Hey Frightners!
Well yesterday I went to my NJ/PA Make and Take groups build for a one armed grave grabber. It was a great build and fun prop to make. It was my first prop using a motor and it was a great learning experience. These deer motors that we used for the props are great little motors. They are very durable, weather proofed and inexpensive which make them great for use in a number of props.
If you have a make and take group and are looking for a new build to do or even if you yourself are looking for a new prop to build I do suggest this one. If you have all the material (listed below) tools and knowhow this could easily take you no more than 5 hours to build. I had a lot of help by some very handy and talented people but if you have some skill you can surely do one of these in less than half a day.
I will post a parts list below if your interested and I hope you enjoy the video. Once this guy is fully detailed I will do another video so you can see but for now this is what he looks like fully working in his bare bones!
Grave Grabber Parts List:
1 Piece of scrap 2” X 8 ” wood at least 12” long -Base
1 Piece of scrap 2” X 4 wood at least 7” long -Arm Slider
1 Piece of 3/16” X 3’ round Steel rod (Lowes or HD) -Skull support, Skull Prongs, Pivot, Stop.
1 piece of Aluminum Flat 1/8” X ¾” X 4” long (8’ Makes 23 pcs) -Linkage
1 Piece of Aluminum Flat 1/8” X ½” X 16” long (4’ makes 3 pcs) -Grabber arm
1 Piece of ½” “CPVC” at least 12” long (10’ makes 10 pcs ) -Grabber arm
1 White Bic Pen -Arm Guides
1 Foam Skull (Group Buy if Necessary? Most of us have one already) -Scaryness
1 Section of Pipe insulation 1” X 12”-14” (6’ length makes 6 pcs) -Shoulder
1-Roll Duct Tape (Most of us have it already, (Have?-Share?) -Fingers/hand
1 5' section of Heavy ceiling wire -Fabric Guards
1 Pkg Cotton balls (Only need a few, Most of us have already, share?) -Hand texture
1 Small tub Latex BlackCat has some -Hand texture
1 Can Black spray Paint (1 can probably paint 10 Grabbers. Buy Share?) -Camouflage
1 paint for your hands (personal preference, White, Grey, black, red? -Finish touch
1 Burlap, Netting, or whatever you want to dress her in (Jeff said he has a TON of burlap) -Finish touch
15- #10 Washers @ 4 cents each -Various applications
1- 5/16” Washer @ 5 cents -Motor arm Linkage
4 Thumbtacks or short roofing nails ` - Fabric Attach
1 ¼” nut -Extra Spacer for Pivot arm height
Parts List Continued:
1 Deer Motor From Kindy's -Motion =$10.00
1 Piece of scrap Finish grade wood about 1” X 2 “ X 3” long. -Skull Pivot -Free
1 piece of 1/2” square steel tubing X 7” -Pivot Linkage =30 Cents
4 – 1 5/8 “ Deck screws @ 5 cents each -Motor mount & Arm Guides = 30 cents
4 - 2 1/2” deck screw @ 6 cents -Head pivot & Guide Block = 24 cents
1- 12” piece of thin Picture Hanging wire Head Movement = 03 cents
1 Section of Thin Ceiling hanger wire 6’ long (Have or Buy and Share?) -Make Hand
1- 6” 1/8” Auto-vac tubing Retainers = 15 cents
4 – Fence Staples-Free from My stock Secure 3/16” rod to wood = 00 cents
3- # 10-32 X 1 ½” @ 5 cents Linkage and Arm attach = 15 cents
3- #10-32 Lock nuts @ 5 cents Linkage and arm attach = 15 cents
2- # 7 X ½” Hex screws (Black) @ 5 cents Motor Mount = 10 cents
1- Small dab of automotive grease Arm Slider Lube = Free
1- Few drops sewing machine oil Linkage lube = Free
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
It's Grave Grabbing Time!
Hey Frightners!!
Well tomorrow I am headed to the NJ/PA Make and Take. We are working on a one armed grave grabber prop that uses a deer motor to move the arm and head of the prop. I am pretty excited to start building and getting into some props and this one is perfect to start off the season. This will be a nice addition to the Grimlock Manor Graveyard this year which I am looking to really revamp.
I am building thicker more durable tombstones this year because the past two years the weather has not been favorable for us NJ Haunters. This past year we had winds of 40-50mph which did a lot of damage to my cemetery so I need to pay extra attention to the props I make and ensure that they can withstand a nuclear explosion! AKA..Wind and rain.
