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Lekku in foam and latex?


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

I don't know if this is the right location or not, but I guess it's sort of sculpting (we really need a latex section).

 

I think I figured out a way to make lekku without going into a HUGE casting project. I don't know if it's a valid idea, but worth a try.

 

What I would do is carve the lekku the way I want out of a thick foam (since it's lightweight enough), then cover the foam in several coats of liquid latex.... let it dry and hope for the best. Is it at all possible to do this?

 

This way it should be lightweight enough to be comfortable. It's similar to Cortney's lekku, but without actual fabric (I think that is what she used).

 

What kind of foam would be best for this project, if at all?

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IWhat I would do is carve the lekku the way I want out of a thick foam (since it's lightweight enough), then cover the foam in several coats of liquid latex.... let it dry and hope for the best. Is it at all possible to do this?

 

 

While I have never tried this method, I have seen it done. The look was fairly good in the lekku themselves, but they were completely stiff and had no lifelike movement at all. At first the extra weight of the foam caused the joint area between the head and the lekku to sag and stretch, so the girl reinforced it somehow... but then the whole thing was terribly stiff and the lekku stuck out behind her in an odd way. She joked that there was a "stiff breeze" blowing that day when she took the photos for me.

 

Overall, my assessment would be that while you CAN make lekku that way... you will most likely be unhappy with the results.

 

The lekku that were used for the Rose Parade were made with latex that was filled with expanding polyfoam. It is a reversed process from what you are describing, and uses a flexible foam... but it is still similar in the finished result. You can see that while those lekku are very stiff, they do wiggle a bit as the girls jump around.

 

Pam :-)

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Guest Anonymous

That sounds like a better plan, I just want something light that I can sculpt instead of cast.

 

Is there any information that you can provide on the Rose Parade lekku method? When I was watching them I just assumed it was some sort of foam.

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Is there any information that you can provide on the Rose Parade lekku method? When I was watching them I just assumed it was some sort of foam.

 

 

They took one of the old lekku molds they still had on hand and cast the headpieces in hollow latex. That latex shell was then filled with expanding polyfoam. You mix the two parts of the foam in the correct ratio, pour it into the headpiece, and it expands to fill the interior of the lekku. They used that because they felt it would hold up the best to 5 miles of marching... though really, I think that fiberfilled lekku would have been just as durable, and a lot lighter and more flexible!

 

I might have missed out on the parade... but one of my favorite memories from that week will always be Scott calling me after the girls' first in-costume practice to give me a critique of their lekku! :-D

 

Pam :-)

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Guest Anonymous

I think I have come to a conclusion...

 

http://www.nightsintodreams.com/NiD/bla ... nhorns.htm

 

This has helped me greatly in that decision. I am going to do Lekku in two styles, one straight and the other around my neck (I love them that way and no one ever does them that way, they are VERY difficult to do even in fabric).

 

I am going to use a foam base and carve it into the right shape, later I am going to do a thin layer of rigid wrap and then possibly smooth it all out with a latex finish. Paint and done! We;'ll see how it works out.

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