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Stalkaround Costume

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59K views 70 replies 32 participants last post by  DIYhaunter  
#1 ·
My son, Josh, wants a stalkaround costume this Halloween. Here's a short video of my progress so far:


 
#16 ·
beggars alley: I'd love to make a sort of tut but I don't think I'll have time before Halloween with everything that's going on. If you or anyone wants pics or have questions about any part, I'd be more than happy to help.

The backpack frame is an army surplus Alice pack ($10 from eBay). The helmet is a Rawlings baseball helmet with the visor cut off $16.69 from Target. The framework is 1/2" pvc. The control rod for the head tilt is a Sullivan Gold-N-Rod #S514 slipped inside a 3/16" steel automotive brake line from NAPA. Most of the rest of the materials was stuff I had on hand like scrap wood and 1/16" and 1/8" aluminum flat bar.
 
#19 ·
Wow that is great! I am also building a "Stalkaround" this year. I'm really having a lot of problems coming up with a universal joint for the head. Any chance we could see close up pics and a description of how you make it. I understand the R/C parts, but I'm still not quite getting how it all goes together.

What type of creature is your son going to be? This evening I just started work enlarging the pattern for the robe I will be wearing over my stalkaround. Right now its coming out to 36ft of fabric for mine...ugh.
Great work!

Kaffieen
 
#20 ·
Thanks, kaffieen!

This project all started when my son saw Gore Galore's Wraith costume and asked if I could make one just like it. I drew up the plan in the following pic and showed it to Josh but he seemed crestfallen that it didn't look like the Wraith. I guess it will end up looking like Gore Galore's costume after all.



Here is an overview pic showing the head mechanics. The helmet is connected to the creature's head by a length of 1/4" all thread.



The all thread passes through bearings that are installed in pvc tee fittings mounted to the frame. I used a heat gun to soften the tee fittings so the bearings could be press-fit into them.



Here is a closeup pic showing the way the control rod is connected to the helmet. There are bolts that are fixed to either side of the helmet that act as pivot points. The black object is a shaft collar that grips the end of the bolt on one side. A 1/16" thick piece of aluminum flat bar is cut into the shape of arm similar to a servo horn and is attached to the shaft collar with a couple screws. The clevis of the steel cable connects to this arm.



Here is a side view of the same parts:



The control rod (Sullivan Gold-N-Rod #S514) slides neatly into a 3/16" steel automotive brake line that is bent and secured to a piece of 1/8" aluminum flat bar using pieces of thin brass made into clamps. The aluminum flat bar is bent around the top of the helmet and pivots freely on the bolts mentioned earlier. You can also see how the all thread is secured to the top of this piece using a couple of nylon lock nuts.



Here is a closeup of the head mech. It's just a couple pieces of scrap wood hinged together. The bottom piece is fixed to the all thread. You can just see the end of the brake line emerging through this piece and the Gold-N-Rod emerging through the brake line. Another scrap of 1/16" aluminum flat bar serves as an arm for the clevis to attach.



The block of wood midway down the all thread just serves as an anchor point for the brake line to give it more support:



If you need further clarifying of anything just let me know :)
 
#26 ·
Sorry for not getting back to you earlier, Kaffieen. I lost power when Irene came through and the current just came back on this morning. Without the brake line to hold it still the Gold-N-Rod tends to flex throughout its length and you lose some of the motion of the stalkaround's head. The steel push/pull cable slides freely in the Gold-N-Rod's yellow sheath. The yellow sheath is fixed within the brake line and doesn't move. When you get the Gold-N-Rod you'll see that it has splines running its length on the outside which affords just a bit of space between it and the brake line--enough to squirt some Super Glue between them. Capillary action will draw the glue down and keep the Gold-N-Rod's sheath in place.
 
#24 ·
I have an idea for a stalkaround (ok, I'm taking another guy's idea lol) but want to make some improvements, with his blessing. He already e-mailed me some design / construction pics and description of what he did. There's no way I'll get it done this year but would like to build it before next year. I'm trying to make two notable improvements....one I think maybe I can work out, the other...running into a wall. Thought I'd bounce it off you since you seem so good on the mechanics. I need a design that will enable my head movement to control the movement of the head much like yours (his had static head) but....my head won't be directly under the stalkaround head. It will be in front of my head so I need a way to attach to the BACK somehow of the stalkaround head to control it.
 
