Thread: I Need Advice

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So I'm determine to get back in the game this next year. The only way I know how to do that, and increase the tot's, is to give them something to talk about. Really, considering the way I have ran everything over the years, anything "new" will be a great improvement. So, I'm thinking of trying my hand at pneumatics. Considering this is totally new to me, are there any easy props to make that will still let me achieve the wow factor but not give me a thousand new gray hairs? I know this almost sounds like I want my cake and eat it too, but really, I just want to start off easy. Any advice will be great appreciated.

A very excellent and easy to understand guide can be found here.It is a very informative guide and will answer a lot of your questions. Hope this helps!!http://http://www.halloweenforum.com...neumatics.html

Thank you very much

Here's a tip I can give you...think outside the box.

Look for things at yard sales and thrift stores that will save you time and money, that you can turn into linkage for a prop and especially if you don't weld.

Here is a few examples of what I'm talking about and most of the time you can get thongs like this for $5-$10 dollars. Move a few bolts around and you already have the linkage made and all you need to do is add the air cylinder. Weight benches and exercise equipment are just some of the things I've used.

Like this one that I took the seat off and added the air cylinder






Here's another that you could come up with many uses



I used it like this by adding a air cylinder to the round bar to the base



And another one that I just added a air cylinder



To do this





I got a few more but I think you can get what I mean by these

Personally, the best "first" pneumatic prop you can get into that is probably (in my humble opinion) the easiest to build and understand, is the "trash can trauma". It is simply a garbage can or oil drum with a simple pneumatic cylinder mounted to the floor of the bucket/bin and a simple, light prop attached. When activated, the prop simply pops up out of the can quickly, to startle the trick-or-treaters. It's really quite effective! All you need is a pneumatic cylinder, a 3-way valve (solenoid) and a simple controller (there are many out there). I would think you coule (potentially) throw this together in a week-end. Cheers!......'Scruff

Thanks everyone for the tips so far!

Max, I got a soloflex laying around here, with leg extension but I'm hoping to sell it lol. If I can't sell it I'll have to look into using it for something. That's really good thinking to use stuff like that for props. I would have never thought of it.

Scruffy, I have always wanted to have a trash can trauma. That could very well be the first thing I try out. It sounds like it's easy enough

Even if you don't use a soloflex/weight bench style frame... Simple one and 2 bar armatures are easy/cheap to make.

If you have access to Metal Stock, simply get a couple lengths of 1" Square steel tubing (2' for the back, and 1' for the front, with a couple of flat metal bars for arms (length depending on the height you want) and a single solenoid and cylinder to actuate it.

You can make simple armatures for cheap. (You can even use wood.. not as sturdy, but usable in a pinch.)

You can go to any standard prop shop to get a view of their armatures, their motions, and (roughly) how to build them.

Here are examples.

http://www.boocrewproduction.com/store/bcp_prod.html

Originally Posted by nfmmalice

If you have access to Metal Stoc]

That might be a small problem. Any recommendations on where to get stuff like that?

easy props are a grave popper.. toe pincher in coffin..electric chair.. all this stuff takes one cylinder and a week or two or work! good luck

Great thread. One of the questions that should be asked is how often the props are going to be activated. Also, how involved can you or someone else be involved in the triggering process. A pneumatic trash can trauma is one of the easier props. It is exponentially easier if you just run a length of fishing line from the lid up over a tree branch and give it a tug when a TOTer walks by.

As madmax proves with his photos, there are many different ways to make something move. Depending on your skill level and the amount of time and money you want to put into your props, there are also some simple ways to get by.