I don't know how many here are real fans of the Frankenstein monster as I am, more specifically, the monster portrayed by Glenn Strange in the 1948 film, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. We all know Boris Karloff was great, but from the time I saw Glenn Strange in the two previous movies, and finally in the last film with the new makeup appliances, I totally went nuts for him to the point of trying to build a respectable facsimile of him.
Finally, at the age of 45 years old, and with the grateful assistance of my wife and other sources, I've come very close to having my Frankenstein dimensionally to what he appeared to be in the movie. Below is the latest photo of him with completed padding work, which was not an easy task. There wasn't room for me to get in the photo to give him scale, but he stands 7'-2" tall and can be removed from the custom pedestal I made for him so he can stand on the floor. His jacket is size 52, shoulder width is 24" and his pants are size 46.
We've also acquired the elusive or iconic book and the only one in existence, "The Secrets Of Life & Death" by Dr. Frankenstein.
Thanks folks. He'll look much better as I evolve the clothing. Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi were also great. I have a wonderful and very rare Lugosi bust as he appeared in Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.
LOL...Morbius, you know how it goes, a piece from here and a piece from there. At least I can say he's Made in America.
I always intended the sleeves and the pants to look short as they do. But the jacket itself needs to be longer down towards the waist by maybe another 4" As the shoulders become more padded, it causes the jacket to rise up. So a larger jacket is a must. Thanks for your positive comments.
Richie, I'm anxiously waiting the how to on the body. Several years ago, I purchased the universal studios licensed frankenstein mask and hands. I have never used them, mostly because I wanted to have a life size frank as a centerpiece prop. I keep saying every year that I'm going to build it but never do. This has really inspired me. It looks awesome!
The photo below was sort of a prototype Frankenstein I built in order to work the bugs out of the design. Believe me, there were numerous things that had to be taken into account with it due to the size. Is this the Universal mask you have or do you have one of the higher quality Calendar versions?
The best part about the one in the photo below was the nearly full length arms. I don't recall the artists full name, but I think his last name is Burnett. The arms came from the same molds as the ones used in Disney World. I believe they have an actor walk around as Frankenstein down there. I didn't use those arms for this new one because I wanted the fingers to be reaching outwards a bit more. But they can easily be worn by a real person for a costume
I did step into the photo with this one. I'm 6' and 178lbs, so if you think this Frankenstein is big and tall, my new one is far taller and wider.
Mine is the Universal studios licensed mask. It has the hair, eyes are open a bit with viewing slits. The difference I see with yours is the color. Mine has a greenish blue complexion as do the arms. The arms are long as well, and go almost to the elbow. It has a lot of room in the head cavity so to wear it is a bit uncomfotable and you need to pad it out quite a bit. It look really out of place on an average sized person, so building an appropriate sized prop would be the best way to properly display it, IMO.
The Frankenstein looks good, but he's not as scary as the mustached monster standing next to him. Did you make that one out of mache? Or how did you get the wig head to look that scary?
Fantastic.
I am a big fan of the original Frankenstein movie with Karloff. I loved the A&C movies when I was a kid but I don't think I have seen those in a long time.
The reason I asked about which head you have is because of the observation you've already discovered. Using a head that is actually designed to wear will cause you a great deal of difficulty trying to get the proportions correct. As an example, I found a very closeup photo of that prototype Franky I built and am posted it for you. The proportions are so far off, it's almost comical to look at.
The body on it is not as large as my final version, but it is much larger than a normal man. In fact, that particular mask was so large, I knew immediately I'd never be able to use it and get the scale correct. If you decide you really want to try and build a good life size franky, I think you'd be much better off getting one of those Karloff calendar heads and use your existing arms with it. The calendar heads are not designed to wear, so they are much more in line with what would be considered life size and not oversize.
I had some time to return to my Glenn Strange Frankenstein project recently and made final improvements to him. Mostly to his suit and some additional padding work. He's now considered complete and the best I can do. He sports a 24" shoulder width and size 46" pants, so he's a big boy. I can't wait to display him for the TOT's this year. Thank you all again for your kind comments.
If there was only a way to get Lauriebeast's Bride of Frankenstein standing next to mine, that would make one great photo.
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