GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS YET TO COME

[Richard Coombs]

If anyone fancies a spooky time in their show next Summer , then now is the time to hit the shops.

The Supermarkets are full of plastic skulls of all all sizes , and skeletons with useful matching hands and feet if planning on building a Ghost Puppet.

These things are plentiful and cheap right now ...but once the Trick or Treat season is over they get pulled off the shelves super-fast to make way for Christmas products. ( so at the time of posting you have about a week )

Even if you have no plans to build yourself a ghost puppet right now , it might be worth forking out (very little) money right now , and stashing some bits and bobs away. Next Spring when you are thinking 'Ooh wouldn't it be useful to have a Ghost Puppet in the show" there will be nothing in the stores : or at least nothing cheap and easily acessible.

A friend of mine in Cornwall has done just this , and sent me a pic of skulls he got in Asda for a couple of quid each.
( pic to follow)

These are a good size match for the figures he uses ( Brian Daveys resin set)

This will let him build a matching glove puppet Ghost and a rodded version , or a long neck version as both heads will be an identical match.

It is slightly ironic then that at this time of Halloween 'Plenty' I am starting in on building Ghosts (plural) of my own.
To achieve duplicate matching skulls , I am having to resort to detailed plans and painstaking copying.

[Richard Coombs]

I had a Proff email me last week asking if I had plans for my Horse , as he wanted to make himself one.
My Horse was a 'one-off' with no need to ever build a duplicate one in the future, so there were never any 'plans' as I just waded in and made him : changing and altering as I went along.

In any case I would always encourage anyone not to 'copy' but work out their own version ( much more satisfying in the long run)

But these Ghosts are very much being made in a 'production-line" fashion in order to get enough of them for the routine that I have brewing in my head.

Not as 'free and easy' as bashing out a one-off , but necessary to do certain tricks and flicks, so hopefully it will all be worthwhile.

[Chris]

Richard's instruction to stock up now is very pertinent for not only will the Haloween goodies disappear from the shops very quickly but also many will never appear again. Designs aren't kept as stock since a whole new range will appear next year.
For this reason it is also a good idea to buy multiple copies of something you can use. These novelties aren't intended to last so insure against damage by buying duplicates while they are available.

[Richard Coombs]

Here is the pic from Proff James Gordon .
They were from Asda , £2-50 each ( do not remember if he said they were on a skeleton , or were just skulls )

To concur with Chris , even if you are not making 'duplicates' as such , it might be worth getting an extra of what you buy for a ghost puppet , as if it breaks in the future you may never see the same item again.

Cannot tell from the photos the sort of plastic these are made from , hopefully its the vinyl sort , which is soft and flexible and not the more brittle sort that could crack if crushed or dropped.

Im still working on my first Ghost - in between other tasks - like tiling the bathroom and concreting a base in the garden for a new storage shed.



This will be the principle puppet on which the 'duplicates' are based , so I need to get this one finished to the stage where it is fully on my hand with its bony arms and hands operated by my fingers to know the full shape and dimensions to copy across to the the other versions.

Best
Richard

[Richard Coombs]

Well its that time of year again ..spookily ( and totally by fluke) it is the same date as my first post last year.

I am puppet making again , and getting back to my ghosts .

Also like last year this has nothing to do with Halloween being upon us , just that this is a quiet time in which to settle down to such tasks.







The board seems quiet at the moment , which is a shame , as I am certain there are lots of good things folks could be sharing.

there also seems to be a 'ghost in the machine' as PostImage has got two of those pics upside-down and one through 90 degrees , no matter .
Happy Halloween to all

Best
Richard

[Richard Coombs]

I also took my own advice from this time last year , and have let store bought Halloween toys take the strain out of making hands for my Ghost(s)



I actually got further with the hands on this glove puppet than this picture shows.
But then I realised that although I had the face templates out for easy replication , I was going to struggle making multiple copies of these free-form hands....so



At the end of Halloween I picked up this little lot of Zombies at a reduced price.
The hands are a nice sculpt and `EXACTLY the same size as the ones I was making myself.
Also the plastic was the strong kind with a little flex to it ...not the brittle kind where the individual fingers could easily snap off .



Very pleased with these , they will do nicely.

Richard

[Richard Coombs]

I have just re-titled this thread ( from its previous title "Halloween")
Because it has been re-opened recently and more posts added - admittedly by me -

Also because at this time of year the 'Dickens' connection to Ghosts is uppermost in my mind.

So here is another pic of what I am working on out in my woodwork shed at the moment.
The weather is unseasonably mild for December , so it is quite a pleasure to be out there carving.


These Guys can equally claim to be "The Ghost of Christmas Past" too , as they were begun around Halloween time 2014 ( yep I am never one to rush a project ! )
Also they are very much "The Ghost of Christmas Present"
But by next 'Christmas yet to come " they should be finished , as I plan to have them in the Show at The Heights of Abraham this Summer.

Whatever the rest of you are up to , I hope your preparations for Christmas are going well , and that you and your Friends and Families have a swell time this Festive Season

Best

Richard