I am going to take a lot of video of the build tomorrow and should have shots of my finish prop for everyone to see so be sure to check back in tomorrow night for all of that.
In other news.....
I bought two new albums the other day for this years haunt.
The first is by the ever popular (and rightfully so) Nox Arcana with their 2010 CD "Theater of Illusion." It's a great CD that I already listened to a few times. The music invites you to enter the realm of magic and dark fantasy with melodies ranging from haunting piano & harpsichord to music box chimes and dramatic orchestrations. It's a total of 67 minutes long and I highly suggest it. To read more about it or to buy it check out Nox Arcanas page HERE.
The second CD is from In A World and it is titled "Hallows' Eve, The Horror Vol. 2" At a little over 30 minutes In A Worlds Hallows' Eve CD provides a great selection of music ranging from Seance themed music, Dark Carnival and various dark soundscapes. I am particularly fond of the Funhouse tracks which remind me of Danny Elfmans Beetlejuice Tracks but I hate to really make that exact comparison because Danny Elfman is just amazing! For more on In A Worlds CD offerings check their site HERE.
Well tomorrow I am headed to the NJ/PA Make and Take. We are working on a one armed grave grabber prop that uses a deer motor to move the arm and head of the prop. I am pretty excited to start building and getting into some props and this one is perfect to start off the season. This will be a nice addition to the Grimlock Manor Graveyard this year which I am looking to really revamp.
I am building thicker more durable tombstones this year because the past two years the weather has not been favorable for us NJ Haunters. This past year we had winds of 40-50mph which did a lot of damage to my cemetery so I need to pay extra attention to the props I make and ensure that they can withstand a nuclear explosion! AKA..Wind and rain.
I am going to take a lot of video of the build tomorrow and should have shots of my finish prop for everyone to see so be sure to check back in tomorrow night for all of that.
In other news.....
I bought two new albums the other day for this years haunt.
The first is by the ever popular (and rightfully so) Nox Arcana with their 2010 CD "Theater of Illusion." It's a great CD that I already listened to a few times. The music invites you to enter the realm of magic and dark fantasy with melodies ranging from haunting piano & harpsichord to music box chimes and dramatic orchestrations. It's a total of 67 minutes long and I highly suggest it. To read more about it or to buy it check out Nox Arcanas page HERE.
The second CD is from In A World and it is titled "Hallows' Eve, The Horror Vol. 2" At a little over 30 minutes In A Worlds Hallows' Eve CD provides a great selection of music ranging from Seance themed music, Dark Carnival and various dark soundscapes. I am particularly fond of the Funhouse tracks which remind me of Danny Elfmans Beetlejuice Tracks but I hate to really make that exact comparison because Danny Elfman is just amazing! For more on In A Worlds CD offerings check their site HERE.
Overall, both are great CD's to add to your collection or even if there are a few specific tracks you need you can head on over to iTunes to purchase just the few you really like. Either way check them out!
Well it's time to round up my supplies for tomorrows build so keep it scary frightners!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Great Stuff Foam Casting Failure!..Kinda...
So I think the video will say it all and I am sure there will be a few laughs here! I am really trying to "expand" (no pun intended) the use of Great Stuff foam insulation. We all use it for vines, guts, slime and even a skull cast here or there but I really want to try and perfect some sculpting techniques with it and I know that is going to be hard given the expanding qualities of great stuff, it's just tricky to work with as you can see in the video but I am dedicated to trying to break the mold of what we use it for currently and come up with some really cool stuff..some "Great Stuff" god I am a laugh riot huh!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Duct Tape Body Form
Hey Frightners!
Ok...I have to say this next video makes me laugh with it's techno music and all but every video I looked up on this subject I thought was funny. The video is on how to make your own duct tape body form and I think it's a good thing to learn how to do for us home haunters especially if your building your own characters for your haunt.
The process seems pretty simple though it is time consuming but hey...what isn't time consuming when building a quality prop for your home haunt right?!
Now it seems all you will need an old shirt, Duct Tape, some scissors and some Great Stuff but I have seen people even do papier mache over the form when it was done which is also a good idea and alternative if you do not want to use great stuff. I suppose you could just stuff the form with old shirts or paper as well. If you really want to go nuts go check out FX Supply which supplies and expanding foam mixture which is two parts. You can get 2 pints of this mixture for $20, 2 Quarts for $36 and 2 Gallons for $130. Remember this stuff REALLY expands when it is activated so I doubt you will need more than the 2 quarts to do a torso mold but do not take my word for it because I have not tried this just yet but I will do so this year so expect that video down the line.
