Car Chassis
I co-built and assembled the car chassis with Mary Mihalko. The car is 54” long. The body panels were a mix of 3D prints and cast urethane parts, bringing the car’s total weight to over 60 lbs and requiring a sturdy structure for consistent animation.
I started by making a grid with the measurements where the car body would sit.
We placed the car parts on the base and drilled all the holes for attachment. Then we cut out the main body of the chassis with a jigsaw.
After that, we attached the wheels and wheel rigging.
Then we added on a slightly angled front and back panel.
Then we cut the panels to match the car’s shape.
Wheel Mold and Casting
I built a mother mold for a 3D-printed wheel. I assisted with planning the wheel rigging during the molding process.
I constructed the box with MDF walls and 3/4 birch tabs. I set up the mold so it would be cast with the rigging for the axel of the car.
I clayed up the wheel, tapering it down from the bottom wheel, so it keyed better into the box. The mold was designed so the seam was in the back, ensuring it was not visible in the wheel’s texture.
Then the mold was injected on an upright stand with urethane plastic.
Car Body Weathering
I did some base weathering on the car and some other small details, like the worn-off sticker and the bumpers, but I was not the only person responsible for painting the car throughout the film.
I also weathered the hood and trunk to look water-damaged, as well as other wear marks on these parts of the car. I did this through a series of washings, speckling, and dry brushing.
Radio
I made a 50% larger-scale car radio for an insert shot that matched the scale of the puppet’s hand. The radio needed to have a functional knob and channel wire. It is primarily constructed from MDF, with propoxy for details and polycarbonate for the rigging.
The station window was made by layering a small sheet of PETG in an indent between the MDF base and the top radio panel. Another indent was carved into the back of the base to fit a laser-cut acrylic sheet, which would display the radio channels and house the moving wire for changing stations.
This was achieved by creating a small horizontal cut in the acrylic so that a T-shaped wire could pass through and be secured to a base to tension it in place, and for the animators to guide it side to side.
The whole radio and dashboard base was painted to match the smaller-scale version used for all the car interior shots.
Side Mirrors
I created the car’s side mirrors from carved polyurethane foam using mechanical drawings. After it was carved, it was sealed with paint and molded.
Tess Smigel 