#27 ·
sumrtym said:
I need a design that will enable my head movement to control the movement of the head much like yours (his had static head) but....my head won't be directly under the stalkaround head. It will be in front of my head so I need a way to attach to the BACK somehow of the stalkaround head to control it.
Click to expand...
Hi, sumrtym. Maybe the nod motion can be the same as my design since the control rod can be routed any way you need it. The important considerations with R/C control rods is that their sheath ends are fixed securely in place and are immovable, bends are not too sharp and the steel cable isn't overextended past the ends of the sheath (3/4" for the one I used). You can go the extra effort like I did and encase it in a brake line so it doesn't flex when force is applied to the steel cable.

As for the head rotate motion maybe another control cable could be used. I went with tying the helmet directly to the head with the all thread because it was the simplest solution. DeadMeat mentioned he has the rotate motion worked out using cables in his Body Bag costume so maybe he'd be the one to ask :D If you could sketch out your design and post it in a thread with your costume idea we could get a better idea of the costume's head placement and maybe come up with something :)
 
#25 ·
Let me guess, you talked to Kevin at Bald Brain too? :p I'm a few weeks in to working on a modified Body Bag costume myself and decided to use head movement via cables. Right now I've got left right axis movement but am toying around with adding up down if the mask I pick doesn't cause too much stress on the rig weight-wise.

If you have any work in progress pics I would love to see em. I'll be glad to show any I have as I'm compiling pics of the process to give to Kevin as a thanks for the inspiration.

Also, if it wasn't the Body Bag costume that sparked your idea I wouldn't mind the added inspiration for mine if you didn't mind. Looking forward to seeing it as it comes to fruition.
 
#29 ·
Actually, not Kevin's idea on this one, although he has an interesting take on stalkarounds. Not big on clowns, but that could be modified a lot of different ways.

I hadn't thought about using cables for the side to side. I had thought about routing a brake cable for the up/down motion as long as I keep the cable hidden. I'll have to think about that for the side to side. I don't suppose you have a diagram for the side to side motion idea? With the design I'm contemplating, a lot is open to viewing so hiding mechanisms is important. Up and down shouldn't be a problem, as I plan on crafting the head out of papier mache. I'd like to light it as well with a spooky blob if I can create some hollowness to the eyes, perhaps mouth, depending on which direction I go (got two competing ideas for the final look / creature). I've got another idea for the hands and creating some movement there, but I'm afraid my idea may lend itself to the possibility of getting hurt if someone were to grab he stalkaround arms and bend them wrong way.

No pictures, still in planning stages. As I said, it's a project for next year not this one. As I work on this, I'll make a tutorial to post.
 
#30 ·
I liked how Kevin did the clowns but just had a bit more of a draw to the body bag rig he made. Girlfriend HATES clowns so those were never an option to try.

As for the head movement right now I still only have right and left. It's extremely basic at the moment. I built a pretty standard rig out of pvc but to give mobility to the head ran a PVC T and then a 1/2" right angle connector from the main spine. That gave me a 1/2" pvc post just to the left of the spine. I then took a 3/4" to 1/2" T connector and then slid it over the 1/2" pipe. that gave me a left and right swing.. kind of confusing to try and type out but I'll see what I can do to get some of my pics off the camera.

From there, I drilled a couple holes through the pvc pipe that protruded from the 1/2" section of that loose T connector (essentially, what would be the neck), ran some wire cable through (one left and one right) and secured. If you pulled on one, it would swing the head in that direction. I really need pics here.. :p I'll see what I can scrounge up to make this a bit easier to visualize.

As for the head itself I'm thinking of making it from a chunk of pink foam (carved into shape) then paper mache'd for some texture and paintability (is that even a word?). I have yet to find a mask that "popped" but am still keeping my eyes open once the Halloween City and the Spirit shops open up.
 
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