# Yagher’s first sculpt - dune sand worm - re-releasing a true classic



## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

PART 1

Do you remember 1985? Gas was around $1.10 a gallon. Average car price was around $9,000. A movie ticket was $2.75. Ronald Regan was president. Top movie was Back to the Future. And Duran Duran was on the top of the charts.

Well, something very important to the Garage Kit World happened that year. Actor, Jeff Yagher decided to try his hand at sculpting his first figure kit. The Sand Worm from Dune. And nothing has been the same since.

The Sand Worm was released as a kit in 1986. Two of Jeff’s other sculpts were released first. Although the Sand Worm was the third release it was the very first sculpt Jeff ever did. It is truly a piece of Garage Kit history.

Only about 12 castings were made. They were sold primarily through Kit Kraft in North Hollywood, California. All of the castings were hollow and done in a yellowish resin.

Some of you may remember this picture from Terry Webb’s The Garage Kit That Ate My Wallet.










A couple of years ago, maybe even three, Jeff offered me the rights to the sculpt and the kit. I’ve been promising to re-release it since then. Well, the time has come.

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing what goes into a project like this so here we go.

First step was to fill the hollow cast parts before doing anything else. I wanted to make sure the original parts were protected.










The base was really tricky because it was very thin.










Working in layers, I filled the base with resin as well and forgot to take a pic. Where there was a danger of the resin spilling over onto the business side of the base I used putty instead of resin.

Next primered all the parts. And this is where things got fun. Primer showed every imperfection in the casting. Ranging from tiny pin holes (about 100) to the original mold lines. But hey, it was a casting from 1986.










So, I spent about six hours Saturday, sanding, puttying and re priming. Repeat process three more times until everything is perfect. By the time I was done it looked pretty good. A master has to be perfect before you pour on the silicone.










Next, it was time to mount all the parts for the mold making. Hardest part was the base. Despite looking flat, it wasn’t. Glued the base to the backing then began the tedious of sealing the base to the plank with Foam Putty so no silicone would get under the base. Matching the texture of the base in the putty was the tricky part.










All the parts mounted on the their planks waiting for mold walls.


----------



## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

PART 2

Walls added.










And today it was Silicone Sunday. No, I didn't go to a strip club.  

Vacuuming the silicone to get the air bubbles out. I love this part. I could watch this for hours. Which I did. What can I say, I’m easily amused.










Silicone poured into the boxes. Four done one to go.










One of the molds dedn’t come out the way I wanted so I had to redo that one. Second try worked.


----------



## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

PART 3

Here are pics of the first casting pulled from the molds (no clean up done).




























I used Klean Klay to stick the parts together to show what the finished kit looks like.





































If anyone wants more info on this true classic, please email me at [email protected]

Thanks for looking. Hope some of you enjoyed this.


----------



## Tim Casey (Dec 4, 2004)

Way, way cool. A real piece of garage history, and from someone who's never going to do a casting in his life, very informative. I wish I could see someone sculpt something from scratch just to see what that part of the process looks like as well.

I also thought that the whole concept of the worm in Dune was really cool. In hunting, they had to lure the worm to the surface by using thumpers, which would rhythmically pound the surface of the sand, much like a person walking. And if you were actually a person walking, you had to learn to not walk rhythmically so as not to catch the notice of a worm.

Thanks for the photos and the history. Yagher certainly got better and better with his sculpts, and he picked a good non-human subject for number one.


----------



## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Wow John...Thanks for that tutorial and history lesson concerning Jeff Yagher. I think his work is fantastic and have many of his awesome pieces ...
As this is the very first thing he ever sculpted...I'm in for a kit (email sent)
My collection would be lacking without this piece :thumbsup: This prompts me to digging out the Movie, Dune to check on the color scheme.
Edited my post ...I see the words Dune etched in the sand...very cool!
....and judging from the ceramic tile counter top that base is between 10"-13" across...nice size :thumbsup:
Can't wait for this one!!!
Denis


----------



## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Thanks, that post was full of information. Especially for people contemplating doing the same.


----------



## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Thanks for putting this out again John! Been a long time grail kit for me. A must have for any Dune fan out there!

Charlie


----------



## moonlightdrive21 (Dec 28, 2011)

Another winner John !! Jeff rules !


----------



## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Jeff's very first kit and he knocks it right out of the ballpark. That's great. It's cool that you're bringing this back, John. 

Sean


----------



## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

SJF said:


> Jeff's very first kit and he knocks it right out of the ballpark. That's great. It's cool that you're bringing this back, John.
> 
> Sean


:thumbsup:








Mcdee


----------



## mrmurph (Nov 21, 2007)

Thanks for the history lesson, John. And an behalf of those who love this kit, thanks too for the reissue.
The YC classics were masterful sculpts as well. Figure dynamics, facial expressions, and settings all beautifully rendered. Many of those subjects(Tom Tyler Mummy, Dracula's Daughter, ImHoTep) have never looked better.
Congrats to all who are interested in this terrIfic (and I don't think I exaggerate) important kit from modeling history.
Enjoy!


----------



## RedHeadKevin (May 1, 2009)

Wet Suit's gonna be pissed when the worm eats his accessories.


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Great build. Can't wait to see your packaging for retail. :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


----------



## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

Glad you guys enjoyed the history and process. Thanks for the nice comments. Riojas will be painting mine for me. Can't wait to see what he does with it.


----------



## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Just got word mine is Worming its' way Under the boarder and up to Canada...!








:thumbsup: 
Denis


----------



## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Thanks for the 1985 recap, I'm enjoying quite a bit of 1980's nostalgia these days.


----------



## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Just got the kit a couple of days ago...Fantastic !
Thanks John....will post pictures soon!
Denis


----------



## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Thanks for that story about Yagher's first sculpt. I have 6 or 7 items that Jeff sculpted and all are excellent. This might be on my list but I'll have to see how it fits in the budget. I am a big scifi fan and the way they did the sand worms was perfect.


----------

