Thread: For my B-day

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It's my birthday this Sunday and my Mom and Dad wan't to know what I would like for my birthday.

They said that it could be anywhere from $50-$200 but they also owe me $300 dollars So the MOST excpensive prop I would be looking for would be one that costs $500. I am looking for a life sized prop/Animatronic that would ship to Canada for under $500

I havn't gone the pneumatic route yet and I know nothing about pneumatics. Would that be a good idea? Any help is great

Thanks,
the halloweenie

Pnuematics are pretty easy to learn. Trust me on that one, otherwise I wouldn't be using them. The biggest expense is the air compressor. Get one that is big enough to run a few props. You can always lower the air pressure, you ca get a valve for that but, you can't get more air out of a small machine. Check out FrightProps catalog. They have a bunch of pneumatic parts and props.

Thanks Growler,
Is there any books that I could buy that would teach me how to use pneumatics. I could picture myself now with an air cylinder and a compresser completly confuzed

Also do you have any tips on pneumatics like your favourite compressers to buy.

Thanks,
the halloweenie

Not sure on compressors. There are a lot of them out there. I bought mine at a Sears store about 18 years ago and it is still running great. I do auto work so wanted it. You can do a search on pneumatic books say for amazon. Try a pneumatics for dummys. They have one for everything else. lol I know FrightProps has how-to's also. I would look for one that has a pressure gage, and a self oiler. Kind of like a lawn mower. You pour it in and forget about it. Next you will want a lot of hose. Depending on how far away you want to have your prop. Get quick disconnect ends. They are a god send. You just tighten them on to the ends of hoses and after that they just pop on and off. Saves you a lot of time unscrewing things later on. Frightprops has a neat little box, (can't remember the name of it) that lets you plug the end of your compressor hose into it. Then you have like splitters that let you run hoses to numerous props off your main hose. I got a 5 splitter so I could run a bunch of stuff and still have a couple for the future. Also get some tape for the threads on your hose. It makes a solid seal when you screw in the ends and you will not get leakage. I run a 3/4 or 5/8 inch hose.

Another thing you can do is check out ebay or places like Minion Web for ready made pneumatic frames. I bought a trash can trauma off ebay. It was the basic framework, solenoid and trigger. I then supplied the dummy prop and trash can. It was a kit so I put it all together and it was real simple and an easy way to learn. I think I have some pics of my props on my page if you look at my profile.

If there is anything else you want to know just ask. Oh, you also want to figure out what size you want for compressor. Upright or horizontal. It all depends on the room you have to place it. We had to run new 240 wiring for mine which was about $100 back then. I put one outlet in the back of my garage where I keep the compressor and then another outlet by the car door so it would be out front and closer to the yard for Halloween.

Cool, I will check out those sites. I'll also look for some books. What type of a frame would you sujest for my first project? Also, With that frame what type of air compresser would I buy? And, How much do you think the final price would be?

Thanks so much,
the halloweenie

I would check out the compressors first. I think mine was about $250 but, that was years ago. It's also about twice the size I need to run the props but, on the other hand I can run a lot of props and not worry about running out of air. You want one with a built in air tank for storage. That way when you run the compressor, it will fill the tank. Once it runs down to a certain lvl then it will refill it. If you just get a compressor without tank it will run all the time and these things are not quiet. Since you are in Canada I would take a run to a few local home improvement stores by you. Then you can compare prices and not having to worry about someone having to ship it.
As far as the prop, that is up to you. You will have to consider if it's just a frame, will it come with a trigger and solinoid and pneumatic. Or is it just the bare frame and you have to buy all the parts. You will also want to consider what you want and how it will fit into your scene. There is so many out there to choose from. A trash can trama which just goes str8 up, a siccors that goes out horizontally, and then that go up at an angle like the spider from Fright Props. They also have the huge octopus that gets hooked up and just bounces around and you don't need a frame. Great for a pirate set up. If you have a cemetary then you can get one that makes the vampire or skeleton to sit up. My compressor is a 5horse power 30 gal capacity compressor. It's a sears craftsman. I think you would be looking at about $180 to $390 for the compressor.
Compressors : Tools : Sears Outlet

You do not want just the air tank and probably not a pancake type compressor. The air tank type is just to fill up from a compressor to take in your car to fill a flat or such. The pancake type I don't think will hold enough air to run a prop all night.

Thanks, I'll check them out!

Happy belated... So, what didja get?