Tape and plaster, Part I

A couple weekends ago, Shelly and I headed down to Tampa.

There were a few reasons for this. Shelly just graduated with her undergraduate degree (yay!) and has a few weeks free before going into grad school. It offered an opportunity to spend time with friends before the move. The new Star Trek opened on the IMAX theater in Tampa. And joreth needed to be covered in papier mache and plaster.

Each of these things could easily be a post in its own right, and likely may be. In fact, I am now in possession of a photograph of datan0de, my former archnemisis, which may put to rest once and for all the debate about whether or not capturing a person’s image also captures his soul; if that photograph doesn’t define datan0de quintessential essence, then nothing does.

But I digress.

The plaster and papier mache was actually pragmatic, not kinky. joreth is in the process, you see, of constructing some dress dummies of herself which are suitable for creating tight-fitting clothing, and so we needed to make a cast of her body.

Strictly practical, right? Not salacious at all, honest. Nevertheless, the rest of this entry, with pictures, is probably not safe for work.

joreth took two approaches to making the cast. The first involved using strips of tape with water-soluble glue on the back, kind of like papier mache without the mess, applied over clothing and then cut away. The second involved strips of cheesecloth impregnated with plaster and applied over bare skin, and was considerably messier. That endeavor, which is even less safe for work, will be detailed later.

As it turns out, the strips of paper worked fairly well, after a couple of false starts related to proper wetting technique–the strips must be wet before being applied, but there’s a delicate balancing act. Too wet and the glue dissolves; not wet enough and it doesn’t stick, or sticks to fingers but not to fabric.

   

The general idea, as some Googling and a bit of trial and error showed, is to start with long strips right below and above the breasts in the front, then long strips crossing between them, then a lot of short radial strips around the breast.

This is probably the first time I have ever written about short radial strips around the breast, just for the record.

Failure to do this results in loss of definition of the breasts. This is probably the first time I’ve ever written about loss of definition of the breasts, too.

The back starts between the shoulder blades with short criscrossed pieces, to preserve the fidelity of the contours of the body.

After that, it gets easier:

   

Just lots and lots of sticking of short bits of gummy wet tape all over the place. The stuff sets fairly quickly, and becomes rigid when it’s set–it really wouldn’t be too much work at all to adopt this as a form of bondage.

The only tricky parts, really are the butt cheeks.

   

It took some practice to work it out, but the basic idea is simple: Long bits of tape for places that aren’t very curvy, short bits of tape for places that are. Start in the middle of the bit of tape and smooth it out toward the ends, rather than doing what seems more intuitive and starting at the end of each bit of tape.

You need about two or three layers of tape. Decorating it afterward is strictly optional:

   

Yes, the writing means something. 147 bonus geek points, redeemable for valuable prizes, to anyone who recognizes the alphabet; you can click on the picture on the right for a larger version if you need to.


Once the strips of paper tape are dry and hard, it comes time to remove the cast, which is almost as much fun as putting it on.

A pair of bandage scissors (or EMT scissors, as they’re sometimes called) comes in valuable here. The idea is to make two straight cuts, one along each side of the casting, all the way up the body.

God, I love my life.

   

Once this is done, the casting can be pried off the body and then fastened back together with more strips of paper tape:


At this point, it’s time to make the legs.

Making the legs requires a new tight-fitting leotard, which will also be destroyed when the process is over. A bit of experimentation showed that starting in the middle of the leg, just above the knee, and working upward, then returning to the knee and working downward, seemed to be easiest:

   

The paper tape gets rigid quickly, so does a very nice job of restricting motion. God, the perverted uses I can think of for this!

We took the tape all the way down to the base of joreth‘s heel, so the finished cast included her ankles and part of her foot.

Making a series of hash marks with a magic marker before cutting off the cast helps line it up again for reassembly.

   

Then it’s just a question of peeling the two halves away and re-attaching them with more strips of tape.

   

And once reassembled, the final dress dummy looks like this!

An additional 32 bonus kink points to the person who comes up with the perviest use for the final result.

92 thoughts on “Tape and plaster, Part I

  1. Most variations like this I’ve seen are made with duct tape (google “duct tape dummy”, “duct tape corset”). But I guess the principle is the same!

    • Duct Tape dummies don’t hold the shape as well as the paper tape, which hardens into a rigid form (I’ve tried it twice before I made the paper tape one). Although both types need to be stuffed with stuffing of some sort, the Duct Tape forms do not follow the contours of the body as well as the Paper Tape because the Paper Tape dries hard in whatever shape you put it on.

