nice-biscuit, illbethere1, JoeR, HAL9000, Dann, VEGAS VADER, chefhawk, Carsten, Finger - thanks, guys! Your words are very encouraging to me. I still have a long way to go. The helmet is so thick with material that it's heavy and I can't put my head in it! I'm hoping to mold it soon to assess the wearability, and then to do size adjustments accordingly.

Brian - I'm deeply honored by your kind post, moreso than you can possibly imagine. I need to figure out a clay I can work with, that is mold friendly, and that I can smooth without using chemicals if possible. Perhaps something that softens with some heat. Working with clay means building an armature. But yes... my current methods are very messy with all that sanding. I really should make the adjustment!

Looking great so far Mac...can't wait to see it at its next stage and you take a mold from it

Unfortunately I do not have much time to spend in the forums as I used to have few months ago. New job, more resposabilities... less time, but I did not want to skip the chance to put some lines regarding Mac new project.
Wow, what a beauty , I see a lot of good things here and a great talent behind his work.Mac please keep the great work, so much potential here. Congratulations and please keep posting pictures of your progress

Cheers

A

Mac,

Not to labour the point but just to give you a few tips :-

Rather than have armature made up you could use a mannequin's head and shoulders (an old one that maybe a shop no longer requires) - which should be coated in shellac to make the clay adhere- it can then be used countless times by just breaking the clay off when project finished
We use buff body clay in the film industry that needs no chemicals just a fine spray of water every so often to stop it drying out and needs covering with plastic sheet or a damp cloth and plastic sheet if leaving for a long period of time
No sanding required

Anyway that's just food for thought after you've finished this project

Brian

Brian,

That's awesome. So it's essentially a water-based clay?

When you cover it, wouldn't the damp cloth leave an impression on the clay, or is the clay pretty firm to where you can only scrape things off?

If clay is that firm, does it take a long time to pack very firm clay onto a mannequin head?

Can you soften such clay with heat?

Thanks!

Mac,

Yes it's a water-based clay.
The ideal cloth to cover would be cotton - say from an old sheet - so there is no coarse texture to mark the clay. It should just be damp and not soaking wet otherwise the clay would become too soft to work with.
The clay is quite pliable and soft but only becomes as hard as you allow it to be by drying out. The tighter the detail the firmer you want the clay to be.
Don't forget this is not a clay that will set - it has to be moulded unless you are using it just as an excercise to improve your sculpting skills.
No - definitely no heat.
As well as sculpting tools you can use fine wet brushes or sponges to smooth the final detail in.

Brian

So is this an air-drying clay then? I don't understand the part where it will not be "set". Would it eventually completely dry out and no longer be usable? Or do you never allow it to completely dry so you can use it again?

Can the clay be reconditioned if it becomes too dry?

And how do you go about molding it? Just start brushing on regular silicon molding compound?

Yes it would completely dry out and crack up if exposed to air for long enough.

When the sculpt has been moulded then the clay can be left to dry out and then broken into pieces with hammer and add just enough water to bring it back to its original condition.

We had clay at Elstree when I first started there that was 20 years old and a labourer had the job of reconstituting the clay in large quantities.

The idea is to mould it while it is still moist.

Your sculpt is looking great. You are inspiring me that maybe I should try my hand at sculpting sometime. Keep up the great work.

Hey, how are you coming on this project?

So after not touching the sculpt for 7 months, I've come back to it and now I notice things that need to be there. The tweaks are subtle. I will have to redo the eyes as they still strike me as being a bit small. So here are some face and mouth tweaks. The work here is more subtle than anything else, and is hard for the camera to pick up.



I hope the face is starting to look more convincing and accurate.

More later...

Can't wait to see this finished.

chris

Wow Mac, dont know how I missed this thread, you sir are amazing. You have some crazy patience and skill. Your eye keeps getting better and better.