If anyone happens to make a form in the near future please do share but until then I hope you enjoy this video and hopefully it will spark the creative fire to get you to make your own full body or half body character prop....these could be great for groundbreakers! Add some liquid latex and paint and Ta-Da!
Ok...I have to say this next video makes me laugh with it's techno music and all but every video I looked up on this subject I thought was funny. The video is on how to make your own duct tape body form and I think it's a good thing to learn how to do for us home haunters especially if your building your own characters for your haunt.
The process seems pretty simple though it is time consuming but hey...what isn't time consuming when building a quality prop for your home haunt right?!
Now it seems all you will need an old shirt, Duct Tape, some scissors and some Great Stuff but I have seen people even do papier mache over the form when it was done which is also a good idea and alternative if you do not want to use great stuff. I suppose you could just stuff the form with old shirts or paper as well. If you really want to go nuts go check out FX Supply which supplies and expanding foam mixture which is two parts. You can get 2 pints of this mixture for $20, 2 Quarts for $36 and 2 Gallons for $130. Remember this stuff REALLY expands when it is activated so I doubt you will need more than the 2 quarts to do a torso mold but do not take my word for it because I have not tried this just yet but I will do so this year so expect that video down the line.
If anyone happens to make a form in the near future please do share but until then I hope you enjoy this video and hopefully it will spark the creative fire to get you to make your own full body or half body character prop....these could be great for groundbreakers! Add some liquid latex and paint and Ta-Da!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
NYC Library Tour
Hey Frightners!
Finally was able to upload my video of the NYC Library which I did a quick walkthrough of. I have been going there a lot these last two weeks to just do some haunt research and think in quite while I concept the haunt this year. This library is really an amazing place. It's the third largest public library in North America and is one of the largest most significant research library systems in the world. The cornerstone of the library was laid in 1902, but work progressed slowly and eventually costed $9 Million to complete the library. There are 75 miles of shelves and it took over a year to move and install the books. The library itself was opened to the public on May 23, 1911 under a ceremony presided over by President William Howard Taft.
It's not every day that I can take a trip out of the country to see some pretty amazing things but sometimes I forget that I work in one of the most amazing cities in the world which has some pretty amazing sites to see and luckily this one is right up the block from where I work. The romanesque architecture coupled with the amazing statuaries and beautiful wall and celling paintings that are intergrated into the structures are beautiful to look at and from a haunters perspective there is so much great reference that you can put to use into your own haunt. I can imagine in the right lighting with the right soundscape that the library could be a perfect haunt atmosphere!
If you live by or are ever taking a trip to New York I highly suggest adding the NYC Public Library to your list of landmarks to go se while in N.Y. They do offer tour and you can take pictures and video of the majority of the inside however the reading rooms and main halls are off limits to pictures though I was lucky to find a few online to share with you just so you can see the enormity of the entire space which again is quite amazing.
I hope you find some haunt inspiration in this video and these pictures below as I know I did and if your interested in learning the full history of the library check HERE or if you want to learn a little about the part the library took in the making of the original Ghostbusters Movie you can read about that HERE.
Finally was able to upload my video of the NYC Library which I did a quick walkthrough of. I have been going there a lot these last two weeks to just do some haunt research and think in quite while I concept the haunt this year. This library is really an amazing place. It's the third largest public library in North America and is one of the largest most significant research library systems in the world. The cornerstone of the library was laid in 1902, but work progressed slowly and eventually costed $9 Million to complete the library. There are 75 miles of shelves and it took over a year to move and install the books. The library itself was opened to the public on May 23, 1911 under a ceremony presided over by President William Howard Taft.
It's not every day that I can take a trip out of the country to see some pretty amazing things but sometimes I forget that I work in one of the most amazing cities in the world which has some pretty amazing sites to see and luckily this one is right up the block from where I work. The romanesque architecture coupled with the amazing statuaries and beautiful wall and celling paintings that are intergrated into the structures are beautiful to look at and from a haunters perspective there is so much great reference that you can put to use into your own haunt. I can imagine in the right lighting with the right soundscape that the library could be a perfect haunt atmosphere!
