Here we
will show you how to build this prop step by step........
First
off you must build the chair to put the prop in. Get some 2x4's and a small
piece of plywood for the seat. You can put other stuff on your chair if
you would like.
We will
show you some neat stuff that you can do with your chair as we get some
newer one's done.
Once you
have the basic chair done,take (Rotary tool) and put a high speed cutter
in it , and start cutting chips out of the chair! You want it to
look old and beat up. Now get a 2 -1/8 hole saw and cut holes as seen in
the pictures.
At this point you are ready for the (Monster
mud)as it is called. Get a 5 gal bucket of
joint compound ,take a little out and put it in another 5 gal bucket and
mix black paint with it, or any color you want, we have used all kinds
of color's. When the mud dries it will be 2 or 3 shades lighter then the
base color was. At this point let it dry over night. After it dries you
can detail it the way you want. this can be done with an (Airbrush)
(dry brush) or just freehand. For info on
airbrushing and dry brushing goto Painting tips .
Now you can start to build the monster body. Start by getting a model skull from the hobby store ,and build it. When you are done find an old broom stick and cut it, this will be your neck for the skull.
After you
have cut the broom down to about 30" or so now you need to hook it
up to the base of the skull. To do this I drilled a small hole in
one end of the broom stick ,and ran a four inch piece of coat hanger through
the hole. Use hot glue or epoxy to hold the end of the broom
stick on the inside of the skull. (only glue the wire to the inside of
the skull, This will be what makes the head tilt up and down.
At this point you can start adding the hardware.... You will need
two servo's two 4/40 rods that you also can get at the hobby store. A set
of 4/40 ball & joint set they dont cost much so pickup
a few bags, you will use them some other time..
I thought it was cheaper to buy the whole kit so I did
you will need all of it anyway. The kit will have a remote control
Rc type and two to four servo motors, This Rc kit cost me around
$50 . The Rc kit that I got will only run two motors,
you can get one tha t will run more if you want it s all up to you
...
No you have to put it all together start by hooking one servo to the broom stick, you can do this epoxy or a large hose clamp (Hot glue doesn't hold well) after you do this hook the small gear head that came in the kit , and hook it to the servo motor. At this point screw the ball and joint on to the grear head,, most have a little nut that holds them on. Once you have done that take one of the gear heads and epoxy it in a small hole that you have cut in the base of the skull near the front , let it dry. Now take one of the 4/40 rods and cut it to fit between both ball joints and screw into place. Test the motion to see if it is working right. now on to the jaw>>>>
Making the jaw move: Get a piece of coat hanger and cut it to about 6" or so to form something like this
As you can see the coat hanger is going through the the part of the jaw bone that is coming through the skull.. Drill a small hole to fit the wire , then hot glue or epoxy together... I should swing freely in place.. Now glue the servo into place , I put a little hot glue on the motor to hold it in place until I got the control arm in place , then epoxy it...... Take a small piece of wire and wrap it around the coat hanger and the other end through the gear arm ( Do not glue) this should swing free. Now you are done ... Note you might have to strap a rubber band to the back of the skull to help the servo a little... I did at first but took it off) now test every thing before gluing the top of the head on .......
Now on to the fun stuff....The body:
you start
by putting the head & neck onto the chair .. to do this
cut two pieces of 2x4 and drill holes in them the
same size as the broom stick,,But you want the stick to move
freely "Note only drill one of the 2x4's all
the way through because the other one is the seat so only drill half
way through the other one!!!!!!
After this remove the skull add monster mud and paint!!!!
After you have painted put the head back on and now its time
for the last motor if you don't want to do this
skip ahead !!!!!
The motor to turn the head...
The
small gear motor that I got whole sales is about 2" /2"
it turns about 4 to 5 turns a min I had to
change the gear head a little but it worked great ! make sure that
you off set the screw so that the motor doesn't bind up . Mount
it at the base of the broom stick...
Had enough yet ????
Now on to the last part get a fake hand and a 1x2 and epoxy it to the chair. and hook another model skull to it
you can shape the 1x2 to look like a forarm this makes it look nice...after this start applying the burlap and the mud ,,,cut and shape as you like . Let dry and paint . You can put hair on your prop if you like. But remember this is only to show you how things can be done..... And most of all Have Fun !!!!!!
News
paper shot from last years haunted hall