This large LEGO puppet was built as a huge prop a planned sequel to my 2020 stop-motion LEGO Simpsons parody “Bort Sampson“. This sequel idea was to have advanced visual effects, better articulated puppet techniques, a more elaborate plot with numerous settings – and perhaps a Sneed reference here and there! This new Bort puppet is rather large and uncanny, and will be featured in the video’s climax, inspired by one of my favorite Nintendo 64 games.
I won’t spoil too many details on the plot of this video, but it’ll be a major step-up from the previous installment. The original Bort Sampson video was basically just an experimental concept in which I piled up lots of extra ideas until it ballooned into a 7-minute YouTube videos. Whereas with this new video, I’m going to create a more elaborate multimedia project with a lot of new techniques and combined with live-action footage.
As for this huge puppet itself, it’s kind of weak around certain joints and has stability issues, which I’ll probably reinforce during the video to prevent breakage. I built the head first, worked on the lower portion, and finished with the torso and arms before making a few minor design changes to the face. The mouth moves up and down, and the eyes can be easily replaced to change facial expression. One of the biggest challenges was making the spikes for the hair. Both the upper and lower portions is are mainly made with SNOT (studs not on top) building techniques.
For 4th of July 2023 I made a quick vignette of Bort with a bottle rocket to the eye!
