[WandatheWitch]

Hi!

New member here. So glad to find the site. I've looked and looked and can't find an answer to my question.

We bought a Grandin Road "Hagatha " the witch on Ebay 2 years ago. My special needs son plays with it EVERYDAY and loves it. Recently her eyes and mouth move slower and she's just not the same (probably from over use).

My son of course notices and is begging me to find someone to "fix" her. I called Grandin Road and spoke to several people including a supervisor and very politely asked if they could tell me the manufacturer so that i could maybe get her fixed. They explained that they cannot give out the manufacturer information. I somewhat understand but told them my issue AND reminded them they no longer sell this witch and there is no reason to "hide" the maker. No luck.

Does anyone in the community know anyone that works on the animated creatures?

Many thanks!

Dad of WandaTheWitch

 

[Frankie's Girl]

Unfortunately, a good repair place for seasonal animatronics is not something that is super easy to find.

The maker is likely not going to be helpful at all. None of these props are meant to last forever and are made pretty cheaply from plastic/nylon parts. They have no interest usually in even offering the parts to repair, so the seasonal decorating communities usually have to rely on mechanical or electronics hobbyists to fix.

You may have better luck if you post your city/state if there's some of the engineer/mechanical wizards on here that live nearby they may be able to help you out.

I do hope someone can help you out tho! Good luck!!

 

[Industen]

Could be a bunch of different issues. Gears stripping, voltage drop etc. If both the mouth and eyes are sluggish it could be the main armature where everything connects.

The good thing is it still works. Open her up and see what is going on. Look at the movement and pinpoint the area.

Use a multimeter and measure the voltage at each solder point, test for continuity on all points.

 

[WandatheWitch]

Thanks Frankie's Girl. That's kinda where my thinking is too. Appreciate the input and will search locally. Many thanks!

 

[WandatheWitch]

Thanks Industen,
Sadly i'm not a mechanical guy at all....and would most likely do more damage than good. I'll look around and see if i can find a mechanical guy locally. Appreciate the reply!

 

[Princesshd]

I have a friend that does prop repairs and is reasonable in pricing. KentuckySpecialEffects.com

Watching some of his work is actaully why I like Halloween more now than I used to. Not just about candy anymore.

 

[eightcircuits]

What is your general location? maybe someone here could help. They could send you a direct message and you could go from there.

 

[Castart]

The sfx company that sells all the crank ghosts off ebay. http://www.kentuckyspecialfx.com/ They repair props, I have considered sending one to them a few times, although I keep saying I will just fix it myself.