Looking for a plastic Bust

C

CHRIS7891011

Member
I've been thinking about doing some special effect makeup work in the near future on some movies I'm working on which includes some bald caps and some other things in which I need a bust. Any suggestions on where to pick one up?

Thanks.

Chris
 
pam_anderson.jpg
 
ho ho ho, Zak. Presuming you really did mean a head bust, Chris, I'd suggest asking at a wig shop or hat shop - they must have suppliers of such things. Or a medical training supplies shop if you need something very anatomically correct.
 
CHRIS7891011 said:
I've been thinking about doing some special effect makeup work in the near future on some movies I'm working on which includes some bald caps and some other things in which I need a bust. Any suggestions on where to pick one up?

Thanks.

Chris
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You should look in the stickies. I posted a list of places that carry makeup special effect supplies like bald caps.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=109793

But here's a link to Alcone which has some of the best plastic bald caps. Just apply them to the actor, stick the edges down with an appropriate adhesive and the thin edges dissolve and blend into the skin with a bit of rubbing alcohol brushed on around the edges.

http://www.alconeco.com/products/character/bald_caps

On the fake bust, it's not totally clear what you're looking for. Do you mean a torso or plastic model of the top of the body? Detailed or not detailed? Realistic or not? If you're talking about the prosthetic kind of fake chest applied to a person, that's a bit more difficult.

Something like these examples may be about as close as you'll get without making something yourself:

http://cgi.ebay.com/COSTUME-FOAM-FA...ryZ82161QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Super-Boobs-Fak...ryZ19255QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sexy-Black-Cors...yZ111238QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
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Zak Forsman said:
pam_anderson.jpg
Click to expand...

I figured i'd get one or two comments like this. :D and no not bust as in breasts I'm looking for a head and top of the shoulders. It doesnt need to be too detailed, just enough to make a few prosthetic pieces on.

I seached the sticky threads and didnt quite find what I'm looking for. Thanks for the ebay links though. I found my a good halloween costume.

And for the comment about wig shops, Thanks I didnt think about that. I'll check a few out this weekend.
 
If you're planning to do prosthetics and appliances you'll have best results if you do a lifecast of the model/actor.. otherwise the pieces aren't going to fit very well. The normal styrofoam wig heads and busts are typically smaller than most peoples heads.

Here's some videos on casting a head, and plenty of other useful info:
http://www.youtube.com/bitymoldsupply
 
I second this. Its a difficult skill to learn but its worthwhile and gives a much more accurate original which can be used to make many smaller molds out of hydrocal which is a very hard type of gypsum plaster that can stand up to heat. It's what any serious prosthetic effort would begin with in fact. The 8 minute setting Accucast is the best alginate molding material to use for a lifecast and can be found at many of the links in the makeup section of the sticky. Try a face cast first and if you have success with that, try a whole head cast which is the really challenging one to pull off.
 
If you want to dive in to doing that kind of stuff, go all the way. You make your own bust by making a mold of someone's head and shoulders, then pouring it with plaster.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. I think I might give this a shot. Need to get another paycheck first then I'll get the supplies.

It's something I've always wanted to learn so I guess now is as good of a time as any right?
 
In the meanwhile, google it and do some research. Richard has a great list of sources for material, read up on how to use it safely and effectively. I would love to get into this stuff too, it looks fun.
 
It is fun if you like detailed fine work. But making a set of molds is easily a two week process (or more) depending upon how much time you donate to it each day. It's also very rewarding seeing it in action when it all works right.

The first lifecast I ever did was with my brother when I was 16 and he was 12. The goal was to make a Planet of the apes prosthetic in two pieces like they did on the original movie.

I used dental alginate as the casting material which was readily obtainable at a dental supply in OKC. I don't recommend that stuff though as it sets in 3m. Not a very long time to work! All these casting alginates come in powder form and mix with precise measurements to a certain amount of (ice cold) water. You have to mix it very fast but very well getting all the clumps of powder smoothed out into a very fine result which looks a bit like very thick pancake batter. When it sets up the stuff doesn't stick to itself so you have what you have and can't add any more alginate to cover uncovered parts of a face or whatever.

You have to be very fast and very thorough while applying it making sure there are no air bubbles or distortions. You typically apply the alginate with surgical gloves on and using your fingers. The gloves make it easy to clean up fast by just taking them off and also your hands don't get waterlogged either. Take a clump of alginate out of the bowl in your fingers and apply it starting at the top of the head and letting gravity take care of some of your work (the alginate running down on the face of the subject). You want ideally about a 3/8 or more thickness all around the face. In reality, some parts may be thinner and those are the ones you have to watch because they tear easy. This stuff is very delicate after its set and so easy to tear.

Around the nostrils and eyes are a particularly difficult area to get right. Ears are very tough too. You'll usually want to do a more detailed ear cast all by itself using a larger head cast (and the probably imperfect ears on it) as a guide for where the pieces go up to the ears. If you need ear prosthetics do those as a separate item in another mold--it's easier. Any where there is fine detail to be picked up is usually a hard area to get right. You'll often find a huge air bubble around the eyelid area where it meets the nose if you're not particularly careful. The alginate doesn't really stick to hair very much but a bit of vaseline on eyebrows and eyelashes makes it easier to work with. A bald cap is usually used to protect the hair.

The last lifecast I did was a full head cast of someone using the Accucast stuff--much longer working time if you get the 8 minute grade which is also tougher than dental alginate too. It didn't work the first time and that's heartbreaking because it's a long, tedious several hour process altogether and hell for the subject. Don't do this on anyone that's claustrophic by the way. You've got to have someone completely relaxed about having their face covered with a (non-toxic) but very damp/clammy type material and the only thing not covered is your nostrils. Any nervous twitches or grimaces will end up ruining the cast. Needless to say, they have to leave their eyes closed during the whole process too and can't try to open them for any reason while the alginate is setting up. Finally, you put a layer of plaster bandages to act as a protection for the delicate alginate cast and to help it keep its correct shape--the shape of the person's face without allowing distortions. When all that sets up carefully remove it, without tearing it by the way, then fill it with hydrocal and you've got a model to use for all your future sculpting and mold projects for that subject.

There's a great video on lifecasting at burman's (in the list of resources) that covers face only, full head, hand and full body castings. It's a great video and I'm sure there are others but this is the only one I've seen. They also have some really good videos on mold making and sculpting too. I knew a lot about mold making by the time I got that video but it did have a couple of tricks I didn't know about so it was worth it.

There are also many free resources around the web that show the process with photos so those might be adequate.
 
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What? No stories of how your brother, the guinea pig, was trapped in your cast until dad got home? What a disappointment!
 
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