Over the first couple of weeks of April 2025 Nathandriel had facial surgery.
His old lips had been damaged when the frame collapsed and because of their construction (body filler over newspaper) could not be repaired.
Kristy modeled a new pair of lips in play-doh and air dry clay, Ben poured latex over them until a cast had been made, then a plaster support block was cast around the outside of the latex.
Using fine glass fabric and gel coat (from ECF - great company to deal with) a thin shell was laid up (not well - about 4/10 but good enough!), reinforced behind with a dose of P40 to give a little more strength for durability.
Kristy painted the new lips and they are now bolted (brief excitement with a drill, threaded rod and even more P40) on to his head - giving the intriguing possibility of inter-changeable lips depending on the event. It is only a possibility though. Removing them has not been attempted and may prove tricky.
We have attempted to keep with Nathandriel's look and feel - his previous lips were various shades of red over the years, but always a prominent feature of his face despite not being entirely accurate as a model of lips. His new lips are just as prominent and a much more realistic - we feel that his look has been maintained and his Patriarch agrees.
