SPEECH CENTER REPAIRS
Next we turned our attention to a set of controls, located in the top of Hoggle's head (see picture, right). I was surprised to find these controls after taking the hat, wig, and a circular plate off the top of his head. "There was more to Hoggle then just good looks," I thought.
This seemed to be the speech control center for movement of his facial features: eyes, mouth, and cheeks. I'm sure these controls were used in the filming process to make the troll "talk," and to give him the facial movements that characterized Hoggle in "Labyrinth."
After about an hour of trying to find out which control worked what function, I realized none of them were working correctly. I didn't want to damage anything, so I carefully started using different products to loosen the controls. I hoped to possibly get them to work as they did originally. It took a couple days before the three functions finally began to work fairly well. The eye mechanism worked best and really made him come alive. The other controls worked the upper lip, and the sides of his cheeks. There was a small gear motor located in his lower chin area which, regrettably, I didn't have time to repair. However, I know it controlled his lower lip and was used in conjunction with the other mechanisms to help Hoggle talk. To index
RESTORING HOGGLE'S FACE
The next big step in Hoggle's restoration was to determine what shell could be used to duplicate his handsome look, and give him the longevity he needed. This was a long and drawn-out task. We experimented with three different types materials, and approximately the same amount of fillers before we felt we had the right combination. We had spent a least a full week on this part of the rebuilding process, going back to the original movie, again and again, so we would get the feeling that only Hoggle's true presence would give.
We ended up using a cloth with foam rubber backing. This gave his face an almost life like feeling when touched. It also worked like a painter's pallet. We were able to add and build his features, as needed. From the pictures you can see, we duplicated his ears, cheek jowls, and brow furrows. To index
John Marshall, CEO of Unclaimed Baggage, contacted me in May of 2005. John tried to explain to me the situation he had with a very unique figure his company had acquired. At that time I knew very little about Hoggle other then he was a Jim Henson creation for a film called "Labyrinth", that the movie was produced by George Lucas, and starred David Bowie.
