31
Jan
Nightmare Before Christmas Zombie Bass Player Restoration
Restoration of an original Halloweentown Zombie Bass Player Stop-Motion Puppet
This Zombie Bass Player puppet from the Nightmare Before Christmas was in fairly good condition especially considering its age, material and the fact that it is a stop motion prop, handled extensively during filming. Many times with stop motion puppets the repeated movements on set can weaken the delicate foam latex, which causes damage and cracks. So it is always wonderful to see puppet like this Tim Burton movie prop in such great shape years later.
As with any movie prop restoration, we stabilized the exposed foam in the tears and cracks and patched any of the areas where the foam surface or textures were missing. We carefully filled in the areas and sculpted the new material to blend seamlessly into the original material. Those repairs were all hand painted to match the aging original material so that there would be no stark contrast between the original material and the repairs. The paint matching process is a very tedious and painstaking process as each tiny touch up must perfectly match the aging paint and various colors and shades on the prop. Additionally, two tiny black dots of paint were added to recreate the missing iris’ on the puppet’s eyes. The whole stop motion prop was then sealed to help preserve the aging foam within it over time.
To finish the display we created a small simple themed base, which was given a cobble stone texture and dark stone paint scheme, so it looks like it came straight out of Halloweentown. We’re always honored to be asked to preserve pieces of Hollywood history! We’re huge Tim Burton fans at the studio, and were thrilled to have the chance to conserve this bit of one of our favorite films!
Have an original movie or television prop in need of restoration or a unique display? Email or call today and let’s discuss your project!