Greetings!

I recently picked up a couple of the Sponge Eggs by Alan Wong to incorporate into a routine that uses an idea by Dan Garrett to produce a real egg out of thin air. Dan's idea uses a Sanada gimmick.

The problem is while Alan's eggs are fabulous, they are too big to hide in the Sanada gimmick so I need to cut them down somehow.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to modify the sponge eggs without ruining them. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks!

** Bill **

Thanks for starting this thread, Bill. I would like to know too.

I don't know the props in question but,can they be hollowed out?
If so,a small nick down the egg is all that will be needed.
Using scissors,you have an opening to begin digging the inner sponge out,you will get to a point where you can actually turn the whole thing inside-out.
Once you have reached this point,the removal of any surplus sponge will be relatively easy.
Obviously,once you have completed this,you turn the whole thing outside-in.
Make good the small opening that you provisionally cut,with a bit of thixotropic glue,and you're good to go.
Hope this could be of help in some way!
Cheers,Ray.

From the inside out, I hadn't thought of that! I'd still be interested to hear if anyone has any ideas on how to modify the sponge egg from the outside which would decrease it's overall size.

Thanks Ray!

** Bill **

Not sure how you could take away material from the outside and not decrease it's size??? I am pretty sure thatwouldbe real magic. Surely the inside is the way to go?

I have had some success with dipping sponge balls in water and freezing them. You can then saw, file and sand them. You have to do it in "shifts" and re-freeze them so have patience!

Bri

Thanks Bri, another novel idea! My original goal was to decrease the size of the egg. Sorry if my post was a bit confusing.

Ray's method would not decrease the overall size of the egg, but it would make it much more compactable for use with the Sanada gimmick so both methods may actually solve my original problem.

Anyone else with any other ideas?

** Bill **

I second the idea of freezing it. That way, as said, it can be sawed, then sanded smooth for a perfect finish.

In reality guys I have to be a bit practical here. Removing the center of teh egg decreases Its overall volume. Trying to reshape the egg is not a simple feat even with freezing the foam before starting.
Try possbbly just making new eggs from Make up appliance foam. Use a smallert mold than the egg you have now. I think your results will be much better.

Hi Michael,

I'm not familiar with "make up appliance foam"; is this something you can mold yourself? If so then that may be another possibility.

I've tried Ray's method of digging out the inner foam, and while that works the outside footprint of the Alan Wong egg I have is still too big to fit within the Sanada gimmick.

I then tried Bri's method of freezing and sanding the egg, and while it is tedious it did seem like it was going to do the job ... until of course I tore a big chunk out of the egg while pulling on it after it had frozen to the wax paper I had set it on in the freezer.

So it looks like I will need to try the freezing/sanding technique again and then hollow out the inside of the egg and it should be perfect.

Cheers!

** Bill **

I have my doubts as to whether this would work... but someone might be able to "develop" the idea...

Get a real egg, pop a hole in each end and blow out the contents. Pour some latex rubber inside the shell and rotate the egg so that the latex covers the whole of the inside of the shell. Wait for it to set (this might be problem number one, because there is the possibility that it won't set, as you have simply transferred the latex from one container to another!). Crack the shell and hope for the best. (IF the latex isn't bonded to the shell.) Possibly you'll end up with a hollow latex egg. Make a decent sized hole in the end and you might end up with something that can be flattened and will reinflate on it's own (maybe!). (Might need some talcum powder inside to stop it sticking to itself.)

However, even if this does work, I'm doubtful if it could be hidden in a sanada!

(Another thought... do you need the entire egg, or could you cut down one of your sponges (vertically) and make something similar to a billiard ball shell?

Hi Bill,

Mahka Tendo from Japan is actually selling my sponge eggs with his own routine where he produces TWO of my sponge eggs in ONE Sanada gimmick and he sold many many eggs. It is possible! (But you have to get his routine and handling)
I have not tried to hollow the eggs myself, it just took too much work and a latex egg will do a better job.
Have fun!

Alan

Thanks for the post Alan, your sponge eggs are very nice!

Do you have a link for Mahka Tendo's routine he is selling?

Thanks!

** Bill **

Mike sent me a PM that had some good info and a link on the latex foam he recommended. I'll print it below as it was useful. I also found This Link that had some useful info regarding latex foam.

Cheers!

** Bill **

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Hi Bill Yes you are correct it is a latex foam that comes usually as a two part mixture that turns into a latex foam. It is totally moldable in that you create your mold and pour the compound in. Then it sets and you have a foam object. This is the same material that they use in Hollywood to make appliances for the face for characters such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Big Mamma etc,. It should be available through the major makeup suppliers Like Mheron, Ben Nye, Max factor etc. Just search for theatrical latex makeup.

Try This Site for 4 part Hot foam; that is what you want.

Mike