Making Realistic body part props

[Boni]

For those of you that make your own props, such as corpses, body parts, food, guts, etc. What are some of the hardening agents you use to coat your props to make them rigid and durable for many years.

Larry, I noticed in one of your movie clips you have a guy who mixes up various food and coloring, then adds hardening agents to make them last, what are some of the recipes.

My theme is a huanted hospital, so I want to make my own patients on surgical tables with guts or brains hanging out.

[maliciousstudios]

if you end up pouring your own castings.... why would you need a hardener? 2 part self skinning moulds will hold up for quite some time. Look at a few dvd's out there on moulds and lifecasting.... see if its something your willing to put time into. I learn something new everytime I do a new pour.... a shortcut or a better long way.... I love people that want to make something original, its nice to see someone mix it up a bit.

[Boni]

I guess I didn't think a poured prop would work in my case. to make it look like guts entagled with each other and spilling off the surgery table, I figured I would have to add the body parts one at a time, then pour some fake blood and puss around them, then coat them with something to make them stay in place and look shiny and real. Shilac was something I had heard people use.

Maybe I am thinking about this all wrong, how would you make a scene described above work building molds and making your props from molds. How do you tie them together and make them survive being bumped, hit, etc.

I know this is basic stuff and I have ideas that have worked, but I want to go more realistic and more durable.

[maliciousstudios]

my first post explained all of this but I erased it thinking that it would only re-open the can of worms.... screw it here goes...not meaning to screw any vendor ( this info is in every dvd around ) If you wanna make cheap bodies.... Id make them by using plaster bandages.... ( remember the mold release ) full body castings - after all whynot go cheap here... ---> there not going to care whats under the clothes if using clothes... If detail is the preferred choice then Id say there are 2 ways, Skin safe silicone i.e. Body Double from smooth-on or Alginate with Plaster bandages as a backing mold. Alginate is a seaweed mix safe for the skin... for a small item i.e. hand or dental Id say to use somthing like Accu-Cast 270-D It has a 3 min set time. Hell, for small items to med items ( guts, heads, etc. ) Id say you could get away with using 570-pgv 590 ibg or 680-ls FULL TORSO OR BODY ID USE 880

Keep in mind that Alginate is a temporary mold and will be destroyed to get your piece out. Cast it in whatever material you like - Melt clay and pour it in, or melt wax etc. Id use a plaster bandage for backing when you get your positive you can make a silicone mold... Fiberglass molds work nice too... Ive made allot of one offs with alginates... they are pretty cheap I can get most of them for about 7.00 a lb.

If your looking for cheap plaster bandages will work...( there are many dvds out there to help you out these days. part line will be the hardest to figure out.... but learn it and you will start to do marvelaous things....

( I have a hard time explaining things - sorry if I sound scrambled ) I tried to explain it the best I could... Heres what you need to do to get the ball rolling, PURCHASE SOME ALGINATE.... something with a little longer working time like
570-PGV start using it play with it cast some wax into it and have fun.... the answer to casting is to get started....LMFAO

[maliciousstudios]

you could also cast some guts appliances.... silicone appliances look nice and shiney.... there are a few vendors that offer these.... I think ones called gross parts ?? I was just thinking you could pour some bodies but if live actors are needed hell maybe make some latex vests with latex parts i.e. appendix, etc. for a nice shiney look that protects and lasts have you ever thought of applying silicone ?? I always love the way silicone looks.... Heres an example... this is silicone over foam....

http://www.horrorbid.com/auction_det...tion_id=109677

the prop looks much better in person.... feels AWESOME.... people usually think they are real... all you need to do is figure out what to use ( which I just cant tell you ) but it is silicone....WITH SOME COLOR

** IF YOU USE A MANNEQUINN THERES NO FUSS.... USE MOLD RELEASE THOUGH, I DONT THINK YA WANT A MANNEQUINN LOOKING PLASTER BANDAGE MONSTER **

[geckofx]

Great Stuff, it's expansion foam you can get from Home Depot or Lowes, makes killer guts and entrails. Paint it whatever color of internals you want, then use a maple wood stain to finish it off.

That's the cheap simple option.

For the best looking option.

Get some sausage casings. We use natural casings. Mix up a handful of different colored bodily fluids and start filling up the sausage casings. Big horse syringes sometimes help while doing this as well. They'll last at least one season. It's still pretty cheap, but very time consuming.

[Nightgore]

For intestines... we've found that if you take a LONG piece of PVC, about 1"-1.5" diameter, then take some clay or "great stuff" foam and create different textures, hills/valleys, etc. on the pipe... let harden and dry, COVER with silicone, let that dry (don't forget a releasing agent), then start to pull the silicone OFF the pipe... turning it inside out! This creates a nice silicone intestine that you can then paint up and bloody up for extra realism! -Tyler

[N2SPOOKINU]

Hey nightgore, where do you purchase your silicone from. Thanks

[Nightgore]

This is where you can find what we have been using:

http://www.smooth-on.com/index.php?cPath=1115_1130


Hope that helps! -Tyler

[Stephan (screamwalk]

When I was building my manikins, I used plastic bags stuffed with newspaper and coathangers. If you want them to remain in good shape, you want to make sure that the weather doesn't effect them. The best way is to put tarps over them.