13
Jul
Fantastic Four The Thing Costume Display
Life sized display for an original Fantastic Four the Thing movie costume worn by Michael Chiklis.
Our client had an original “the Thing” movie costume from the Fantastic Four series. The costume consisted of a large foam latex torso, foam latex head appliances (and lifecast from the production), even Michael Chiklis’ special effects teeth, as well as production made, but unpainted hands and feet. The client wanted a life sized custom mannequin to display the costume in a dynamic and fun way.
The mask/prosthetics came to us on a rigid polyfoam life cast of Michael Chiklis. With the client’s permission we used that as our mannequin’s head because what could be better to support the head appliances than the head they were created for? We started by first mounting Chiklis’ costume dentures as well as a pair of custom glass eyes to match the actor’s into the life cast. Eye lids and the surrounding skin were then carefully sculpted and painted to blend the eyes to the face appliance.
We used pictures of Chiklis in the film as inspiration for his ready to spring into action pose. We then had to create a customized fiberglass mannequin in a pose that also fit the costume the way Chiklis did originally. Using soft foam, we built up the mannequin to fit within the costume and carved the foam into muscle shapes to create the look of the bulky legs (which were not present). Since the replica pants that we used for The Things uniform were so stretchy and form fitting it was especially important that the foam used on his legs was built up to form a realistic anatomy of the character’s legs. We then painted the hands and feet, using the torso to make sure that the colors blended seamlessly. We also created a faux stone carved foam base with cracks radiating from his feet, as if the hero made of rock just jumped into battle for some, “Clobberin’ Time!”
Want to turn your original movie costume into a life-sized statue or museum display? Email or call today and let’s discuss your project!
Watch Michael Chicklis bring the Thing to life!
