WetCorpse

From Simreal

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Sometimes you need a fresher body that the mummified classic. In this case, you need special materials. While you COULD use [http:www.smooth-on.com silicon], a much cheaper material is Hot-Pour PVC, or "liquid plastic", used for making fishing lures (see also here and here).

Base

Since I'm making bodies, I use a nice skeleton as the base -- the Bucky, found at Anatomical Chart Company (among other places). Skeletons can be very expensive, so buy the 4th quality "halloween" version, which still costs about $100. You can use the really junky blow-mold skeletons you find at discount type stores everywhere, but they may or may not hold up to the heat we will be applying.

Heating

While the instructions say to heat the plastic over a burner in a cheap tin pot, I find that is a sure way to burn your plastic.

I use a good quality two-burner hot-plate with a small double-boiler to do my heating. Outdoors (more specifically, in the garage). Do NOT do this indoors. It smells. The smell is not nice. Your spouse will kill you if you do this indoors.

I pour vegetable oil in the bottom of the double boiler, and the plastic (plus any colors) in the top. I use oil since we will be heating this to about 250 degrees! Hot!

You can use any colors that make you happy, but the work on this page was done with red, brown, black, and some blue and yellow here and there.

Be careful how much oil you add -- it expands as it heats. Put in too little to start, and once it's hot add a little bit more at a time until it touches the bottom of the top pan. Or, do what I do, and put too much in and let it boil over when it's hot. But don't burn down your house! On second thought, don't do this project at all...

I put a cooking thermometer into the plastic to watch it heat up.

The temperature will slowly rise until it reaches about 200 degrees, where it stops. At this point, the plastic is turning from opaque to clear in little threads. Stir the plastic regularly to keep everything happy. The heat, apparently, is being converted into new chemical bonds in the plastic...

After a brief pause the temperate will rise again. I stop it at 250 degrees, which is a good working temperature. Let the plastic "soak" at this temperature for a few minutes to get really good working characteristics.

It takes about a half hour to get to this point, if not a bit longer.

Applying

BEING VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DRIP ON YOUR BODY -- take a disposable brush or three and slop the hot plastic from the pan onto the skeleton. That's about all there is to it.

I do several layers, typically a bright red underneath, overlayed by a darker brown or black layer to give it some depth.