Rebel in the Making - Part 6

After the dremel session on his head and neck, I went to town smoothing all over with sandpaper. First with 80 grit, followed up with 320 grit. I also went over the areas shaped by my fingers, as there will always be some lumps and bumps when you shape things by hand. After a good sanding, I rinsed him and let him dry. You really want a good grip when you put down fresh epoxy and any dust will affect a good bond. 

Next up was attaching his ears. I wanted to get them on before I had any epoxy curing anywhere. I use a method I first heard about from Sarah Rose. Using superglue (never gel) and baking soda you can create a very strong bond very quickly from the chemical reaction they create. I've heard it can break down over time, so I always bury it inside epoxy. I like to get the individual-sized super glue from Dollar Tree.

I played around with ear placement and stuck them on, one drop of super glue, followed by a pinch of baking soda, then another drop of super glue, and on and on until it's firm enough I can't snap them off with my fingers. Give them a good tug to check their strength. 

I look at it from several angles. 

Then added epoxy around the base of one ear, including all the details.

Decided it wasn't right, so ripped them off. 

Followed by grinding down most of the built-up soda glue, 

gluing them on and pulling them off several times, 

and gluing an ear to my finger at least once. 

Finally happy with ear placement several hours later, 

I started adding epoxy. I touched up areas of his neck, 

then worked on one small area at a time around his ears and head.

So much detail was lost when I removed his forelock, 

that much of the bony eye structure needed to be rebuilt.

One side mostly done. 

Sanding down the seam on the front of his face also flattened out that area, so I added a bit more roundness for nasal bones as well. I also worked on his lips, trying to add some wrinkles. I think those may need to be sanded off and redone, we'll see. 

I see a lot of lumpy areas where the epoxy wasn't fresh enough to feather into the surrounding areas. I'll start by sanding, then will see if it needs a touch of epoxy or just a little modeling paste during prepping. 

You can see all the little piles of manure made with leftover epoxy after each batch I made. Now I'll let him cure, then reassess what tweaking he still needs on his head and neck before moving on to his legs and tail(s).