The process of making the Turtle suits was massively complicated and was described in a 1990 issue of EW. It was made of 15 separate pieces, and about 40 pounds of wiring were housed in each turtle shell. The wiring led into the mask, operating the facial expressions. The suits were first made of fiberglass, then re-sculpted out of claw before a mold could be made. Actors would be coated in a full-body, full-head casting material that left none of their skin visible. All that was exposed were their nostrils, held open by straws. Waiting for the mold to dry took a long, long time, and actors had to stand stock still, mostly nude and covered in what was essentially plaster, unable to see or talk or hear for the entire time.
Pais recalls that long, long drying process, and the test the people at the Jim Henson Creature Shop pulled. He told the story:
“They flew me to London to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and I was body-casted from head to toe, every inch of me except for two straws in my nose. It was super intense. They told us afterward that they kept us in that plaster longer than they needed to, just to see if we would freak out.”
Seems unkind, but given that shooting days would be long and Pais would need to stay inside the suit for extended periods, it seems the Henson team was not doing it merely to be cruel. Pais did not return for either of the “TMNT” sequels, being replaced by Ken Troum and Laurie Faso for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” and by Tim Kelleher and Matt Hill for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.”
Source From: www.slashfilm.com
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