SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY

SPITTING IMAGE PUPPET RESTORATION

 

This is an original Sir Paul McCartney Spitting Image puppet bought to me by a private collector for restoration and conservation.

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Paul had obvious signs of deterioration around his eyes, nose, ears, neck seam line and some other spots on his face and neck. He had further deterioration on the inside. His mouth had caved in and lost its original shape and there were parts missing. His neck was weak and showing signs of sagging. As with all foam latex puppets and creature suits they are prone to distortion from being compressed in to boxes when they are flexible and then over a period of time adopting that shape.It is the nature of filming that it is often very hectic on set and these pieces are being handled and set down numerous times in various positions. A popular puppet can be used for several episodes which can lead to more deterioration. 

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As with all of the puppets my first task was to stabilise any loose material before beginning work.  I then worked on supporting the areas which were under strain, in this case his neck, in particular reinforcing inside the piece at the point of stress. I also reinforced his mouth internally in order for me to be able to rebuild and re-sculpt it. 

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His eye mechanism still worked but sadly it is too risky to keep using them when the puppet is fragile. This works best when the foam is new and flexible. I tried to rescue his eyelids but sadly they were too decayed inside so it was best to re-sculpt new ones and attached them to the main eye socket for support. 

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 As with all pieces I restored the head to be sympathetic to its authentic condition, maintaining the original features and paint work and ageing the restored areas appropriately.

 

The foam on the body was very fragile and will continue to deteriorate and crumble over the years. I built a bespoke stand for the body so that it could be interchangeable should the client wish to display the original body or store it for safe keeping and use the fibreglass former. 

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• Stabilised all of the delicate areas of the deterioration, eyes, nose, ears, various areas on the face.

• Removed his eyelids and tried to save them before re-sculpting new pieces.

• Rebuilt and reinforced his neck and mouth both externally and internally.

• Re-sculpted his mouth, nose and part of his lip which had deteriorated. 

• Built an interchangeable bespoke stand to hold his original puppet body and a removable fibreglass shoulder form with a padded garment underneath. 

• Fixed any fine cracks on his face and tested material below to ensure it was in tact. 

• Injected areas in his head to bind deteriorating material.

• Colour matched and repainted the areas restored.