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Large Cybermat, Tomb Of The Cybermen

13drwho

13drwho

Active member
My latest project is the large Cybermat from Tomb Of The Cybermen. I love that episode, it's truly a classic!

My plan is to carve the shape out of foam, coat it with putty, do a lot of smoothing, and make a mold. From the mold I will roto-cast 3 or 4 for my Halloween display.

This Cybermat
DW-cybermats1.jpg

I started by making hand drawn templates to the size I felt it was.
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Then I glued some foam together to make a block the size I needed
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Then I cut out the template and traced it onto the foam
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Next up is to cut the outline out...


 
Small update...

Top cut out
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Side cut out
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A LOT of shaping to do, but this is a pretty good start, I think. More soon.
 
Great start!
I like that hard foam as a building material.
I used it to make the neck rings on my Daleks.
It's very brittle, though, & snaps or breaks quite easily- as I'm sure you know!!

Good luck.

Russell
 
Thank you for the comments and likes.

Rough shaping...
IMG_4255[1].jpg

A little more shaping and I'll starting building it up with putty!!
 
2 passes of putty. It's starting to show some promise. Still a lot of work before I can make the mold.

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More putty. The overall shape is good, just leveling trouble spots with putty. More sanding coming up.

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More slow progress on the master. After multiple passes with 3 types of putty I painted the whole thing black. I did this for two reasons. 1, to seal the foam to spray it with filler primer. 2, to see places that need more work.

I have to put this to the side for about a week, but then it's more putty and sanding!

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You probably know this, but to elaborate for anyone who doesn't, that's pretty standard for really nice auto body work.  IIRC, the term is "blocking and squaring."  When you think you've got the body where you want it, you paint it black and then sand it with a long block (so it goes over low spots) and fine grit wet(?) sandpaper.  When you've taken off most of the paint, any spots that are still black are low and need more filler. 
 
lol.  It's going to look so much nicer than the actual props it is based on.  They're doing a children's show in the '60s that they think will only ever be aired once (maybe twice) so they probably just banged something together with papier mache.  It already looks pretty amazing.  Be almost a shame to put the googly eyes, pipe cleaner antennae, and dustmop skirt on it.

[EDIT:]Looking back on the reference photos, I wonder if they used some kind of plastic jug for the head.  It looks a bit like a modern laundry detergent or maybe cooking oil jug, with an offset spout.  Cut off the base and the side the spout is on.  Put the skirt around the cut off side and stick the tail out the base. 
 
Back at it! I'm getting really to sculpting the details, but I'm still getting it smooth...

Putty and sanding
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Filler primer and sanding
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Two places that need more putty...
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Alright, I finally have it smooth enough I can move on to the next step. Next I have to sculpt the eyes. After getting this so smooth I hate to do it, but it's part of the cybermat.

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[member=7904]moonbeam[/member] That thought had crossed my mind. It's a good idea about making a mold at this stage so I can make multiple versions!
 
Just ordered the silicone for the molds. I also ordered the roto casting resin. Now we're getting to the exciting bit!! More soon...
 
I had to take a break to take of some real world stuff, but I'm finally back at it.

The key to a good mold is the setup. I am going to do a brush on mold, it takes a lot less resin and its great for rotocasting. I mounted the master and made a mold tray. Tomorrow silicon!!!

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So the silicon part of the mold is done!! Next is the plaster "mother mold". I hope to finish the mold this weekend...

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Mold is done!!! All that's left is to bake the moisture out of the plaster mother mold. Successful mold AND the master sculpture is in perfect condition!!! Here are a couple pictures...

Plaster Mother Mold
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A peak inside the mold...
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