More Body Work

Today I spoke to Will Strange regarding the backdrop material around the PEZ logos. He said that the minor flaws on the edges really don't matter as they are barely visible when painted and given the scale of the project as a whole there will be little attention paid to them if any. I must admit I was unsure at first but having thought about it I am going to continue with the existing pieces in place and if worst comes to worst replace them at a later date after gold painting.

I spent most of the day sanding back flawed areas and filling gaps on the body with Goldstop body filler (above) which I find gives a much smoother finish that standard Easy 1. Once sanded back I added additional detailing in the form of mould seam lines as they appear on the standard dispensers. I really think it’s this attention to detail that makes pieces like this complete to the viewer without really noticing them. Either that or my desire to be exact in the replication of large scale objects rather than idealising them by removing such details.

I gave further thought to the mechanism which I intend to experiment on tomorrow by laser cutting further sample parts for testing. I definitely think I need to have minimal variables by having a simpler design than the cog's I have previously tried. One idea that I had was to use a '2-way' rubber strip that allows smooth flow when moved one way but friction when moved the opposite. I can't think where exactly I have seen this type of rubber before but it is similar to that used on window squeegees. Will suggested if I can't find it anywhere then I should make a hard mould then a cast of it in silicon. This could work and would also allow me to make it exactly to the desired size.

The benefit of a 2-way strip is that it will push the card out with the motion friction but not create equal friction as the sculpt section returns to its upright position.