      This is much closer to the old Victorian model of dress forms, and holds up MUCH better when trying to squeeze it into small, form-fitting, spandex clothes.

        • Theoretically, it should, but it leaked out all over when I tried it on the Duct Tape dummy and, since the Duct Tape didn’t hold the shape very well, the foam didn’t force it back into shape.

          I had trouble with the last 4 cans of the foam that I bought, so, in a fit of impatience, I stuffed the torso of the Paper Tape dummy with newspaper and plastic bags (it was what I had in the house at the time) and that fills it quite sufficiently, as long as I pack it in there.

        • No, the expanding insulation foam does not work well at all! After a few days, the foam actually contracts and, since it’s now thoroughly stuck to the insides of the dummy, it pulls the form inwards with it as it contracts.

          Totally ruined my legs, now I have to make another pair this weekend.

  2. Most variations like this I’ve seen are made with duct tape (google “duct tape dummy”, “duct tape corset”). But I guess the principle is the same!

    • The gum sticks quite aggressively to the skin and doesn’t dry or pull off, so you can’t slip the edge of the scissors underneath to cut it off.

      Plus, the gum also gummies up the blades. So it’s much better all around to stick the tape to clothing. I recommend a round of thrift-store shopping. Get a snug-fitting shirt, but not so snug that it can’t be pressed into the valley between the breasts, and get “legging” style pants (not tights, not sweatpants). I bought mine for cheap at Walmart.

      I plan to do a full step-by-step on my own website soon (http://www.theinnbetween.net) or you can do a Google search for “paper tape dress form” and use the Instructables website instructions that I used.

    • I was having loads of fun … until about the 8th hour of standing still on hard tile and the 2nd hour of shivering under cold plaster!

      Seriously, though, it was fun.

  3. Ooo, ‘scuse me sir, for the kink points.

    “Ok, so this is exactly what I am going to do to your body”

    This is the basic idea. It’s the waiting for something to happen to you that’s the most tense part, which really develops the parts with actual contact. Explaining with actions on the mould exactly what is to come would be delicious for both sub and dom. Yum yum.

  4. Ooo, ‘scuse me sir, for the kink points.

    “Ok, so this is exactly what I am going to do to your body”

    This is the basic idea. It’s the waiting for something to happen to you that’s the most tense part, which really develops the parts with actual contact. Explaining with actions on the mould exactly what is to come would be delicious for both sub and dom. Yum yum.

  5. Hm, runes remind me of something done in Dragon Magazine A Lloooooonnngg time ago when they published Dwarvish alphabets. I’d have to dig out my DVD archive of issues to be sure.

  6. Hm, runes remind me of something done in Dragon Magazine A Lloooooonnngg time ago when they published Dwarvish alphabets. I’d have to dig out my DVD archive of issues to be sure.

  7. Duct Tape dummies don’t hold the shape as well as the paper tape, which hardens into a rigid form (I’ve tried it twice before I made the paper tape one). Although both types need to be stuffed with stuffing of some sort, the Duct Tape forms do not follow the contours of the body as well as the Paper Tape because the Paper Tape dries hard in whatever shape you put it on.

    This is much closer to the old Victorian model of dress forms, and holds up MUCH better when trying to squeeze it into small, form-fitting, spandex clothes.

  8. The gum sticks quite aggressively to the skin and doesn’t dry or pull off, so you can’t slip the edge of the scissors underneath to cut it off.

    Plus, the gum also gummies up the blades. So it’s much better all around to stick the tape to clothing. I recommend a round of thrift-store shopping. Get a snug-fitting shirt, but not so snug that it can’t be pressed into the valley between the breasts, and get “legging” style pants (not tights, not sweatpants). I bought mine for cheap at Walmart.

    I plan to do a full step-by-step on my own website soon (http://www.theinnbetween.net) or you can do a Google search for “paper tape dress form” and use the Instructables website instructions that I used.

  9. I was having loads of fun … until about the 8th hour of standing still on hard tile and the 2nd hour of shivering under cold plaster!

    Seriously, though, it was fun.

  10. I don’t recognize it at all. I know most real-world alphabets and can recognize most real-world non-alphabetic writing systems, but this isn’t any of those. It looks artificial anyway. It’s not any dwarven, elvish, or draconic runes that I’ve ever seen. It’s not Klingon, Interlac (DC universe), Basic Script (Star Wars), Aurebesh (Star Wars), or either version of Kryptonian. It resembles Pigpen Cipher, but it can’t be that because it combines both diagonal and non-diagonal lines and there’s no dots. Hope somebody guesses it because I’d kind of like to know.

