Hello there! I'm planning on making a Mangle cosplay, but I've been a bit stumped about what materials I should use for the head's exterior. The toy animatronics look smoother and more solid than the older crew does, so I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter if it isn't too much trouble. c:
Hello yourself! I’m not sure if it would work, but if you haven’t already found a solution you might try craft foam and Model Magic like I did with ShadowBun.
I coated the whole mask because I was using it for texture (I had to rough it up quite a bit to get to that state), but you could also use it just to smooth over the seams. Model Magic does shrink and sometimes crack as it dries, but I’ve heard you can make a paste of water and more model magic which apparently fills in any cracks pretty well. Another option is to smooth a layer of bondo or other rigid filler into the cracked areas.
After your mask is smooth and decently crack-free (and completely dry), I’d say spray on a few coats of water-proof coating/enamel to get the shiny plastic look.
Also if you want to paint your mask, you’ll probably want to do a layer of gesso or other primer, and then paint, before you do your gloss layer.