Carving back the form

Rastarized form filled with expanding foam

Pen guides show indents along snout, eye and nostril positioning

Roughed out snout

Top and jaw made to fit helmet, expanding foam has seeped through the thin section at the back of the head

I began the shaping process by roughly cutting the surface of the foam with a craft knife. I then noticed any areas that needed slightly building up, such as the back of the head and applied additional expanding foam, leaving it overnight to dry. The cured foam was cut back with a hack saw and filed using a raster. I have since used flat and curved rasters to rough out the form, making sure there is enough density left around the sides for the helmet to fit into. My pen markings were added after I had constantly sat the foam on the helmet, to ensure the shape and features are correctly positioned. The image at the top contains more detail such as the nostrils and eyelids, along with holes for the glass eyes to fit into. At this stage, I have started to use course sandpaper for more detailed areas. As the expanding foam is carved back, more gaps have appeared that are to be filled with additional, smaller amounts of expanding foam.

I was also informed today how the actor to play the crocodile is being re-cast again, making the head measurements I was given irrelevant. It's just as well that the helmet will fit a range of head sizes.