Making a Foam Latex Puppet: Part III

So my second attempt at foaming was successful, no wrinkly puppet here!

I used the same amounts of foam base, foaming and curing agent, and gelling agent as I did the first time around, starting with 75g of the base. I mixed everything for much less time, about 2:30 total. I mixed the foam at a high speed for about 45 sec so that it didn't fluff up too much since I wanted a denser puppet. I then mixed at lowest speed for the rest of the time to break down the air bubbles in the batter and refine the foam. I filled my mold halves, placed my armature inside and baked it for three hours at 180°F.

Here's the puppet after I trimmed off the flashing! The denser foam worked better for a skinnier puppet. My foam was on bit the runny side when I first filled the mold halves, so I placed my armature in easily, but I ended up with a couple of air bubbles on the surface of the puppet. It was also much colder and less humid when I mixed this batch so I think for next time, I'll add about 30 sec to a min extra during the refining period so the foam is a bit thicker.

Overall, I'm really happy with how this puppet came out. I didn't realize how much the quality of the foam changed depending on the temperature and humidity and how just 30-60 sec of extra mixing can affect the density. But the more puppets I make, the better I'll get at anticipating how the foam will react! Crocheting the exterior is next!