I'm in the planning stages for a few puppets, and am trying to figure out some hurdles before diving in.

The one that is holding me up is teeth. One of the puppets will be a wolf -type puppet, and as such needs some awesome teeth. I have used Crayola Model Magic in the past, but it doesn't always hold up against cracking the way I would like. I think L200 would give the results I want, but it is difficult to shape and smooth the the tooth texture I need.

What do you use or suggest?

Thanks in advance,
J

Would a makeup wedge sponge work for you?  They are really just something like L200 foam that has been cut into triangle shapes. You can get them in most cosmetic areas of stores. It would depend on how much shape you want to the teeth.

You could try using the fun foam (thin sheets of L200) that you could cut and pattern much like you would the puppet head. You would want to work it out so the seam is on the back side of the tooth.

It is a shame it is not closer to Halloween. I've seen in the past necklaces with plastic teeth on them to wear with different costumes. If  you have a local costume shop that is open year around you may be able to find something like and it may even be on sale if they are trying to get rid of last Halloweens stock.

Hmmm.... just had a thought as I was typing. You know if you get felt wet you can stretch and shape it over a hard model and then when it dries it keeps the shape. What if you sculpted your tooth out of the Model Magic then once it is dry and hard you could use it as the base to stretch the felt. You would again try to the the seam in the back and more then likely as you are working the fabric you would have a lot of extra at the back where the seam is and have to find a way to temporary secure it with maybe some small clips.   You might also be able to use needle and thread at this point to instead of the clips. Once it was try you would work it off the MM form and then trim the excess off.  It would be a bit like what you do to make a felt hat. Not sure if it will work or not but might be something to try. I have made things like claws and such out of felt simply by sewing a triangle shape up one side and then turning and stuffing with poly fill. Might need to use a combo of both.  The reason I mentioned the wet felt over form is because I have the feeling you want a more complex shape then just the simple triangle sewn up. I could be wrong though.

Based on your statement that you've used Crayola model magic, maybe you could use that to make the prototype, and then create a mold to do some resin casting. I would think that a cast resin version would be lightweight and highly durable.

Here's a google search for resin casting kits

And here's a Youtube search for resin casting

I think there have been some great ideas, but I would suggest (If you are wanting some rigid teeth) that you look into polymorph or whatever name it is in your country, it is a heat mouldable plastic that comes in pellet form and you can use boiling water from your tap or kettle to get it to a mouldable state. I have been using it for making teeth with great success and originally got the idea from 'Tioh' who is a member of this site and actually makes creature costumes and animal puppets that all have teeth like you are aiming to create. anyway, all you have to do is get a mug of hot water, put some pellets on a spoon and dip it in the water, then once the pellets have turned clear, you can scoop them out with the spoon and gently (and carefully) squash them together, releasing all the water, then simply roll them blob in your hands into whatever shape you want, and if it cools down, then simply pop it back into the water to make it pliable again.
hope that makes sense and that it is helpful to you.
Ben.

In the states what jeezbo is talking about can sometimes be found under the "Friendly Plastic Pellets" brand name.  It can be hit or miss with your local craft stores on whether the carry it or not. Google says that WalMart has it but I've never seen in in one of my local WalMarts.

yes, that's the stuff I'm talking about! I actually buy mine from a uk store called 'maplins' which is an electronics store (for buying wires, solder, electrical components, etc...) so maybe you might find it in a radioshack or some place similar?

This has nothing to do with puppet teeth, but I love Maplins. I end up shopping there for stuff every time I'm in the UK.

Other materials similar to Polymorph or Friendly Plastic (they are all Polycaprolactone based):
Hand Moldable Plastic http://www.inventables.com/technologies/hand-moldable-plastic
Mold-Your-Own Grips http://www.mcmaster.com/#6225T11
InstaMorph http://www.instamorph.com/
Shapelock http://shapelock.com/
Plaast http://www.plaast.de/  

I use Plaast - it works great for making teeth and noses