If you live by or are ever taking a trip to New York I highly suggest adding the NYC Public Library to your list of landmarks to go se while in N.Y. They do offer tour and you can take pictures and video of the majority of the inside however the reading rooms and main halls are off limits to pictures though I was lucky to find a few online to share with you just so you can see the enormity of the entire space which again is quite amazing.
I hope you find some haunt inspiration in this video and these pictures below as I know I did and if your interested in learning the full history of the library check HERE or if you want to learn a little about the part the library took in the making of the original Ghostbusters Movie you can read about that HERE.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Guillermo Del Toro To Reboot Disney's Haunted Mansion.
For more on the story check HERE.
Alice, Madness Returns!
Hey all!
Video games these days are really starting to become more and more like playable movies with the addition of huge story lines, characters we can connect with and visual styles and worlds that are just exhilarating to look at and immerse yourself in.
I have always loved the Alice in Wonderland books and was a fan of Tim Burtons re-imagining of it for the movie and now we have the sequel to the first twisted game version of American McGees's Alice called "Alice in Madness."
In October os 2000 EA games released American McGees's Alice which was developed by Rogues Entertainment. The game featured a more cynical and macabre incarnation of Alice and it was one that I personally liked. The look of the characters and the environment was really creepy and I instantly (being a halloween and haunt fanatic) thought making a haunt that was a direct translation of the game would be so cool!
I have seen a few attempts at creating an Alice in wonderland style haunt and if I can find the videos of them I will follow up with another post but overall my point is even though this is a video game I think there is some great reference in it that can be translated into various scenes and settings into your haunt scenes.
The 2011 sequel "Alice in Madness" promises to be even better than the first game and the characters and world itself seems to be even creepier than the first so I highly suggest checking it out. To read more about the game check out EA's website for it HERE.
I think we are all looking for inspiration when building our haunts weather pro or home and I think it is always worth your while to keep an eye on the video game industry for inspiration. I mean we look to movies for inspiration but in today's gaming industry games have developed so much and there are so many more unique ideas to pull from now, cool character designs and visual designs that can easily translate into a haunt seen, prop or character that you create for your haunt. You don't have to be a gamer to find good haunt inspiration in a video game. Besides Alice in Madness which comes out this this June 14th I also suggest taking a peek at Bioshock, Deadspace & Silent Hill Homecoming for more haunt inspiration.
Always keep an open mind when your thinking of new designs for your haunt because you never know where you might find inspiration just like I did in video games. Check out the trailer of the first Alice game below and directly below that the trailer for the sequel.
Video games these days are really starting to become more and more like playable movies with the addition of huge story lines, characters we can connect with and visual styles and worlds that are just exhilarating to look at and immerse yourself in.
I have always loved the Alice in Wonderland books and was a fan of Tim Burtons re-imagining of it for the movie and now we have the sequel to the first twisted game version of American McGees's Alice called "Alice in Madness."
In October os 2000 EA games released American McGees's Alice which was developed by Rogues Entertainment. The game featured a more cynical and macabre incarnation of Alice and it was one that I personally liked. The look of the characters and the environment was really creepy and I instantly (being a halloween and haunt fanatic) thought making a haunt that was a direct translation of the game would be so cool!
I have seen a few attempts at creating an Alice in wonderland style haunt and if I can find the videos of them I will follow up with another post but overall my point is even though this is a video game I think there is some great reference in it that can be translated into various scenes and settings into your haunt scenes.
The 2011 sequel "Alice in Madness" promises to be even better than the first game and the characters and world itself seems to be even creepier than the first so I highly suggest checking it out. To read more about the game check out EA's website for it HERE.
I think we are all looking for inspiration when building our haunts weather pro or home and I think it is always worth your while to keep an eye on the video game industry for inspiration. I mean we look to movies for inspiration but in today's gaming industry games have developed so much and there are so many more unique ideas to pull from now, cool character designs and visual designs that can easily translate into a haunt seen, prop or character that you create for your haunt. You don't have to be a gamer to find good haunt inspiration in a video game. Besides Alice in Madness which comes out this this June 14th I also suggest taking a peek at Bioshock, Deadspace & Silent Hill Homecoming for more haunt inspiration.
Always keep an open mind when your thinking of new designs for your haunt because you never know where you might find inspiration just like I did in video games. Check out the trailer of the first Alice game below and directly below that the trailer for the sequel.
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