Thread: What do YOU want?

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Originally Posted by UnOrthodOx

Skulls.

I know there is demand, as my boys have sold them lemonade stand style for years, and always run out.

No fair. You can't post something like that and not include a photo of their skullade stand.

Originally Posted by Screaming Demons

No fair. You can't post something like that and not include a photo of their skullade stand.

That's because I'm not home to TAKE such a photo when they do it.

Originally Posted by slicerd

Unorthodox how do you make your skulls? I too would be interested in skulls paying $5-$6 bucks for a foam skull sucks and I only bought one for my FCG. I do like the skull I bought from Walgreens this year they are a hard resin like material look good and were only $5-$6 I was hoping I could get more on clearance but they were all gone by then. Also I have seen nerf type foam skulls and that could be great to.

"Glove" Mold Making 101 - Halloween Forum

Static: Me Crystal Skulls - Page 3 - Halloween Forum

This is fantastic, keep the ideas coming. I really like the idea of sculls, the big question is hollow or solid?
I'm thinking these could be made with resin, casted from a mold.
Also how important is jaw articulation?

I also like the ideas of bones avaliable by the part. I think most of us proabably have favorite parts. Should also be just as easy to cast.

Another idea I'm working on is economy priced oversized costumes. A controllable foam jackolantern or skull head at probably 9-10' tall with giant arms would be great for home haunters and small professional level haunts alike. Just a matter of making the rig simple, durable, and cost efficient.

Just did my research, plaster of paris it is. I'm going to do a bit more research and start testing producing economy skulls this weekend.

If all goes to plan, I should be able to sell them at less than $5 each, and at a lot less for quantity.

If you could some how figure out how to beat your competitors on prices for the basics, I think you could make a descent living.

Examples

Foam heads .. sell for $4 . I wonder if getting access to foam heads with out the facial features would be cheaper. You dont really need that face when you throw a mask on it.

Hands are another thing. Stores were selling pop out of the ground hands for $10 to $15. I dont need the fabric on the arms. I just want cheap hands that I can attach to my dummies because they will look better than gloves and I can always go back and repaint if need be.

PVC structures. Cheap to put together, and I bet extremly cheap to put in a kit if you bought in bulk.

Sensors - If by remote, lazer break, or preassure pads. The sensors on most props kind of sucks. If you could build a line of props that come with higher grade sensors / options, I think you would be in good shape. Spirit has awesome props, but both stores I went to this year did not allow you to buy the preassure pads in store. This made no sense to me!


I think the idea of building durable props is a great one. However I find it hard to imagine that you could sell them for cheaper than the other guy. I think the apeal of those $200 animated props is that they look cool and all a guy has to do is stand it up and plug it in. It might not work 3 years down the road, but that is on the back of a persons mind when they are buying right now, because right now it will work. However you could build a name for yourself in the prop world over durable props. Like how Sony is known for its electronics.

Overall though, I think there is a missing area in halloween stores when it comes to the home haunter. We don't necessarily want a completed prop because we will probably tear it down and make it look creepier anyways. If you provided the basic components and displayed the end result.... like : dummy = 1 pvc kit, 1 cheapo hands, 1 cheapo head, 1 of our masks ... Then optionals to add to it like eye balls, clothing, rib cages... etc . Anyhow for me stuff like this would go over real well. And don't get to focused on the dummy, its just an example. More or less a bunch of DIY kits plus options to buy parts seperatley.

This whole dialogue has gotten me thinking - know what this hobby needs, but I haven't seen anywhere? Skellie molds!

Imagine a kit - whether it's an entire skellie or just "groups" (arms, legs, skulls, ribs, etc)...just some reusable molds. Then the haunter could put the required casting medium in the molds, let the suckers cure, and pop 'em out. Assemble and voila! A skellie!

Made a materials run last night for plaster, mold builder, and other essentials.
Starting with a small tombstone to learn, and working my way up to the Skulls and bones. should have pics this weekend.

Hands, most definitely.
They're tedious and time consuming to make.
a range of hands in a variety of stages of decomposition from "living flesh" through corpsed to skeletal would be a godsend to a lot of home prop makers.

Good luck with your venture!

Peppers ghost effects-either video projsected or a vinyal poster to use with plexiglass.Nobody except for big scream tv sells anything like this.Davis graveyard ghost effect in the prop sect got me thinking about this.I would love to be able to buy some good effects like this.If you have a video camera and know how this could be a cheap money maker.

Originally Posted by Baron Samedi

Hands, most definitely.
They're tedious and time consuming to make.
a range of hands in a variety of stages of decomposition from "living flesh" through corpsed to skeletal would be a godsend to a lot of home prop makers.

Good luck with your venture!

I plan to attempt some molding for next year because I'm also in need of several hands, feet, and heads for my pile of corpses. I hope to have a black plague cart of death for that theme next year.

For the first time I'm planning attempt some life casting to acheive this, with ideas on wire armatures to make them possible so I don't have to cast so many poses.