Thread: Dismantling the Grim Reapers

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I just thought these were funny...

"Is that what we all look like inside?!"






Well, and posting the pictures just in case you were curious how they were made. Each one took about an hour total to make and there were three.

Here's what they looked like fully dressed:

You'll notice that they have speakers mounted in their chests. I wanted them to sound like they were "talking" to each other. Here is the soundtrack that was played to greet guests:

(As you listen, imagine walking up the drive between them!)

http://www.deved.com/files/Grim Reapers 2007.wma

The lamps each flickered independently like they were real kerosene. The small spotlights mounted on the base pointed up at the stone entrance. Since they were on the same respective flicker circuit it looked as though the lamps were lighting the entrance in addition to just looking COOL!

I don't know if that's how I look but it's certainly how I FEEL on some days. lol!

Those look awesome, btw. I love the skulls. Where did you get them?

Hmm... I don't remember where I got them but I remember seeing them CHEAPER at RiteAid after I bought them. I paid $4.49 ea for them. They were $3.99 at Rite Aid. If I found them anywhere again I'd buy more.

Those look great. Like the idea of them talking. I also have a bunch of "naked" figures in my garage. Looks like a pvc nudist colony!

"pvc nudist colony"! LOL That's great.

I like that we get to see the insides...I tend to over complicate building them and yours look so easy!

Thank you Deadna. The most important part was the sholders. I thought that the bottom part of them should look a bit like there might not be any legs or feet... perhaps they floated or were otherwise not using legs. So, I focused on getting the sholders right, hiding the speaker, making the neck look right, and making the hoods.

BTW, the hoods were interesting... I'm no seamstress so I used a piece of triangle WonderUnder on a square piece of muslin with the flat part as the front of the hood opening. The peak of the triangle I simply pinned right into the foam heads. Worked great and only took about 5 minutes to make them.

The black cloth was two materials: the first layer was cheap "root-stop" plastic, then I layered muslin over the top to create the draping. Everything was topped off with a 6 ft piece of dyed/textured/painted cheesecloth.

The lamps are those $4 hurricane lamps from BigLots that I wired up with a C7 base and painted to age them. I originally made them for a local production of Oklahoma!

Thanks for the directions. I have all the makings but never got around to building any because I didn't know where I would store them. Yours wouldn't take up much room at all

True, plus they've been already reduced down to their basic parts and are now stored way until next year.