Anyone who has spent any time with me knows that I am a fan of Flexible Shape Patterns (FSP) as popularized by Wray Schelin in the early 2000s. While they don't tell you squat about arrangement, they tell you EXACTLY how to create the shape.
This is an example of how beneficial they can be. The following photos are of Monique's left knee. It is EXTREMELY complex. The mannequin can't really be hammered on so I can't use it as a hammerform for shaping. Instead, I made a FSP. I use GLAD Press 'N Seal which holds nice and tight against the smooth surface and a couple layers of fiberglas strapping tape. The result is a perfect skin of the panel that fits the panel like a coat of paint. When it fits my panel like a coat of paint the shaping is DONE. Until then, if it's loose in the center, you stretch. If it's tight on the edges, you shrink. That's it.
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Once finished, I chose a cut line where there was minimum shape. Originally, I was going to attempt this in one piece but quickly decided it would take forever and be a REAL challenge. So I cut it in half and will do two pieces.
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So at first glance, this looks like a big bowl....it's not. Although the SHAPE is basically a big bowl. The ARRANGEMENT of that SHAPE is a whole different thing.
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Like any bowl, I started by shrinking the outside and stretching the center.
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Check the fit and repeat....check the fit and repeat...check the fit and........
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As you get closer, you discover that there are a bunch of 'lumps' that have to be stretched in order for the FSP to fit tight.
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Finally, it's a good fit. My new best friend, the Arbor Press is a great help in finessing the last little bits.
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So here it is. Totally shaped with the FSP fitting tight all over.
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Doesn't look like its a match does it? Oh Ye of little faith. Years back, I was working on the decklid corner for a Model T at Roger and Uncle Johnny's April Fools Meet. I was working out of arrangement and against an FSP. My panel looked nothing like the part I was trying to make. Mark Denny (Sugar Momma Choppers) was watching intently and skeptically. Finally the FSP fit correctly and I pronounced it done. Mark said "Kerry, I ain't seeing it!"
Without even looking at the panel, I put it against my knee and pulled hard. The panel went POP and went into perfect arrangement. At the same time, I told Mark, "When the FSP fits the panel it WILL go into ARRANGEMENT. Until it does, it won't." I have no idea where those two sentences came from but they are truth!
As the photos below show, with a few bumps of a plastic hammer, twisting and persuading, it's pretty dang close. Obviously a good bit of detail work remains to smooth the finish.
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There are SEVEN slope changes (reverses) in this small...less than 1 foot square panel. SEVEN! This is probably the most complex single thing I've ever attempted in metalshaping.
Short of making a hammerform out of fiberglas reinforced bondo or concrete, or something else, I know of no other way to have duplicated this panel. I'm not saying there isn't...just that I don't know what it would be.