Compare the Meerkat - Sergei

Refurbishment of Stand-in Puppet for Live Action Shoots

These puppets came back after 18 years looking a little worse for wear, so my job was

to make Sergei look new again!

I stripped him down to the bare body and face, and used fake fur to cover him,

with clippers to get a nice finish. I also made the shirt and props.

They're used with the live actors before replacing with CG puppets, so they've met a lot

of stars, including Nicole Kidman and Arnold Schwartzenegger!

Sergei's shirt in progress.

The head with the old fur removed!

It had been 18 years but I'm not sure how the original puppet ended up like this!

Hopefully the new ones will be treated with a bit more respect!