Owning items related to one’s favorite characters has always been a fascination for both children and adults. It is this desire that brought before Blind Squirrel a job to create masks of Mr Bushido from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam. There were two masks to be produced, one to cover the full face and one for half the face.
Blind Squirrel has been into prop making for quite some time and is skilled enough in model building and Halloween costume construction. The finesse that can be seen in his Mr Bushido’s masks speaks multitudes of his skill. He has used epoxy putty to create the mask master. According to him he chose this material over clay as he finds it easier to create a metal like texture since air-dry putty can be carved, dremeled and sanded to bring about a smooth finish prior to molding.
Using epoxy and Bondo the final sculpt was prepared which was later coated with thick filler primer to smoothen the surface. With necessary touching up of imperfections the mold was finally ready for molding. The master mask served as the basis for creating the full mask. For the half mask he carved a second copy with the changes marked out. Using resin bathing suit, hooks were tacked to both masks to enable attachment of straps. Base coats of grey gloss were first applied to the masks which were later covered with a matte finish. Red color was added to the required areas completing the job. The end result was two fabulous looking masks that can bring you face-to-face with the Mr Bushido character.
Mr Bushido is part of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime but before he was Mr Bushido he was known as Graham Aker. He was one of the main antagonists in the series who suffered several facial injuries in a battle against Setsuna resulting in scars. In the second season he returned as Mr Bushido with a mask to cover his scarred face.
The term Bushido is of Japanese origin and refers to a code of moral principles that Samurais were required to follow. It lays stress upon principles like loyalty, frugality, martial arts and honor unto death. It is a set of unuttered and unwritten code that has been around since centuries. Graham Aker being a fearless, prideful soldier and a believer in Bushido decided to reincarnate himself as Mr Bushido.
In creating the Mr Bushido masks, Blind Squirrel has done full justice to his job and has come up with excellently carved and finished masks.
Now if you have any doubts about the creativity of these masks, go through Steampunk Clown Mask, Horse Mask and Steampunk Bauta Venetian Mask.
