilled into the fibreglass wall so that both halves can be bolted together.

Silicone fitted inside the fibreglass jacket. Some of the inside kays around the circumfrance of the head do not fit perfectly into the silicone keys and require a cleaning up with a drennel in order for the silicone to fit better. By remouving bumps in the surface of the silicone, I am reducing indents in the resulting cast.

cleaning up and de-molding

The inside of the silicone mold showing fine detail. I have brushed out excess clay with a paintbrush and small strands of excess silicone with a scalpel.

The resulting inside of one half of the fibreglass jacket.

When removing the fibreglass, I used a hammer, chisel and wooden wedges. To ease with the removal of the fibreglass, much of the original sculpt inside fell out the bottom of the silicone as it was pulled apart.

Using an osculating soar, I have trimmed the edges of the fibreglass to fit along the marked parameters shown by the pen line. The edge of the fibreglass is neatened all around the head to allow better removal. The face area was then cut out to give a more even boarder all the way around.

Second side of the fibreglass jacket is applied and set.

After one half of the fibreglass has set, I was able to remove the clay wall and excess clay with a short bristled brush. The red marker pan shows where to build my second fibreglass wall up to around the parameters of the silicone. As the fibreglass did not fit right into some of the keys, I removed some with a chisel and plugged the others with clay. Once cleaned this side has been covered in gel coat, insuring that the fibreglass flange is also covered.

applying the fibreglass jacket

The fibreglass is applied using three lots of 600g of resin. The resin is mixed to the same ratio as the gel coat and brushed onto both sides of each strip of fibreglass before being applied. The resin breaks up the fibreglass strands as it is applied to allow the strips to fit within the smaller details such as the keys. When covering the silicone, I have tried to make sure the fibreglass does not undercut the chin as it will set extremely strong. I have applied roughly four coats of fibreglass to the main body of silicone and three for the surrounding flange. This takes a further twenty minuets to set.

Gel coat is applied to the first half to be fibre glassed. The gel coat is mixed with 2percent catalyst to every hundred grams of gel coat and left to set for twenty minuets.

Here I have rolled out a clay wall to place just off centre of the highest point of the head. The clay is flattened and keys are indented with a sculpting tool. This wall will provide a flat surface for the fibreglass jacket to butt up against so that the second half of the jacket can fit well alongside it.

The face is smoothed over with clay as this part is not important to my cast. Smoothing over the facial features provides a flatter surface to shape the fibreglass jacket over.

Ant gaps between the plaster and silicone mold are plugged with clay, this will ensure that no fibreglass will fit down these gaps and destroy the mold.

Third layer of silicone

Trimmed keys with cleaned up silicone. Washing up liquid is brushed over the setting silicone to smooth off it's surface and ensure no indents where the fibreglass jacket could lock into.

keys set around the head's circumference. These are made from excess set silicone cut into squares and placed into the silicone coat as it cures. These keys will help me relocate the silicone back into the fibreglass jacket once it it separated from the mold.

extended shoulder pieces

dyclo holds the strips together, The heat gun has distorted some areas

2mm styrene held in position

When heat bent, the thicker styrene proves much more brittle and snaps

Fitting the headband together

Second coat of silicone

Once the first layer of silicone has set overnight, I applied a second, thicker layer this morning. This mix was made from 600grams of part B to 18g accelerator and 42g of catalyst. As the parts are usually mixed in the ratio of 10g catalyst or part A to 100g part B, the accelerator makes up one third of the part A quantity. To help apply the mixture to the high points of the sculpt, I used my hands instead of a trowl. By applying the silicone with gloves, I am able to catch more as it drips downwards and help prevent tentacles of dripping silicone. A final layer of silicone is required after this has set before applying the fibreglass jacket.

Casting process

Back view as the silicone begins to drip downwards

Thin layer of silicone brushed into details

Side view, the wall varies in thickness from 6mm to 20mm at the peek areas

Surrounding clay wall with keys, additional clay is filling any chips in the plaster's surface

Several approaches to casting my headpiece have been discussed. To follow Pete's initial instructions to brush on a silicone mould, Julia firstly marked out where to build the surrounded clay wall into the plaster. I have made sure that the thickness of the clay wall is thicker than the piece itself, to help contain off running silicone. It is also important that I did not place any keys down the centre line of the piece, as a fibreglass jacket will later be made over this to join at the centre. When fitting the piece to my model's head, I may need to consider keeping it as two separate pieces, with a hinge joint at the back and clasp at the front.

When mixing up the first coat of silicone, I have used 40g of part A to 400g part B. This was then mixed together and placed inside the vacuum chamber to bring any bubbles to the surface. Using a cheap paint brush, I then applied the silicone all over my piece up to the clay boarder. I have left this overnight to set for 16 hours. Naturally, I expect a great deal of the silicone will have migrated southwards over the clay border as it cures.

completed sculpt

To achieve this finish, I have pressed strips of styrene into the indents for a cleaner, crisper edge. I have also used a metal tool along the vents and across the overall surface of the clay. Allowing the clay to initially dry out allows for an accurate, even surface when scrapped across. For smaller areas, I have also used a scalpel blade and removable craft knife blade. For the final finish, the clay was sprayed wet once again before running the metal tools over again.

The undercuts beneath the tips of the piece and vents have been further filled with clay to make them flatter and easier to cast. Ridges in the cog pattern and line detail have been moved and re-scored several times in the quest for symmetry.

When viewed from above, I have noticed the subtle differences between the vent detail either side of the head. Also visible in this photo is the triangular detailing at the back which I have marked out using cocktail sticks.

Refining and assuring symmetry

This closeup shows how the vents need to be built up further, whilst the line detail should be thicker in line with my drawing. The whole piece will need to be scraped over with a flat metal tool to create the crisp edges I desire. The headband should appear machine manufactured.

TRON: LEGACY - "Sam Meets Castor" - Clip

One distinctive influence to my headpiece can be seen in the film Tron: Legacy featuring Daft Punk in this clip. The blueish green details against a white background is a close reference. Interestingly, a photography student at the university has contacted me looking for work related to the Tron films. I am hoping that they will later be able to provide photographs of my finished costume.

Final rendering in Photoshop

Once I completed the digital rendering for half of the image, I copied and reversed the finished half and flattened the image as one layer. The sketch of Janelle Monae and a background were later added back into the scene once rendered detail was masked off with the select tool. I am happy with my chosen design as it brings togther my key influences and ideas in a bold, graphic image. This rendering will later come in use for colour matching the paint finish once the pieces are made.

Sculpting symmetry

This image shows a mirrored view my headband. At this stage I have mainly been using paint brushes, cocktail sticks and my hands to shape the clay. This has created a rather rounded shape with softer edges to the detailing. At present I can see that the front detail and side vents will need slight re-positioning and building up to make the piece symmetrical. To assist with this, I should have rulled in a grid to keep the details along the same lines before I began to smooth the sides of the down.

sculpting progression

Detailing at the front is marked on with a scalpel, this will allow me to see where the side vents should sit in relation on the head

Basis of the headband

The initial shape is applied, the scoring in the clay's surafce shows where the surface will then be smoothed over and excess lumps of clay will be remouved

A rough guide of the headband is drawn onto the plaster