KEEP IT SIMPLE

[Tony James]

Clever and practical as expanding foam can be, there are issues over the fumes which are continually discharged if the foam is not sealed.

There are of course concerns about the chemicals in all manner of synthetic building and furniture products used in the home and the fumes which are constantly emitted from them. Some people appear to be more sensitive than others.

Having had some involvement with the foam materials as they were being developed and knowing people closely involved in their development and also being aware of those people's subsequent health issues, I would be very careful when considering using, working and living in close proximity to those materials.

[Peter]

Tony says
Having had some involvement with the foam materials as they were being developed and knowing people closely involved in their development and also being aware of those people's subsequent health issues, I would be very careful when considering using, working and living in close proximity to those materials.

I would just add
Having had some involvement with Punch & Judy professors as they were developing and also being aware of those people's subsequent mental health issues, I would be very careful when considering working and living in close proximity to them.

[Tony James]

That goes for magicians too Peter!

[Chris]

Well I've been using polyurethane foam as a head strengthener for many years. The bloke who introduced me to it wasn't a puppeteer but a boat-builder. He used it, in much larger quantities than I did, in the construction of canoes.
Both of us are still alive and in robust health.

However since Tony last waxed loquacious on this topic I have heeded his dire warnings and will in future fill my puppet heads only when using the appropriate prophylactic equipment.<center><img src="images/diver.jpg"></center>

[johnstoate]

Aha! - Often wondered about your 'Stiff upper lip' Chris. Now I understand that it's the result of continual 'Head strengthening' with expanding foam! Beyond which, I concurr with Peter that the mental health of many of us must, by now be in serious doubt.

[rosemarybeetle]

Hi All,

returned to this post after some months. I love papier mache, because you can make it any shape, and very tough. This guy is made of laminated PVA-based parcel-paper papier mache, his head is about 6 or 7 cm high.(excuse the slightly over glossy polyurethane)

He is wearing a costume from the aforementioned, now deceased Punch, whose head was eaten by rats

Despite loving paier mache, I have many generations of carpenters as ancestors, and I do love the feel of wood. It's hard to beat for simplicity and versatility. It's easy to carve with just a penknife and nothing else, so can be used anywhere.

As Chris, I think says, the sound it makes in violent contact is part of the delight of P&J.