Thread: Various Prop Questions - Need Help!

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Hello all, I am in the process of purchasing materials needed to build a few of my own props. I am hoping to build the 3D TV (non-animatronic) and a 6' Jason Voorhees (another, non-animatronic). I'm very much a beginner. I have a few questions, I hope you can help. Also, I'm still getting used to the board, so please forgive me if I could have done better search to find the answers to my questions. Thank you.

- When taking apart my non-working TV set, is there anything I should be very cautious with, as in, do NOT touch xxxx ... sounds like a silly question, but I'm nervous, even though it's non-working

- I bought a styrofoam head for my Jason, and acrylic paint, and Great Stuff. Will all of this work together? In other words, can you use that type of paint & the Great Stuff & styrofoam together? Or is it a bad combo?

- Once I am all done with my Jason head, painting, modifying, etc., is there anything I can use, like a shellac, to 'seal' or 'protect' it?

- Other than swimming pool noodles, which I cannot seem to find in stores anymore, what would be a CHEAP way of building the bulk to go on top of my PVC Jason body?

- I'm giving my husband a project to try and get in the Halloween mood like I am. He's very computer smart so to speak. I am too, but he's very 'hardware' savvy. I was looking through halloweenmonsterlist . com and found several projects, but does anyone recommend a beginner level animatronic GHOST type project?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but these are to start. Sorry for such a long thread, but thank you so much for your help! It's greatly appreciated!!

Be careful of shorting out the large capacitors, which can hold a charge for a long time.

Acrylics are water based & work with pretty much anything, so that combo is fine,acrylic paint is water resistant, but if you want to add a clear, any poly Urethane (water based) is fine to seal the whole thing.
Just make sure the paint has a few days to dry, then put on a thin coat of clear,let that set up / dry & you can add a good med coat if you want, but a 1st coat should be good enough.
Any clears non waterbased, like shellac, lacquer, etc can melt the foam head or ruin the paint, unless the paint is specifically designed for all clears like Createx AutoAir acrylics......

& check dollar store or big lots for pool noodles, seen them there still.

The Flying Crank ghost was my first animated Project last year and would recommend.

Yes your good to go with the acrylic.. Dont use spray paint with foam... it melts it. Unless thats a look your going for

To fill out the body ...there are so many options! A cheap way is to get some old clothes...
sew shut the arms and legs and then stuff it with .. paper, batting.. whatever you have. Then sew the top and bottom together, or at least pin it together. If you want it to stand you can add a frame inside the clothes.. made out of pvc or wood. We use this method a lot just because we usually want several bodies but budget doesnt allow for anything more elaborate I have even used bubble wrap and taped it into the shapes I needed for bodies.

Originally Posted by harvestmoon

- I bought a styrofoam head for my Jason, and acrylic paint, and Great Stuff. Will all of this work together? In other words, can you use that type of paint & the Great Stuff & styrofoam together? Or is it a bad combo?

- Once I am all done with my Jason head, painting, modifying, etc., is there anything I can use, like a shellac, to 'seal' or 'protect' it?

- Other than swimming pool noodles, which I cannot seem to find in stores anymore, what would be a CHEAP way of building the bulk to go on top of my PVC Jason body?

I'm still at the stage of creating static props myself, so I cannot address your other questions, but I can help with the Jason dummy.

Absolutely, those materials all work together fine. Great Stuff is very sticky, will adhere to pretty much anything, and is paintable. Acrylic paint is also a good choice, able to cover just about any base material without breaking it down (unlike oil-based paints, which can eat styrofoam).

For putting muscles onto Jason's PVC skeleton, you could try sheets of soft foam (the type used in furniture). I created my own articulated dummy skeleton out of thick wood dowels and a styrofoam head, and wrapped 1" thick soft foam sheets around the dowel "bones" several times to simulate flesh and muscle. I found enough scrap foam around my house and at the town transfer station that it didn't cost me anything. I used duct tape to hold the rolls of foam together. Unfortunately, I can't find the photos I took while building the dummy, but here's the final, dressed result:



Since you'll be covering Jason's body with a pair of coveralls, you don't need to worry about being too anatomically correct. As you can see in the photo, just a hint of bulk underneath the clothing is enough to sell the illusion.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your projects!

Originally Posted by harvestmoon

- When taking apart my non-working TV set, is there anything I should be very cautious with, as in, do NOT touch xxxx ... sounds like a silly question, but I'm nervous, even though it's non-working


-

Be VERY careful working on the TV! Cathode Ray tubes (the picture tube in the TV) act like giant capacitors, and can store energy for years after being disconnected. I have a screwdriver with a 1/4 inch shank that has the tip burned completely off that I keep as a reminder of this.

Use a long dry wood stick to disconnect the flyback transformer (the funky connector that's connected to the side of the tube with the big wire going to it) then once you remove the tube, use a wood baseball bat or long heavy stick (not metal) to break the "neck" of the tube off. Be careful, because the tube is under vacuum and will "implode" when hit. (My dad used to have my brother and I shoot the neck with a .22 from about 25 feet away when disposing of them - great target practice!)

Thank you very much! Great feedback so far!

I am starting to think I'm not so sure about the 3D TV, might have to mull that one over with the hubby. I'm a bit of a paranoid person, and do not wish for a death-by-boob-tube

to bulk out pvc armatures, go to the hardware store and ask for water pipe insulation. they are pretty cheap and are easy to cut into lengths and wrap around the pvc.

Not to take away the fun of building the Jason yourself, but you may want to consider this 6' ready-out-of-the-box Halloween dummy sold by WalMart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Full-Size-...nds-6/14935850

Sure, you can put together your own dummy for less money, but if you get squeezed for time, $36 (with shipping) is an attractive alternative.