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Home Made Mannequin


Nkomo
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I am doing my first display at a local Veterans Appreciation Day on May 19th. As of right now, I am planning on doing six torsos and one full mannequin. I have all the uniforms and equipment I need, but didn't have enough mannequins. I have one full mannequin and one torso mannequin. That leaves me five torsos short of what I need. That is a huge problem as good mannequins cost a lot of money.

 

Well, my wife came to my rescue. She went on the internet and figured out how to make one from scratch. I had my doubts at first, but I must say the mannequin came out very nicely.

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Another shot. It is a little lumpy, but that will be fixed in the following mannequins.

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Here is the mannequin dressed in a modified DCU and traditional Afghan scarf. I would estimate that this mannequin cost about $25 to $30 to make. This is the first one, so my wife will refine the process. One down. Four more to go!

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Rakkasan187

Excellent,

 

You and your wife could profit from her talents. I would not hesitate to use one of her examples to display my uniforms. Great job... Mention to her to get a PATENT NUMBER... ;)

 

I am sure that if you put a tight fitting t-shirt over the chest it would smooth out some of the lumps, but it does not look bad at all.

 

Leigh...

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Your wife does very nice work, :thumbsup: can you give us the web site that she found the instructions for making it on. Thanks for showing us!

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Oh man! put the info together and make it available.I'd pay for that.I know others would love an alternative to the commercial products out there.Lot of DIYers out here.

Great job none the less!

Bob

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The Meatcan

Nice! Looks like Mrs. Arch could make a semi-lucrative side business in the homemade mannequin trade :thumbsup:

Arch - don't forget to post up a bunch of pics showing her handiwork covered with your great gear displays!

Terry

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Nice! Looks like Mrs. Arch could make a semi-lucrative side business in the homemade mannequin trade :thumbsup:

Arch - don't forget to post up a bunch of pics showing her handiwork covered with your great gear displays!

Terry

 

 

No kidding. That is a very nice torso!

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First off, I would like to thank you all for the nice comments. My wife is a gem and is very supportive of my hobby. I showed her your comments and she was a bit embarrassed, but said thanks you. :thumbsup:

 

I will get around to listing directions for this mannequin soon. In a nut shell, my wife took an idea she found and tweaked it. The mannequin is not stuffed with anything believe it or not. We made a duct tape "mold" from an existing mannequin, wrapped the duct tape mold in aluminum foil, then took pieces of CLOTH soaked in plaster of paris and placed several layers of those on the mold. Eventually, we partially split the plaster of paris body off the mold and then used more plater of paris to make the mannequin sturdy and to seal up the side seams. So far, I have had a uniform, body armor, and chest rig on the mannequin and it held up superbly.

 

I plan on making a step by step guide on how to make one of these mannequins. I will be documenting the process with the next mannequin. It is not hard at all, but does take some time.

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Another cool idea I had heard of used a t-shirt and a couple rolls of duct tape.

You need a volunteer in the size you want to stand still while you wrap at least two layers of tape around him/her while wearing the t-shirt. Make sure the tape is only on the t-shirt and not on skin If the model is not calm enough to let you cut the shirt off after you have wrapped it in duct tape...supply beer!!!! After removing the t-shirt it can be taped shut and stuffed with whatever you like then covered with a second t-shirt to hide the duct tape.

It does take sometime to complete...depending on how much beer is needed.

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Another cool idea I had heard of used a t-shirt and a couple rolls of duct tape.

You need a volunteer in the size you want to stand still while you wrap at least two layers of tape around him/her while wearing the t-shirt. Make sure the tape is only on the t-shirt and not on skin If the model is not calm enough to let you cut the shirt off after you have wrapped it in duct tape...supply beer!!!! After removing the t-shirt it can be taped shut and stuffed with whatever you like then covered with a second t-shirt to hide the duct tape.

It does take sometime to complete...depending on how much beer is needed.

I would have done that, but my mannequin had to hold up a uniform, body armor, chest rig, and a MICH. You are talking about a lot of weight there. If I was just displaying a uniform, it might have worked. My needs were a little more demanding than most. :lol:

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