This shows the process of making a generic stop motion puppet body to use with interchangeable heads.
You will probably have to watch it at least twice - once to read the captions, once to just watch the process - I try to keep these short and not too boring, but they can end up flicking by too fast.
This uses armature wire, so no metal machining required. It is all directly built up on the armature with epoxy putty, upholstery foam, spray glue and liquid latex, so there is no mouldmaking and casting involved. It could be fitted with a head cast in foam latex or silicone, a rigid material like Sculpey, or something like the direct build-up head shown which is made from wire, epoxy, cut foam and latex. I'll do a tutorial on making heads later.
See my Tiedowns tutorial if you want to see how the foot blocks were made. I used a bandsaw to cut the aluminium, but you could go with a simpler option like a loop in the wire for a foot, with a nut epoxied into place.
If you can't get 3M #74, 76, or 90 spray glue, use contact cement. Do NOT use 3M #77, or spray glues made for lightly tacking paper, they don't work.
If you can't cut or drill a block of wood, go with a block of putty for the chest. You could embed a bit of tube if you want to fit removable heads to it.
There is always another way if you are working with limited tools - this is just how I do it.
Thanks to Kevin MacLeod at www.Incompetech.com for sharing his music!