Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: prop link sausages

Author

Message

Tom 501
Walk-On
Walk-On

Joined: 11/24/07
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Topic: prop link sausages
Posted: 11/24/07 at 1:59am

I need to make a string of link sausages for a production of A Christmas Carol. They don't need to be edible, so I don't want to use any edible products.

I heard once about stuffing an old pantyhose leg as the casing, but what should I use for the stuffing? The director has told me he wants them to look really real.

Any ideas?

IP Logged

TonyDi
Celebrity

Joined: 9/13/06
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 325

Posted: 11/24/07 at 10:28am

You can use standard poly fiber fill from the fabric store. It's all about being sure to get the right SHAPE to the links - uniform and round like a sausage. MIGHT be hard to do with poly fiber fill. But the pantyhose idea is superb and looks great from a short distance. Here's another thing you CAN USE if you want to. CONDOMS - without the uh.....usual reservoir tip. OR WITH you can then TIE them together and fill with KNOX gelatin. THAT would provide (once set up) a shape similar to sausages, filled with a substance that could be colored to look like sausage (food coloring) and the condom should allow a transparency such that it looks like the skin of a sausage. Yeah I know weird but you'd be surprised how much condoms are used in the FX industry for blood packs etc. THOUSANDS of uses beyond the.....uh.....normal use. MIXING the gelatin too can be done so the resultant mixture is much less mushy....just adjust the water to gelatin ratio so that it DISSOLVES but when dissolved the resulting gelatin is a lot more dense than the food grade Jello you eat.

I know, weird suggestion but it works well. For that matter why not buy a string of link sausages. Shouldn't be THAT expensive and if you find the kind that doesn't require refrigeration, dried, summer type sausages - you know the kind that comes in holiday packages that don't require refrigeration - then you could use them the whole run and also use them with a nice block of cheese sliced up for the CAST PARTY!!! HAHA !!! Seriously why not? NOT that expensive from like SWISS COLONY stores if any of those still exist or meat and cheese shops that sell those prepared sausages that don't require the fridge.

TonyDi

"Almost famous"

IP Logged

pdavis69
Celebrity

Joined: 3/26/06
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 437

Posted: 11/26/07 at 9:35am

The pantyhose stuffed with fiber fill can be spaypainted to be very realistic.

Patrick L. Davis
Fort Findlay Playhouse

IP Logged

Chiment
Walk-On
Walk-On

Joined: 3/14/10
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Posted: 3/14/10 at 11:39pm

If anyone is still looking at this thread, we did a string of sausages for Fools to go in the Butcher Shop window.

Pipe insulation is wonderful stuff. It is a foam tube with a seam down one side and is sold in various inexpensive widths at any Home Depot/Lowes type store.

For the sausages cut pieces the right length and shave the ends with a pair of scissors to round them off. Put one piece in a leg of pantyhose, pull tight, twist, and tie with thread. Repeat until you run out of leg. We painted ours with regular house latex paint in various shades of brown and rust and they looked great. (We're reusing one link as a hot dog for Professor Marvel in Wizard of Oz.)

We've used this stuff for the pipes in Guys & Dolls, the corn in Wizard, as molding for windows, tire rubber on wheels, and cut into sections as giant beads. It's cheap and easy to use. Paint tends to flake off fairly easily, so putting another layer of something like pantyhose over it helps (but isn't always necessary).

Angela Chiment
Drama/Math Teacher

"You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps."

IP Logged

bebop
Walk-On
Walk-On

Joined: 4/06/10
Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Posted: 4/06/10 at 4:12pm

I've always used different sizes of backer rod (extruded foam construction material much like pool noodles). This material is easy to form and sand. Cover it in a tube made of old nylons and paint with latex. I use 3-4 colors (black, brown, rust, red) then spatter with the same adding a bit of watered down white. They look great!

cheers
bebop

IP Logged

Mr. Lowell
Celebrity

Joined: 1/30/07
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 269

Posted: 4/07/10 at 1:57pm

I have made them with foam-rubber plumbing insulation that is covered in cheesecloth and Sculpt-or-Coat glue.

The local hardware store carries this inexpensive brown foam insulation in 4' lengths that is intended to wrap around your water pipes. Cut it into 6" lengths, rounded at the ends, and then you glue the cheesecloth over it. You then twist the cloth between each link and make strings of as many connected links as you want. Let it dry and then paint it with spotty browns, reds and grays.

These sausage links look realistic and are semi-firm yet still flexible enough to hang like real links. They are very durable, so they can be used in any number of plays for years to come. Plus they are soft enough so that someone can get beaten about the head and shoulders with them in comedies such as Taming of the Shrew.

Swimming pool noodles can be cut up to make larger salami meats. By the way, those water noodles can also be used to make nice "french bread".

Good luck and be sure to post photos for us to see! -Dana

Edited by Mr. Lowell - 4/08/10 at 1:59pm

Mr. Lowell,
Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director,
for the Linda Sloan Theatre,
in the Davison Center for the Arts,
at Greensboro Day School

IP Logged

elaidlaw
Walk-On
Walk-On

Joined: 5/05/10
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Posted: 5/07/10 at 7:21pm

I used long balloons (the kind used to make animals) and filled it with great stuff. Push the nozzle tube to the end of the balloon and fill slowly as you pull the balloon back. The stuff expands so don't overfill. Then twist (or tie together if made separately) and paint.

