Isambaard the Big Horn Ram

He’s Not a Goat

Isambaard started out like Amsel.  I had an idea to do a certain type of animal and had to think of historical characters I like that I thought would suit.  I had planned a canine costume but after realising just how common they were I decided to do something a little more unusual and plumped for a sheep.  For some reason it just made me think of industrialism despite being a very agricultural animal.  Isambard Kingdom Brunel is one of my heroes and so I decided to make a sheepy version of him.  I added in an “a” into his name as a silly pun and so Isambaard was born.

Building Isambaard

I knew he was going to be another partial suit.  That is, just my head and hands would be in a constructed costume, the rest would be clothing.  I don’t have the skill to make heads so I commissioned it from Primal Visions having seen some of their other realistic animal heads and being blown away by the quality of them.

All I had to do for that was chose the type of sheep and I thought that the big horn sheep would be look the best despite not exactly being a British breed.

The clothing was a challenge.  I wanted to be as authentic as possible with the clothing.  I got patterns based on genuine Victorian designs and set to work.  It was a LOT of work.  The trousers took around 30 hours, the waistcoat about 15 hours and the frock coat around 50 hours.  I was very happy at the results how ever.  The shirt was bought in from a period clothing maker as well as the tie.

His hat is a basic novelty top hat with large slots cut out for his horns!

Playing the Ram

I’m sure the real Isambard wasn’t as goofy as his sheep counterpart.  The first time I performed as Isambaard I played him a bit too straight as I’d imagine a Victorian industrialist.  However this turned out to be pretty boring for me so after that I’ve played him a little more excitable, more like a crazy inventor.  This works a lot better and I’ve enjoyed being in costume more since then.

Visibility isn’t too bad and Primal Visions make their heads with comfort in mind.  It’s not that hot inside as the way it’s constructed means only my forehead is actually in contact with the head.  It’s also extremely light and I never feel any neck ache or restriction in head movement.

I have very limited use of my hands as they’re in large hooves.  I can hold things but I can’t do up my cuffs so I can’t put on the costume alone, unlike Amsel.  Since I have to put on clothes after the head, it means that at conventions, taking the head off for a break is quite difficult if there’s no mirror or a helping pair of hands.