Effective prosthetics for your YouTube videos

Step 5 Joining parts

The tail needs lots of support so here I have attached it to a full back bone. The tail section has already been painted but we'll come to that.

I used general purpose glue to join the tail to the back bone, followed by at least 6 coats of latex on the joint. The latex becomes VERY strong when dry and will hold the tail on without problems.

You can see exactly the same method being used to make the back bone as we did for the rib cage. I have used more of the sponge lagging to help form the vertebrae. You can also see the difference between wet, semi-dry and dry latex.

Comments

[elyador]

Yeah, latex is stronger than you think! It seems flimsy when you do the first, but several layers becombe pretty strong after they cure. Especially if you have some kind of fiber like cotton or cloth imbedded in it, it won't break very easily.

I know because I once built a prothtetic alien arm thing for halloween last year. it cosisted of a papermache/drywall compound/ fiberglass monstrosity that functiones as a shell and glove that went over my arm and hand. It was attatched by means of latex-painted cloth on my shoulder and armpit. A couple of layers was enough to secure it well and I painted the joint with stage make-up that matched my skin. The joint was smooth and seamless and still could suppourt the arm's weight. It looked pretty nice, if I don't say so myself.

Anyway, It stayed on all day long while I was moving, running around, using my alien arm, and getting poked by curious people trying to figure out where my skin ended and my costume began. It wasn't even that uncomfortable--except of course in the awkwardness inherent in other people's reactions.

[marshon]

Very cool, I am always amazed at the strength of this stuff.