The customer also requested a spitter on this cute little guy. I've installed a number of spitters on different figures over the years, but had never installed one on an Eddie head before. Eddie's head, compared to other vent heads is somewhat cramped for space between the eye tray and the top of the jaw. You wouldn't know it to look at the outside of the head, but that's where sculptures in the clay stage can be deceiving. I was going for compact and cute when I sculpted the original face, but wasn't aware of any space limitations until a finished casting was made. Here's a couple photos showing how I met the challenge. . .
I had to carve away some material on the bottom of the eye tray (I custom cast those in the shop so they perfectly fit each Eddie head I make and the eye distance is spot on), and some off of the top back end of the jaw. The brass telescoping tubes going to the upper lip area are all neatly soldered, and the assembly is also soldered at the brass support rod (which is also the winker return spring rod). This makes everything secure and you can attache the hose without problems or things moving on you.
In the last photo here, you can see that the other reason to design the spitter plumbing so that everything is to one side is so that it does not interfere with any of the other mechanics inside the head. It was fun and gratifying to see the finished results after planning it out in my head. A side note: even though the spitter is at an angle for the most part, the end where the water actually comes out is pointed straight. This was a very good spitter and shoots about 13 to 15 feet. Great for performing at a kids show! I can hear them laughing and squealing now! (grin)
Mike Brose
