Studio Secrets: Wire Armature Kit (Aluminum Wire, Bone Tubes, Epoxy Putty, Foam, Foot Nuts)

Ships in 1–2 weeks. We put each kit together by hand when you order.

What it's for: building a strong, poseable puppet skeleton for a fraction of the price of a ball-and-socket kit. It's the classic stop-motion armature: aluminum wire joints, rigid "bones" in between, and a light foam body. This kit has everything to build one or two puppets, plus the tricks veteran animators use to make wire last.

What's in the box

• Annealed aluminum armature wire in two sizes: 1/8" for the spine and legs, 1/16" for arms, fingers, and fine detail
• Aluminum tube: slips over the wire as rigid bones
• Two-part epoxy putty: for bones, hip and chest blocks, and feet
• Upholstery foam: for bulking out the body
• M4 hex nuts to build into the feet for tie-downs
• A clay barrier wrap and a step-by-step trick card

The studio secrets

• Aluminum only. Copper wire work-hardens and snaps after a few hundred bends, and steel is too stiff to pose. Annealed aluminum bends smoothly and survives far longer before metal fatigue.
• Drill-twist your limbs. Fold a length of wire in half, hook the loop over a nail, and clamp the loose ends in a drill chuck. Run the drill slowly and you get a tight, even two-strand cable. It's stronger than a single wire, and clay and foam grip the twists.
• Lock the bones. A plain wire limb bends in one floppy curve. Keep the wire bare only at the joints (ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist). Slide tube over the thigh, shin, and forearm sections, or pack them in epoxy putty. Once it cures, the limb bends only where a real joint would.
• Rock-solid feet. Wrap epoxy putty around the foot loop and, while it's soft, press an M4 nut flush into the heel. Once it's cured you have a permanent threaded socket for tie-downs (see our Threaded Tie-Down Kit).
• Foam, not solid clay. A solid clay body sags under its own weight. Cut foam to shape and wrap it on with thread or contact cement. You get the bulk without the weight.
• Put a barrier under the clay. The oils in plasticine can soften some foams over time. Wrap the foam body in cling wrap or foil before the clay skin goes on.
• Baking Sculpey on the frame? Aluminum carries heat. Wrap the wire that runs into the unbaked body in foil so oven heat doesn't travel down the spine and melt the glue or foam inside.

Not for children under 14. It has small parts, and the cut wire ends are sharp.