DIY Foam Rock Base For Blue Footed Booby Sculpture

The blue-footed booby sculpture is finally finished! And I got to play with a hot wire tool - I have been looking for an excuse to buy one for years. It was fun - but I'll never do it inside the house again, and I made some newby mistakes. But I think the blue-footed boobies look good on their new rock. 😊

👉 First video in this series - making the armature: https://youtu.be/mQuIxsv0gEA
👉 Second video - adding the Silky Smooth Air Dry Clay: https://youtu.be/lBKClTD2Ns0
👉 Third video - painting the Blue Footed Boobies: https://youtu.be/znn0iakeud8

Links mentioned in the video (some are affiliate links):

The hot wire tool I bought (not a recommendation - I've only used it once): https://amzn.to/3xDWgdp
Gorilla Construction Glue: https://amzn.to/3tHFfh5
Black Magic Craft glue video: https://youtu.be/YCIYMVOMBso
Sureform shaving tool link: https://amzn.to/3QzhZM2
Silky Smooth Air Dry Clay recipe: https://youtu.be/T9lOY1xNslw
VanOaksProps Monster Mud 2.0 video: https://youtu.be/6expS0ux-1E
Thinset mortar on Lowes: https://www.lowes.com/pd/MAPEI-Floor-Tile-50-lb-Gray-Powder-Thinset-Mortar/3743787
The Mapei grout I used instead: https://www.lowes.com/pd/MAPEI-Ultracolor-Plus-FA-10-lb-White-All-in-one-Grout/1000057505
Link to my waterproof garden gnome video series: https://youtu.be/xXSsRo59Kwo
Magic Sculpt: It seems to have disappeared off amazon.com, but you could use Apoxie Sculpt or any other epoxy clay instead.
Link to my daughter's video about mixing latex fur colors: https://youtu.be/bnDXY5nfckw

Video chapters:
0:00 Intro to Foam Rock Project
1:31 Deciding How Big to Make the Rock Base
1:46 Cutting the Foam with the Hot Knife
2:20 Why I Won't Be Using the Hot Knife in the House Again
2:42 Making a Hole for Sand
2:57 Sticking the Foam Blocks Together
4:00 Sculpting the Rock with Hot Wire Tool
6:08 Using Sureform Shaver to Rough Up the Foam
6:25 Cutting Off the Excess Glue
6:40 Adding Sand to Help Balance the Sculpture
6:52 Adding a Pressboard Base
7:19 Covering Cracks with Air Dry Clay
7:52 Mixing Monster Mud 2.0 Recipe from Van Oaks Props
9:29 Painting Foam Rock with Monster Mud 2.0
10:08 Adding a Few Spots of Iron Oxide
10:27 Adding a Dark Acrylic Glaze
10:57 Adding Lighter Grey to Bring Out the Texture of the Foam Rock
11:23 Adding Lighter Highlights
11:29 Mixing Magic Sculpt to Hold the Male Blue-Footed Booby on the Rock
12:18 Putting the Birds in Place on the Foam Base
14:05 The Finished Pair of Dancing Blue-Footed Boobies
14:16 Conclusions

Be sure to visit me at https://www.UltimatePaperMache.com