Me and McElroy's dummies: a love story - part 1

Are you wondering why I want to venture in a so difficult replica?
Well... as you'll see from the background image of this blog, my passion concerns precisely the "Rolls Royce" of ventriloquist dummies: the McElroy.

This passion was born two years ago.

As a ventriloquist, I was looking for a dummy that could best represent the character that I set in my head. But no dummy on the market met my requirements, so I decided to try to build it myself.

My first purchase was the Mike Brose's book, which I still jealously guards in my library. Book's title was "Figure Making Can Be Fun?!?"... it intrigued me a lot, I was full of expectations, so I bought it... and turned out to be a real treasure. I began to put into practice what was written: reproduction techniques using silicone mold and making urethane castings, then I bought some dummy parts from Mike (hands, feet, a body and a head). I had build my first dummy and then I started to customize it, always following the suggestions of the book.


I had found the Nirvana.

But one day, while I was surfing in the web, I saw a face that struck me: big eyes, realistic hair, bulbous nose, mocking smile and mischievous expression.

I was literally stunned.

Immediately I wanted to know what kind of dummy was, who was the owner and where I could buy one myself.


You can imagine the disappointment when I learned that they were dummies of the '30s, that they was no longer on the market, and if I wanted to buy a copy I would have to spend thousands of euro.

The character that from that day tormented my nights, was Johnny.

Some photos of my fully animated McElroy replica build!

As I promised, here are some photos of the processing stages.



Below, detail of the joint for the wiglle nose/light up nose effect.

   

Below, the life cast teeth that I made (upper and lower teeth).

      

The control stick, made with a teflon dowel.



...and the mechanism for the jaw movements...



Make a McElroy replica as close as possible to the original, is a very hard work.. but... I love McElroy dummies and I love my hard work!!

He's the one.. "Johnny McElroy"

The first dummy with which you will see me at work, it will be a replica of a famous McElroy dummy: Johnny.

The first thing I did was make a silicone mold of the head.
This is because during the various stages of processing, I could ruin some detail, so I must have the ability to recast any part of the face.

The second step is to open the orbits, cut away the jaw, the upper lip and the nose. Once this is done I proceeded to install a small brass bar, staring into the face. This will serve to support the bulb to illuminate the nose and at the same time will be a support for the nose itself, allowing the "wiggle nose" effect. Then, I will install life cast teeth: this choice is due to the fact that the original teeth seemed too fake, so I preferred to give a touch of realism to the dummy mouth. Now the hardest part is to find a clear resin to make the tip of the nose and allow the "light up nose" effect...

Stay tuned! Soon: photos of the various processing stages!

Let's start!!

It 's always difficult to start writing something...

I decided that make a blog was a good idea... so, here I am!
This blog will be a sort of diary in which I will tell you, in real time, my journey in ventriloquist's dummy making. I will try to post anything that might be of interest for figure makers, ventriloquist or just enthusiasts.

I hope to get your attention and spark your curiosity, without ever becoming banal nor boring you with a long speeches.


Join me on this journey and have fun!