Continuing My Armature

So To update everyone on what I've been doing here, is a large/random post of my continued build of the Armature. Currently I'm still working on the Armature so heres what I've been doing :)

For the hands of my puppet they are replaceable so that i can remove them if they somehow break while animating. Also they will be cast in silicon so that i can get a nice finish on them. 

The feet were quit tricky, mainly because i wanted to have both Tie downs and magnets while being able to fix the feet firmly to the entire puppet. so below is a picture of what i came up with, and you will see the reason why a few pictures down :)

At the same time I milliput the main components of the armatures KandS together to help strength it and to also pad it out. 

Once the Milliput had dried, i sanded it down to create a flat surface then began to add some balsa wood. This was to help with the badding out, as it is a light and versatile material. 

Here you can see the entire armature with the complete hands and feet which I will explain a lil further down.

Once all of the hard padding out was done, i added soft foam to the armature to pad out the body even further. I did this using impact glue and a pair of scissors, the soft foam helps keep the puppet flexible and slightly replicate an actual body with its "squishiness" :P 

So FINALLY the feet, unfortunately i was to occupied to take step by step photos. HOWEVER i can briefly mention how i ended up with what i have below. 

Well the reason for making a tie down in the same place as the plate, was due to me wanting to have moveable toes as i feel the character may need them. I was able to make a small wire frame which has a large moving toe and the other section being for the 4 smaller ones. Once i had a basic frame i added a small piece of KandS on top of the tie down nut and used epoxy glue to secure it, then i also heat shrank and glued it into the foots frame.  Once dry and secure, i covered the foot in milliput to help strengthen the epoxy and keep it together while animating. 

I then used cotton string to wrap around the hands and feet as this helps the silicon stick to the wire. 

Also this is just a picture of me sanding down bead to use for the eyes of my puppet :)