  11. I don’t recognize it at all. I know most real-world alphabets and can recognize most real-world non-alphabetic writing systems, but this isn’t any of those. It looks artificial anyway. It’s not any dwarven, elvish, or draconic runes that I’ve ever seen. It’s not Klingon, Interlac (DC universe), Basic Script (Star Wars), Aurebesh (Star Wars), or either version of Kryptonian. It resembles Pigpen Cipher, but it can’t be that because it combines both diagonal and non-diagonal lines and there’s no dots. Hope somebody guesses it because I’d kind of like to know.

  12. I was wondering why you had Twittered about covering in papier-mache, and what possible purpose it could serve. Not nearly as kinky as I had thought. Boo.
    Also, I have no idea what alphabet that is, though it looks familiar. No geek points for me.

  13. I was wondering why you had Twittered about covering in papier-mache, and what possible purpose it could serve. Not nearly as kinky as I had thought. Boo.
    Also, I have no idea what alphabet that is, though it looks familiar. No geek points for me.

  14. i’ve no idea what the alphabet is, but i think the arm is labelled “arm” and the back says “this is [joreth]s body she is damn sexy =)”. the front is too small to decipher.
    (props to my boyfriend for having the google-fu to find joreth’s real name. and for being certain that the crooked \ on the back was a misprint, not a new character.)

    so, do we get geek points anyway? 😛

    • You’re correct about what it says, so you definitely get half points for that. The alphabet is really obscure, and I doubt anyone’s going to get that one.

  15. i’ve no idea what the alphabet is, but i think the arm is labelled “arm” and the back says “this is [joreth]s body she is damn sexy =)”. the front is too small to decipher.
    (props to my boyfriend for having the google-fu to find joreth’s real name. and for being certain that the crooked \ on the back was a misprint, not a new character.)

    so, do we get geek points anyway? 😛

  16. You’re correct about what it says, so you definitely get half points for that. The alphabet is really obscure, and I doubt anyone’s going to get that one.

  17. Theoretically, it should, but it leaked out all over when I tried it on the Duct Tape dummy and, since the Duct Tape didn’t hold the shape very well, the foam didn’t force it back into shape.

    I had trouble with the last 4 cans of the foam that I bought, so, in a fit of impatience, I stuffed the torso of the Paper Tape dummy with newspaper and plastic bags (it was what I had in the house at the time) and that fills it quite sufficiently, as long as I pack it in there.

  18. I’ve been doing a bit of body casting lately too, using alginate and plaster bandages… most likely the second process you’ll be writing about. Looking forward to comparing notes!

  19. I’ve been doing a bit of body casting lately too, using alginate and plaster bandages… most likely the second process you’ll be writing about. Looking forward to comparing notes!

    • Well done, and MacMame FTW! Many moons ago, a web site (now defunct, I believe) called Cat’s Paw posted the Fardraut font from Xevious/Solvalou. As far as I know it has vanished completely from the internet, so I consider myself lucky to have gotten a copy when it was still available. I tried to memorize it, but lacking any real motivation to do so I never got beyond the number system (which is base 16!), which is why I’m referring to the laptop in the pix.

      Really though, it was all just an excuse to write on ‘s lovely body. 🙂

  20. Well done, and MacMame FTW! Many moons ago, a web site (now defunct, I believe) called Cat’s Paw posted the Fardraut font from Xevious/Solvalou. As far as I know it has vanished completely from the internet, so I consider myself lucky to have gotten a copy when it was still available. I tried to memorize it, but lacking any real motivation to do so I never got beyond the number system (which is base 16!), which is why I’m referring to the laptop in the pix.

    Really though, it was all just an excuse to write on ‘s lovely body. 🙂

  21. Correct. The font’s name is CZP_Fardraut, and I downloaded it years ago from a now-defunct web site called Cat’s Paw (hence the “CZP”. “Fardraut” is an in-game reference.).

    Since I may be the only person on the planet who still has a copy, and given the high likelihood that I’ll be blown to atoms by your or one of your agents in the not-too-distant future, let me know if either of you would like me to send it to you.

  22. No, the expanding insulation foam does not work well at all! After a few days, the foam actually contracts and, since it’s now thoroughly stuck to the insides of the dummy, it pulls the form inwards with it as it contracts.

    Totally ruined my legs, now I have to make another pair this weekend.

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