Gar-ga-rim-this (Gar-gaa-RIM-thiss)
Work on the gargarimthis begins by cutting various lengths of wire that will serve as an internal skeleton. Since the creature has spindly legs, they are sculpted over very stiff piano wire. Bends in the leg wires correspond to future leg joints. To give the sculpture a dynamic pose, join angles will change as sculpting progresses. Since the body will be more robust, thin, flexible wire will provide enough strength.
A 1/35 scale figure is shown for scale. He is French.
Sculpting begins by connecting the body wires and sheathing the lower portion of each leg. Connecting the body wires in this way replaces the need to solder them. The covering on the lower legs prevents the sharp wire ends from tearing my work gloves. The other creature in the picture is a different sculpting project.
After the work above dried, the body wires were bent into a dynamic pose. The creature will be in a tight left turn with the twin tails acting as counterbalances.
The body begins to take shape. A short length of wire connecting each tail to the body is left free of putty. This allows easy orientation and sculpting of each tail. The neck starts out very thin and expands outward like the cowl of a cobra. In the background, various bits of rolled putty will eventually serve as the basis of small body parts.