Spotted on E-Bay

[subsy]

Just saw these on E-Bay - someone is selling five P&J sets of puppets and two/ three ventriloquist dummies.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/dubic.dorot/m ... pg=&_from=

I hope I'm not cutting off my nose, etc. as I am bidding for a set to learn with but I figured others here would be interested as well.

Michael

[James]

Some really lovely puppets there.

Did you have any luck Michael?

[subsy]

No, they all ran way beyond the reach of my pension!

[subsy]

Mind you, suddenly £300 pounds odd for a set seems very good value for anyone with deeper pockets. I just saw this punch at £450 - it is by Fred Tickner!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mr-Punch-Pupp ... 487961c27d

[Chris]

Very nice - but has it no legs?

[subsy]

I'll find out! This chap definitely has:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251823593840? ... EBIDX%3AIT

[subsy]

The Fred Tickner Punch does not have legs.

[Chris]

And so he should! Its just that the bloke hadn't shown them in the picture and also in his description he said head and hands carved in wood, and never mentioned feet.
Its a very nice figure - but in my opinion not worth that much unless you were a collector desperate for a Tickner.

[subsy]

Sorry, Chris,I think my cross posting about two puppets has misled you. The chap selling the Fred Tickner Punch has confirmed that he (the puppet) does not have legs. The Punch is also only 16 inches tall.
It's the chap selling the Teddy Corden Punch who described the legs.

[Chris]

Sorry, entirely my fault, I read too hastily. However, as it doesn't have legs, as I originally suspected, then its price is even more inflated than I thought, since if you wanted to use it in a show then you lose a lot of business if the puppet doesn't have legs.

[lesclarke]

I have handled a couple of Teddy Corden figures and they work well, good practical figures, as a newcomer Subsy you may be surprised to hear that some figures do not work well, ie figures need to come on and off the hand easily, as you put your hand in the figures naturally fall into the finger/thumb positions.

Performing Punch is a lot about doing a dozen things at the same time, whilst giving your all and staying calm and dealing with the unexpected, good and bad, at the same time. A mixture of instinct and intellect?

Remember, Punch spends a lot of time on your main hand, and you are then removing the secondary figures and replacing them with your other hand. Costumes need to get 'worn in' with use, the finger hole needs to fit your own finger, not too slack, not too tight, and the head needs to be balanced.

http://www.punchandjudy.com/images/lazarus2.jpg

Have a go at PM, compared to buying figures it is 'cheap as chip paper!' ( Apologies.)
Lazarus' figures show what can be done with Papier Mache, lots of character and good variety in appearance of each character. And PM lets you be far more creative right from the start compared to carving in wood.

[James]

Yes that Tickner Punch is very small, it is one of a pair, both without legs, both made as toys, towards the end of Fred's career. It is not representational of his, usually excellent, work.

Incidentally the Punch that Fred used himself didn't have legs, he thought it easier to use, though the majority he made for other puppeteers or magic dealers did have legs.

Teddy Corden is now producing a range of professional Punch figures in a plastic compound, I'm not sure how hard wearing they are, but they are a bargain price for a full sized, hand costumed, hand painted puppet. Under the £50 mark I think.

However as Chris and Les have said, puppet making is rewarding and a great learning process, you may find papier mache a good starting point Mike, it's fun too.

[lesclarke]

Interesting to hear about Teddy Corden's new range James, any more details of them anywhere?

Wonder just what kind of 'plastic compound' it is? It would be interesting to see and handle the figures.

I have virtually no experience of resins etc, and they seem to produce rather hard/brittle results, not great when dropped on a hard surface, and it can be heavy. Obviously there are many types of 'plastic', but many are not suitable for small scale production.

I have sometimes wondered if heads moulded in expanded polystyrene, and then coated in some spray-on 'wonder plastic' material might work

Producing figures that sell at that sort of price point can't be easy, and how big is the market anyway?

PM rules, but don't suck your brushes!

[BookEmDanno]

I bought a set of the plastic puppets from Teddy nearly three years ago.

Apparently, liquid plastic is washed around a mould until it reaches the appropriate thickness.

They are light and durable and I am very happy with them.

For someone on a limited budget, they represent excellent value for money.

[lesclarke]

Thanks for the info, still wonder what type of 'plastic'? Is this a cold process?

Liquid latex is used in same way, with a plaster mould, it's the same principle as ceramic slip-casting, so is this same or similar to liquid latex, when 'filler' is used it will dry hard, so will have similar characteristics to plastics.