Thread: Demonica Prop

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Ok, so I know there has been a lot of discussion about Demonica. Mine worked for awhile, and then the head just quit moving. Of course!! Grrrr, my favorite prop in awhile and she was crapping out on me!! So after reading several of you guys talk about splicing wires, extending wires, etc...I just unhooked the moving one that stretches in the back of her head. Thats all I felt comfortable doing as I am not very technical or handy, lol! Plain and simple...did seven or eight test runs, and she works fine. Will doing this cause any damage to her in any other ways?? It just seems to simple...why have that wire if she works without it??
Also was thinking of investing in the power supply as she really sucks the life out of batteries.... My other concern with her is that she runs repeatedly so many times she may just die altogether. I wish you could adjust her down time to longer than 90 seconds. Also, there was a lot of sand in the box when I opened her up, and the wires had a lot of sand around them also! At one point in the night, she was fully extended with her eyes blinking red!! Turned her off, brought her in, turned her on and she extended up (no head movement) Not sure if that was her way of telling me the batteries are drained, or if shes really possessed?
Dont really want to return her as Spirit was giving me some issues about shipping her back. When I called on Sunday to find out how to get a refund/replacement, the girl said she would send me out a new one...then I get an email today they are sold out. Couldnt she tell that day they were?
Hope she works next year, lol!!

When you say the wire that stretches in the back of her head, you mean the wire to pull her head up right? Not an electrical wire? That tension wire seems to be the cause of problems I think. The length of that wire is critical. Too tight and you strain the rising module causing failure. Too loose and her head won't rise. That part of the prop needs to be better developed for the next round of her manufacture. I haven't gotten her yet, but when I do I'll be tweaking that tension wire for sure. And yes, buy the power adapters. I learned that this year too. Many props ate batteries right up in a couple of hours. I'll never do that again!

Dan

Dan, yes, the tension wire. I didnt want to touch anything electrical for fear of making the situation worse! Unhooked the wire from her neck, works like a charm....for now!

Gotcha. Well, if it works without it than that's good at least. Part of her charm is that head rise, but I could live without it. I think that tension wire was a cheap way out in the design, frankly. No surprise I suppose! Maybe that wire gets caught up sometimes. When she lowers is when that wire is most likely to slack and get caught up. I'd try installing a small tube on the module and thread the wire through in the hopes that it would keep the wire free and clear consistantly. She rises three times a clip, so I'd watch carefully and make sure the tension wire length is measured on her highest lift. All lifts should be the same height in theory, but I have a feeling it doesn't work out that way in operation. She also should just glance up I think, not look straight up to the sky. That's too much and too much tension. The length of that wire, couple with a tube to keep the wire from getting caught up seems to be the only things you can do to tweak it. Other than that, be happy she's at least performing for you. Good luck.

Dan

Dear old Demonica………….LOVE this prop……….Yea the tension wire in the back is very much needed for her beginning head snap and turn and yes the right length is critical in making her work. I did have to adjust mine several times before I got it to work where I liked the movement. And yes I noticed that on low batteries she does act crazy! I bought the power adapter directly from Tekky Toys and she worked 100% for well over 6+ hours on Halloween! Everybody liked this prop, I staged her on my walkway to the house so when you walked up for candy she was at your back but upon the return down the walkway she was there in all her gory glory scaring the kids as I even had one kid who refused to walk down the sidewalk again, her mother had to come get her! LOVE THIS PROP, I sure do hope Tekky Toys do more like her. The only fault in her and is the case with most mass made props, is that the crappy wire soldering! As I was investigating under the hood I saw lots a globs of crappy glue, meant to hold the soldering in place. I think this is the main case of prop failure. As the year progresses I will resolder and reinforce the crappy soldering that I see. Come on Tekky get better in this dept!!!

Dan, I will investigate into fixing the wire. Strange thing is, all her head movements work fine except the glancing up part,-but it def moves back and forth and all the lifts are working. Is the wire what I need to make her head lift, and this is what we should try to extend>>
Sauron, I am impressed that you want to solder her...I too saw tons of glue on my wires, and there was a bunch of sand that leaked from the base all over mine. WTH?? The box was full of sand when I opened it. Strange...

As I don't have the prop. I can only suspect that the tension wire is critical for the head movement to work properly. Any excessive tension would hurt the lifting module gearing over time, so care is needed. They even mention it in the instructional video.

On ALL these props, the wire connectors are poorly done. Hot gluing them is just odd. It does work though, but some are just poorly glued. When I disassembled all my props I made a point of putting electrical tape on all connectors to strengthen them. That is good assurance. If a wire breaks along the way, it doesn't look all to hard to deal with. But if there is a malfuction in the modules themselves, it's a bigger deal. I also take great care when disassembling to uncouple all connectors gently, never pulling by the wires. I really use kid gloves with those connections. And when I box them back up, I make sure to not stress any parts and keep the wire connectors free from damage. Proper care and handling goes a long way to keep these props working long term. After that, you just need to be lucky enough to get a good one in the first place. I have found that when the props works well right off, it remains a consistant performer if care is taken.

Dan