President of the Assembly, Planet of the Apes

[jessica]

[Chris]

There's the rip! I see it now.

Damn, that dirty ape looks life like. Apemania needs to snag you up.

[jessica]

Crap. Futzing with the fitting of the facial appliance on my face. I hope I look good tomorrow. I'm not satisfied with the fit, but I'll have to live with that fact. I just wish I could get a lifemold done of my face, so I can do this the right way.

At least something's going right! Alex has painted Burke and he looks spectacular. I knew Alex would make a fantastic Burke. So happy!

[Chris]

Daggnabbit! I thought some people in San Fran did a lifecast for you. Matt could probably give you some tips so that you don't sufficate.

Burke looks great! Do you know if Alex was able to sell enough for it to be worth it to him? If he hasn't up front I think he will in the long run.

Take lots of pix from the convention if you can.

[Matthew Sotis]

Yeah, definitely. We had one enthusiastic makeup friend with a deviated septum who got himself under the alginate too quickly. It didn't take long to realize he was having difficulty breathing so we popped open a little slit between his lips and slid a little straw in there. He was grateful. A couple of times when i had it done to me i found they slapped on the alginate so fast it was getting up my nostrils so i would pop a couple of short pieces of straw in my nose in advance for comfort.

[Cmonster]

Jess,

Rubber mask grease paint is predominantly used for blending appliances onto the face and doing touch up work. You really should not paint the entire appliance with it. Use either PAX or a bestine/naptha based, rubber cement paint. If you're partial to stippling with a sponge or using a brush, then go with the PAX. Simply add pros aide to standard acrylic paint and keep your mixture based on the range of movement you want the appliances to have. The more movement you want, the more pros aide you should use.

Personally, I've always painted my appliances and anything else that's made of foam rubber (creature suits, puppets, mech heads, etc...) with the rubber cement base paint because I like to airbrush as opposed to stippling. Tint rubber cement with universal tints to achieve your desired color, then thin it to your liking with either bestine or naptha. I use naptha and thin it down pretty well, as I like to use many layers to build up the desired translucency.

Hope this helps.

SC

[jessica]

Sandy that's cool to know. I will try to stick to pax.

Chris--my lifemold did not take when I tried with Dan and Tom. Either the materials were too old or I'm a vampire and lifemolds just don't work for me. So...I'm still researching to find out someone who could make one for me. My friend Mitchell (my favorite Klingon) has a makeup artist friend (local, meaning San Jose), that he's going to give me the contact information for...and I will start from scratch once I get the lifemold done.

[Matthew Sotis]

Pax is the way to go. Use up to 50% prosaide for full flexibility. Add cabosil to thicken, matting agent to reduce glare. Remove with detachol. You can get all that stuff here:

http://www.alconeco.com

[Chris]

Sandy that's cool to know. I will try to stick to pax.

Chris--my lifemold did not take when I tried with Dan and Tom. Either the materials were too old or I'm a vampire and lifemolds just don't work for me. So...I'm still researching to find out someone who could make one for me. My friend Mitchell (my favorite Klingon) has a makeup artist friend (local, meaning San Jose), that he's going to give me the contact information for...and I will start from scratch once I get the lifemold done.

I wonder if Bill Blake from the old POTA Marvel mag could assist you? I'll check for his phone number and PM you with it. I don't know if he's still on the West Coast.

[Matthew Sotis]

my lifemold did not take when I tried with Dan and Tom. Either the materials were too old or I'm a vampire and lifemolds just don't work for me.

I don't get it. Mix a pound of alginate to a paste by adding water slowly, have someone quickly get it on your face (while leaving nostrils clear), reinforce with plaster bandage, wait 10 minutes, and wriggle it off your face. I've never seen it not work. Define "did not take".

[jessica]

I don't know guys, but I need someone to help me make a lifemold--like YESTERDAY!

I wasn't around when Tom poured the positive, so I have no clue. He said it "didn't work out" and we'd have a re-do, which depending on what lane of highway you are travelling, it can still happen or will not happen. But I'm not sticking around to find out. Life does not hold still for me so I will keep treading!

[Chris]

I wasn't around when Tom poured the positive, so I have no clue. He said it "didn't work out" and we'd have a re-do!

That's the move he uses with all the ladies.

[jessica]

Now isn't this the nicest match for the Hot Toys gorilla plum fabric? My heart skipped a beat when I was at Good Will today, rummaging through their mens shirts. I did not have the Hot Toys gorilla pants with me at the time, so I relied on my bad memory for remembering colors....and it's a damned fine match. 40-gun salute at Ape City. This is a hard fabric to match...trust me. There's nothing at JoAnne's unless you want to play with dyeing your own fabric.

Forgot to say that the fabric with the garter on top is the actual Hot Toys gorilla pants.

[Chris]

That looks dead-on.

[jessica]

An appropriate goodbye photo of my beloved Cornelius. When he leaves Ape City he will be sporting an ape's new suit and better feet.