Thread: Turning a costume into a prop?

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What is the best method for turning a costume into a prop? I got an awesome deal on a couple of nice Hellraiser costumes, and I want to use them for our big party this year. I'm not sure if I should try stuffing them ... build some type of frame for them ... try to find mannequins ...

Any ideas? Thanks

i have seen people use mannequins and i have seen people use pvc and chicken wire it really is preference

Well it depends how you want them to be standing or sitting?

Since hellraiser wears a cloak/gown it would be pretty easy to just drill a 1/2" hole into a block, then srcew it onto a base board. place in a 1/2" pvc pipe cut down. Use the remains for shoulders and arms. For the arms use wiring inside the pvc and attach it to the shoulders. Then u can use pipe insulation foam or swimming noodles cut those for the shoulders, biceps, forearms.

The chest u can use chicken wire or just tape pillows onto it.

for the head to hold the mask u can use a maequin(sp?) foam head or stuff it w/ news paper or chicken wire. Id use the foam head.

I am building a reaper right now from a costume i will post pics later.

I'm all about props from costumes....we're doing clowns this year...I made all the costumes myself and like bl00d, just put them on pvc frames with chicken wire and pool noodles for the arms, and some of the heads I made outta clay, the others are masks I put on foam head and some heads I got at a garage sale that were hair cutting heads.......

Originally Posted by bl00d

I am building a reaper right now from a costume i will post pics later.

Thank you, that would be awesome if you could post pics, because I've never put together anything like that.

Is there any tutorials someone could point me too for this as well? I'm still kinda new to this building your own prop stuff

I will get them up kinda like a tut

but check out these tuts i found them very helpful

http://www.halloweenmonsterlist.info/

I've used the cheapest PVC sprinkler pipe and joints for the structures of my old costumes and new creations for years. Use a heat gun on the pipe whenever you need an angle that is not 90 or 45 degrees. I don't glue them unless the joint is high stress. I label each pipe and joint, then break them down after H'ween and bag each set together for easy assembly next year.

Around July we start gathering grocery bags - yeah the plastic ones - and saving newspapers. My monsters (old costumes, full head masks, hands and some feet) are outside in the weather. One year I stuffed them with newspapers, it rained and what a mess. Now we crumple the newspapers into the grocery bags and tie them with their handles. I usually do this while watching TV during the week. We have a pile of them in the corner right now. These "bags" are stuffed into the costume on the frame. Some are hung on the PVC frames, to provide needed shapes (hunchback, big chest, etc) to the monsters.

We also save plastic milk jugs around this time of the year (be sure to rinse them out thoroughly or ... yuk). Turn them upside down and place a full head mask over the jug. Now place the jug on the long "neck" of the PVC frame. Boom ! You've got a monster.

I also use scrap cardboard to mount led eyes and glue them to the inside of the mask. On some masks, I cover the eye holes with black silk-like material first to defuse the LED. Now they sell defused LED, so this is not neccessary.

Hope this helps.

This one is out every year. Some times I'm in it, sometimes it's stuffed as you see here (with arms too long - duh). This one has the PVC sitting in holes in 2x4s so it can be moved around:


Another - notice the purposeful paunch:


Last two:
Both of these are in the grass, so I drilled holes in some pairs of old shoes, slip those over two 4 foot rebars pushed into the ground at least 18", then put the open PVC frame legs over the rebar.