Vote in the "Wicked Lasers Contest" & "MakerBot Challenge" Charlie says WINNER
New videos added, still kinda dark though!
*** Just so every one knows, this is not an attack on Charlie Sheen in particular. This would have been based on any celebrity du jour. Charlie fit the bill at the time. Yes it is true, he does need medical, psychological and perhaps spiritual help. I have many people in my life that suffer from similar issues, and they all celebrate the Charlie Sheen below. Its meant to be a lighthearted take of Charlies self proclamations. Remember imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Charlie, this is my ode to you! with the truest form of sincerity.***
Welcome to my instructable on how to build a Charlie Sheen bust equipped with Warlock Laser eyes. Now of course you can use this technique to make anyone you so choose, Charlie was merely my inspiration at the time. As I’m sure every one is aware, Charlie has been in the news, CNN and on tour with his warlock shenanigans. Right around the same time, the “Wicked Lasers Contest” on Instructables was announced. With Charlie’s self proclamation that he was a Warlock and myself trying to come up with something truly inspirational for the contest, In a flash of laser light I realized the perfect project would be “Charlie Sheen's Warlock Laser Eyes”
When ever I do a project like this I find it hard to stop, there is always one more thing I think I should add. Normally I take a step back, re-assess and say OK, don’t mess with perfection. Not this time, we all agreed that it would be awesome if the mouth moved, by simply adding a walkie-talkie or amplified speaker into the heads cavity you could truly bring Charlie Sheen to life – WINNER!!!
This would make a great Halloween prop, Conversation starter, Party gag or even as a fund raiser. With a little modification you could build it into a booth and have it dispense fortunes like the Zoltan character from the movie “Big” with Tom Hanks. This instructable can be built with a variety of options which will be broken down in the following steps.
- The first major option for you to decide is if you want to add the R/C animatronic jaw. This was really an after thought; I had completed Charlie with the intent of just lighting up his eyes with lasers to compete in the “Wicked Lasers Contest” featured here on Instructables. Initially this build was custom tailored to the contest as I wanted to do something with lasers never done before. I really want something unique to enter into the contest, don’t get me wrong there are some amazing entries into the contest, its just I have seen them all before in slightly different variations. Plus Charlie sports the kind of campy silliness I love to add to a project. Getting on to the animatronic jaw, it can be added after, but I recommend planning it in to the build. All though not terribly hard to add after, it would have been so much easier to incorporate it from the beginning. In life it really is a lot harder then it sounds to learn from other mistakes, but in builds like this a little for thought is essential.
- The mould you spread your papier-mâché on will also have to be decided on first. I used a positive silicone mould that I built for one of other Instructables. http://www.instructables.com/id/Spooky-Polyester-Resin-Ghost-prop/ All though this would be an extra step, its surprising how often I have used this face for other projects. Its durability, heat proof to almost 500 degrees and slightly flexible nature make it ideal for a variety of projects. Being composed of silicone, things molded or pored over it just slip off when set. A good second choice would be a bald mannequin head. You could always shave one with hair, but the little holes will need to be filled. In addition most mannequin heads are quite rigid so care will be needed in the removal of your papier-mâché. Lastly a Halloween mask, due to its overly flexible nature will need to be supported quite firmly in order to spread the papier-mâché. I think the last option is actually more work then just building the silicone face.
- The Hair – oooh so much trickier then it sounds. Throw a wig on it? Sure, if you can find a realistic one. Dollar store wigs really don’t cut it. I used aluminum foil and hot glue. The bust was built with the intent of it looking kinda like folk art meets Mardi-Gras. If you are going for ultra realism, perhaps source out a higher quality wig on eBay. Woman’s hair naturally looks better in wig format, men's hair though most of the time just looks like a bad toupee.
- The skin – getting the color right for your skin is very tricky, its one of the hardest thing to paint, especially on a rough surface such as papier-mâché. If your want a more realistic skin, you should skim coat the mask in either fine clay or I would suggest sanded bondo. Then seal it, so the corresponding layers of paint can’t soak in. By laying down many thin layers of a light colored translucent paint, you will build up the naturally translucent nature of skin. Or, I keep using the excuse that I was going for the folk-art look! Hey, it works for me.
- Clothes – To resin or not to resin. I’m torn on this subject, as I really wanted to coat his clothing in polyester resin after dressing him. Not only does it help make the structure that much stronger, it makes that section water proof. In theory, you could polyester resin the whole thing, aluminum foil hair and all. But… I wanted the option of reusing this bust for a variety of things. Thought it would be awesome to take off his glasses, and slip on a classic Star Trek red shirt, then lay him out in the grass with guts coming out of where his body should be. Classic red shirt death scenario, but wait he’s not quite dead yet. That’s when you activate the eyes and mouth, uttering something scary to the trick or treaters. Basically I’m just dressing him like a mannequin, changing the look as needed.
Read this instructable thoroughly and try to plan ahead.
If you look at all the pictures at the top, click back and forth between the last 4 pictures - now you too can make charlie blink or talk!
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Signing UpStep 1: Option 1 - Tools and Supplies used
Tools:
- Scissors
- Big pot or bowl
- Soldering iron
- Glue gun
- Hack saw or Dremel type tool with cutting discs
- Assortment of paint brushes
- Assortment of stir sticks
- Saw that is capable of cutting curves in wood like a jig saw
- Drill with assorted drill bits
- Color printer w/regular white copy paper
- Staple gun and staples
- Pliers
Supplies:
- Paper for papier-mâché – I used one days worth of flyers
- Charlie Sheen-ish looking glasses
- White glue – I used Weld-Bond
- Water
- Glue Sticks
- Electronics solder
- Electrical tape
- Stranded wire, thin about 24 gauge is fine – about 3 feet
- 1 SPST switch – style is up to you
- Laser pointers, 3-4 or laser diodes with appropriate drivers & power supply
- Battery holder for 3 triple AAA batteries
- Triple AAA batteries
- Sand paper or sanding sponge
- Ping pong balls
- High Glass clear nail polish
- Optional – a few super fine fibers from a wool or acrylic red sweater
- Plywood 2’x3’ – thickness is up to you
- Assorted colors of acrylic paints
- Chicken wire – ¼” grid 4’x3’ sheet
- Mannequin head, sturdy mask or the silicone face mold from my other instructable, see link next line
- http://www.instructables.com/id/Spooky-Polyester-Resin-Ghost-prop/
- Scrap wire for temporally securing chicken wire, I used some left over Ethernet cable
- Optional – dryer lint, about 3 lint trap loads worth
- Optional – Fiberglass putty & activator, such as Bondo
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Godess #4
If you wanted to disguise the mouth seam you can use condom latex, it flexes but doesn't have too much tension, that's what the Supermarionation guys used on Thunderbirds, Stingray and such.
looking forward to the next version - with upgraded lasers that burn the flesh of his enemies!
signed,
concerned loser mortal
If you have more paper mache...square up his jaw a bit too...Charlie has a wide square jaw.
"I'm on drugs...It's called, Charlie Sheen!"
I only have one thing to say about this I'ble Winning!