The Re-making of Aragorn (Step 7)

Not far from done now! In this step of my "The Re-Making of Aragorn" series, I am preparing the joints and keys that will allow me to easily assemble the model parts once I have cast them.

With the body hardened, I now need to get an exact impression of the "key" that I pressed into the sholder joints. Use wet Sculpey that has been lightly powdered (prevents sticking) and press firmly into the socket; making sure to get the full area around the key.























I do the same for the registration holes on the model's back (or anywhere else).












I harden the impressions and sand/grind them into the shape that I need (maintaining the impression face) and then drill holes into the keys for the adding of the wet clay to finish sculpting the parts. I must harden the key first to prevent it being warped out of alignment during the sculpting of the part onto it.























It was also necessary to sculpt the hands/wrist joints before I could add the wet clay to start sculpting the arms. I start by roughing out the hand, hardening it, carving out the details, and drilling the holes.