Lengthening a Back

 Took these pictures while customizing Bella Nadell (Nadell was my grandmother's middle name, which she hated but I adore!). I never got around to putting together a blog post on it 

until now (because what else am I going to do during the Super Bowl?)

I was planning to add metal shoes, which made her look like she was on stilts. Even though she was already (mostly) customized and prepped, I knew I wouldn't be happy with her if I didn't take the plunge and lengthen her back. I probably could have gone longer, but at the time it looked like a HUGE change. 

 I started by cutting her in half with a dremel cutting wheel.

I found the path that would cut through the least amount of detail and marked it before making the cut. There is no other reason why I did it on an angle. I wanted to preserve all the original detail so that it blended together without looking like she'd had surgery. 

Then I used a sanding drum to sand down the edge of the cut. This makes for a 

smoother transition when adding in the epoxy later. 

Since she had some thicker areas of resin inside the barrel, I was able to drill a hole for 

wires and set them with soda glue (baking soda and super glue). 

Close-up with the wires installed inside the barrel. 

Eyeballing it for proportions and balancing her correctly. 

Then I tried something new. Using Loctite Tite Foam, I filled her inside cavity. (The bottle can really only be used once, so I also filled some areas around the house!) Use this stuff in a ventilated space. 

I sprayed it in the garage and let set before I brought her inside. 

The stuff just keeps expanding. 

Much more so than you expect!

Then I started carving away the excess. 

This is sticky, messy stuff. I'm not a fan.

I carved it down so that it was below the surface of the resin. I didn't want any of this to be on the outside surface of the model. I then filled that void with gapaxio (a 2 part epoxy), let cure, sanded my arms off for a seamless transition, and prepped for eons. Somehow there are no pictures of those steps... 

I also reworked her neck and mane before I painted her. If you're not happy with something, 

sometimes it's better to take a step backward and get it right before moving on. I've actually resculpted the neck of a completely finished model and repainted her (she went on to Champ at NAN, worth it!).

The finished Bella Nadell. You can see how the shoes make her appear even taller. 

Top Ten at NAN this summer. So glad I took the time to make those changes!