Making Talos Awakes – Part 6 of 20
The feet were the next issue to resolve. Over time they had suffered significant deterioration resulting in extensive structural distortion. Despite their condition, I wanted to preserve as much of Ray’s original work as possible, rather than rebuilding from scratch. So, to gauge the original form and dimensions of each foot, I referred to the limited film footage available and made a careful comparison of the feet to determine the necessary corrections. I then cut out the misaligned sections and glued in replacement grafts cut from donor resin casts and set them into their correct positions.
I left the fine tuning of the foot structure and final wax modelling until a later point, as the fine detail would be at risk of damage during additional reconstructive works to the hands and arms.
Extensive left foot reconstruction
Of the two, Talos’ left foot had deteriorated the most. Over time it had tipped inwards and spread, increasing in overall size relative to the right. In order to correct these issues I made the following structural repairs:
Outside of foot
First I cut out and replaced the sideward spread of the outside of the foot in two stages.
Mark-up, excision and graft phases of the left outer side foot transplants
Heel transplant
Secondly I excised the left heel as it was raised despite the foot being flat on the ground. Then I grafted a replacement into the correct position.
Heel marked up for removal | Heel removed and replacement prepared
Resetting the ankle
Thirdly, as the ankle had distorted forward, pushing the foot out of alignment, I constructed a jig to note the relative positions, removed the foot and reset it in the correct position.
Left foot removed prior to repositioning | Foot super-glued into position prior to epoxy-resin gluing
Toe shortening
In comparison with the right foot, the toes of the left were longer by 3mm. So I removed four toes, trimmed both sections by the required amount and then reassembled.
Toes marked up for shortening | Foot after toe shortening
Inside of foot grafts
Finally, to correct the inwards lean of the inside of the foot, I excised the affected area and replaced it in three sections.
Misaligned inner side of left foot sections marked up | Identified area excised | Grafts glued into place
Right foot reconstruction
Resetting the ankle
Talos’ right ankle had curved backwards pushing the foot out of position by a few millimetres. As with the left foot repair, I removed the foot and repositioned it using a jig to note the relative positions.
Right foot removed prior to repositioning | Ankle reassembled
Right heel and big toe
Like the left, the right heel was raised. So, I excised and replaced the right heel and a section of the sandal to facilitate a later rebuild of the big toe.
Right heel marked up for removal | Heel graft glued in | Sandal big toe graft
Foot note
On both feet the heels had distorted upwards into an anatomically incorrect position. Although in the film there is a shot at 35:57 (see below) where the heel does appear to be in this position, this does not match the large scale model of the foot at 41:02 (shown in the post banner).
On balance we felt that the best course was to move the heels into the anatomically correct position described by the large scale model.
Jason and the Argonauts film still time code 35:57
These sculptures were hand made by Raven Armoury in association with The Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation.
Based on effects characters created by Ray Harryhausen for a Charles H. Schneer Production.
TM & © Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
