During a building demolition, a six foot tall Betty Boop sculpture was found in the basement. A hand was missing & the paint was badly cracked. She was not in very good condition.
She was brought to Gary's shop to see if she could be repaired.
DETAIL of the bad shape she was in.
The first thing that Gary had to do was to locate a hand. Remember, this is a cartoon, her hand was very small compared to the body. After hours of internet surfing, he found a maniquin manufacturer in Long Island City, New York, that specialized in children. Boxes & boxes of children's hands and the fingers still had to be made smaller. The hand was welded on & the reconstruction makeover began.
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First, the original cracked paint had to be removed with paint stripper. Then using fiberglass & auto body materials, Gary made a new wrist & repaired many cracks in the head & body. Many hours of sanding, then priming & painting.
Gary hand painted & airbrushed the colors to bring her back to life (so to speak) Her hair is black with blue pearl highlights & her dress & shoes are candy red with blue pearl to give them a shimmering look. She was then clear coated with a light mat finish urethane.
Gary took a lot of ribbing from friends & customers who stopped by when they saw him working on her.
