Sam's blog: Biker Skull & Biggles

Sunday, 24 June 2018

Biker Skull & Biggles

I was inspired by this photo that someone put up on FB of a biker skull that they had bought whilst on holiday in Mallorca. I thought she'd made it but she hadn't, so I had to give it a go.

Firstly I created a mould as all the skulls ones I have are quite small. I was bought a skull candle which I haven't burnt yet, so I used mold and pour around it. This mould measures approx 4" x 3" x 3".

I mixed up a batch of clay using ivory powertex and stoneart.

I didn't want to totally fill the mould with clay as it would take forever to dry. I just made sure it was thick enough to give me a good outer coat. I peeled it very carefully out of the mould and then put a round polystyrene ball in place so it kept its shape whilst it dried.

I also cut some goggle and side pieces from the clay. As the sun was out, I put everything outside to dry. I left the googles on top of the head so that they dried with a bend in them as opposed to being flat.

Once dry I took out the polystyrene ball.

This is what they look like from the back.

I started to fill the gap with small pieces of tinfoil, (approx 4" x 4").

And moulded a head.

Look at it from all angles.

Covered it masking tape and then gave it a coat of ivory powertex.

Took them back inside and covered them with cling film, as I wanted to create the helmet. I cut a piece of bubble wrap to the approx size I wanted the fabric to be.

I don't have any photos of this next step as I changed my mind. I decided to add a layer of clay over both of them and also create a rim for the helmet.

I put the goggles back on and set them outside to dry again.

And here they are finished. I ended up with a biggles and a biker as the fabric helmet didn't work out as I wanted it to. I broke one and the other worked out okay, hence biggles on the left.