IP Logged

Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup

Author	Message
Tom 501 Walk-On Joined: 11/24/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: prop link sausages Posted: 11/24/07 at 1:59am
	I need to make a string of link sausages for a production of A Christmas Carol. They don't need to be edible, so I don't want to use any edible products. I heard once about stuffing an old pantyhose leg as the casing, but what should I use for the stuffing? The director has told me he wants them to look really real. Any ideas?

	IP Logged

TonyDi Celebrity Joined: 9/13/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 11/24/07 at 10:28am
	You can use standard poly fiber fill from the fabric store. It's all about being sure to get the right SHAPE to the links - uniform and round like a sausage. MIGHT be hard to do with poly fiber fill. But the pantyhose idea is superb and looks great from a short distance. Here's another thing you CAN USE if you want to. CONDOMS - without the uh.....usual reservoir tip. OR WITH you can then TIE them together and fill with KNOX gelatin. THAT would provide (once set up) a shape similar to sausages, filled with a substance that could be colored to look like sausage (food coloring) and the condom should allow a transparency such that it looks like the skin of a sausage. Yeah I know weird but you'd be surprised how much condoms are used in the FX industry for blood packs etc. THOUSANDS of uses beyond the.....uh.....normal use. MIXING the gelatin too can be done so the resultant mixture is much less mushy....just adjust the water to gelatin ratio so that it DISSOLVES but when dissolved the resulting gelatin is a lot more dense than the food grade Jello you eat. I know, weird suggestion but it works well. For that matter why not buy a string of link sausages. Shouldn't be THAT expensive and if you find the kind that doesn't require refrigeration, dried, summer type sausages - you know the kind that comes in holiday packages that don't require refrigeration - then you could use them the whole run and also use them with a nice block of cheese sliced up for the CAST PARTY!!! HAHA !!! Seriously why not? NOT that expensive from like SWISS COLONY stores if any of those still exist or meat and cheese shops that sell those prepared sausages that don't require the fridge. TonyDi
	"Almost famous"
	IP Logged

pdavis69 Celebrity Joined: 3/26/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 437	Posted: 11/26/07 at 9:35am
	The pantyhose stuffed with fiber fill can be spaypainted to be very realistic.
	Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse
	IP Logged

Chiment Walk-On Joined: 3/14/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 3/14/10 at 11:39pm
	If anyone is still looking at this thread, we did a string of sausages for Fools to go in the Butcher Shop window. Pipe insulation is wonderful stuff. It is a foam tube with a seam down one side and is sold in various inexpensive widths at any Home Depot/Lowes type store. For the sausages cut pieces the right length and shave the ends with a pair of scissors to round them off. Put one piece in a leg of pantyhose, pull tight, twist, and tie with thread. Repeat until you run out of leg. We painted ours with regular house latex paint in various shades of brown and rust and they looked great. (We're reusing one link as a hot dog for Professor Marvel in Wizard of Oz.) We've used this stuff for the pipes in Guys & Dolls, the corn in Wizard, as molding for windows, tire rubber on wheels, and cut into sections as giant beads. It's cheap and easy to use. Paint tends to flake off fairly easily, so putting another layer of something like pantyhose over it helps (but isn't always necessary).
	Angela Chiment Drama/Math Teacher "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps."
	IP Logged

bebop Walk-On Joined: 4/06/10 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 4/06/10 at 4:12pm
	I've always used different sizes of backer rod (extruded foam construction material much like pool noodles). This material is easy to form and sand. Cover it in a tube made of old nylons and paint with latex. I use 3-4 colors (black, brown, rust, red) then spatter with the same adding a bit of watered down white. They look great!
	cheers bebop
	IP Logged

Mr. Lowell Celebrity Joined: 1/30/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 269	Posted: 4/07/10 at 1:57pm
	I have made them with foam-rubber plumbing insulation that is covered in cheesecloth and Sculpt-or-Coat glue. The local hardware store carries this inexpensive brown foam insulation in 4' lengths that is intended to wrap around your water pipes. Cut it into 6" lengths, rounded at the ends, and then you glue the cheesecloth over it. You then twist the cloth between each link and make strings of as many connected links as you want. Let it dry and then paint it with spotty browns, reds and grays. These sausage links look realistic and are semi-firm yet still flexible enough to hang like real links. They are very durable, so they can be used in any number of plays for years to come. Plus they are soft enough so that someone can get beaten about the head and shoulders with them in comedies such as Taming of the Shrew. Swimming pool noodles can be cut up to make larger salami meats. By the way, those water noodles can also be used to make nice "french bread". Good luck and be sure to post photos for us to see! -Dana Edited by Mr. Lowell - 4/08/10 at 1:59pm
	Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School
	IP Logged

elaidlaw Walk-On Joined: 5/05/10 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/07/10 at 7:21pm
	I used long balloons (the kind used to make animals) and filled it with great stuff. Push the nozzle tube to the end of the balloon and fill slowly as you pull the balloon back. The stuff expands so don't overfill. Then twist (or tie together if made separately) and paint.
	IP Logged

Topic: prop link sausages( Topic Closed)