Want to build a gag manniquin?

It's been a year since my last blog posting, so I'm not blogging all the time ,as you can see.
Only when I build something that might interest some people do I post it.

Well, one day I saw these almost life-size gag dolls sitting in a furniture store and they looked pretty stiff like just having broomsticks for limbs. But I liked the idea of it and was told that I could have one for 250 bucks. I thought that I could make one myself and it would be a lot of fun doing so. Using material you can get anywhere at hardware places, goodwill stores and keeping your eyes open at swap-meets, garage sales etc would keep the cost down, and besides the hunting for stuff you can use makes it fun.

As you can see, I'm using PVC piping for the arms and copper tubing, wood dowels to make the joints. I'm sure that there are other ways of doing it, but this is what I had available in my workshop/garage. I decided to use a thrash-can for the chest. What you see on the bottom picture are the arms that have full motion capability.

Adding some flesh to the shoulders!

Her you can see the pelvic/hip  area with the legs attached. It is also connected to the bottom of the torso.with some movement possible.

Filling the pelvic area and the buttocks with this hard foam you can get in any hobby section. Cut it with a wood hand saw and use a rough file to shape it. Don't glue it using PVC glue, it will melt! I used 

foam insulation in a can, Use rubber gloves, because it is real sticky stuff and hard to get off your hands. The buns came out way too big and performed a reduction bun 'surgery' at a later stage! Isn't this a fun project!

At the Golden West swap-meet we like to visit on the weekends, I found a rubber Arnold Swartzennegger mask which I filled with foam from the can and my grandson's rubber ball for brains. Don't worry he doesn't even miss it. The mask was a buck and the hair 3 bucks at the swap-meet.

MMM...The head looks way too big! Note the shoe stretchers used as feet.

Yes, those are used kid-size shin/knee protectors for the shoulders. I also decided that I had to make the limbs larger to match the size of the head. A little PVC glue and tubing works wonders.

Luke was so happy with his new size, 6ft 10in, that he hugged me. Yes I decided to name him Luke. But now we had a hard time finding fitting clothes at the goodwill store. Hardly anybody is six ten!

Luke is tall and  by-golly he is going to be MACHO! Look at that chest-hair!! To be macho you also need kneecaps by the way. You didn't know that, did ya

Here is Luke drinking a beer. I gave him a manly six o'clock shadow and he is tickled pink
Oh, by the way, Luke's Mexican friends call him Lukas, Lukas el Mechudo.