Last blog post I showed my first attempt at an armature for a life size doll. As I mentioned then, I needed to make a few adjustments because my hardware store did not carry a four way connector. Basically, I added a rectangular section that allowed me to use another three way connector for the connection for the neck and head.That section will also be used to help secure some of the material that will be used to fill in the body to normal proportions. I am debating whether I want use longer pieces of pipe for the downward sides of the rectangle. A little extra length would be helpful. It would only have to be about another two inches on each side. The sides are only slightly shorter that my own rib cage. The advantage of having the sides longer would be that I would use less material in filling out the shape of the doll. PVC pipe is not very heavy, so it would not add much to the weight of the piece. I guess that I will go through my scrap pieces to see if I have some bits left that are long enough. I am more or less down to the end of what I have on hand.
Other than than, I am ready to glue the armature together. That would have been completed already if we had not had a slow-moving storm move in over the area. It has poured down rain for days. The weather radio has been going off at all hours of the day and night issuing flood warnings. I did not want to glue this up inside because the glue stinks to high heavens and I am pretty sure that it is toxic. I did not want the armature back in the house until the glue has cured.
I still have one other problem with gluing the armature outside. I might have worked on this out on the back deck. We have a little workbench there. However, last Sunday, my husband and I learned that we have a mother skunk and her kits living under the deck. She did not spray us, but I am not sure that I want to be dragging materials out onto the deck at the moment. I guess I will have to work in the shed.
When I started this project, I was thinking that the doll would be about forty-eight inches tall. I was wrong. At this point, with the armature attached to a base, the doll is going to be as tall or taller than I am by the time the head and neck is mounted. There is extra length in the legs because the hip area is not directly at the bottom of the torso. By the time the body is shaped, some of that leg area now exposed will not be visible. The forearms are also longer than normal because the measurement also takes the area for the hand from wrist to to the beginning of the knuckles.
Last blog post I had written that I would put in the measurements for the armature on this post, so here they are. I will issue a caveat on these measurements. This is my first attempt at making a life- sized doll. Things may change as the project progresses. I may find out that something does not work as I thought it was going to work and could be changed. So take the measurements with a grain of salt, and work your armature to your own satisfaction. I will also give the number of connectors used in the doll. Keep in mind that some of the connectors need not be used if you can find a four way connector to attach the neck, shoulders, and spine. If you are using the four way connector, you will also have to add length to the spine to account for not using the second three way connector. Also, I chose 45 degree angle connectors at the shoulders because it better suited the pose I plan for the doll. You could choose to use 90 degree connectors. The picture should give you some insight into how the armature is put together.
I used 1/2 inch diameter pieces of pipe for this project because that is what we had at the house. In short pieces it is fairly rigid. This is an experiment, so I cannot say for certain that it will be strong enough, although I believe it will be. This is an indoor piece. If you are planning to make this for an outdoor project, you might want to consider using a larger diameter pipe for added strength against the wind. The base is for an indoor project. For an outdoor project you might want to forego the base and pound rebar into the ground and set the pipes on them. A normal base would just have four pieces of pipe and four 90 degree connectors. My base has extra connectors because of the pose I plan for the doll and because I was working with scraps and needed to connect shorter pieces of pipes.
Legs: 2 -28 inch pieces (5.08 cm.)
Hips: 1- 3 way connector 2 -1& 1/2 inch pieces of pipe (1.27 cm)
Spine: 13 and 3/4 inches (34.92 cm), 2- 1 & 3/4 inch pieces of pipe for lower edge of rectangle (4.44 cm) 2 - 90० connectors, 2 - 4 inch pipes (10.16 cm)
Shoulders: , 3 - 3 way connectors (Two of these attach the ribs to the shoulders. The center connector will be the connection to the neck and head.) 2- 1 & 1/2 inch pieces of pipe (3.81 cm.),
2- 3 and 3/4 inch pieces of pipe 9.525 cm), 2 - 45० connectors
Upper arm: 2 - 10 inch pipes (25.4 cm.)
Forearm and portion of hand: 12 inches (30.48 cm.)
Base: wooden base 24 inches wide x 12 inches deep x 1 inch high plus connectors as needed for your project, strap hangers and screws to secure the pipe to the wooden base
Check back next Sunday afternoon for an update on this project.
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