Hi everyone, for my first post (long time silent observer) I wanted to share the tail end of my hearse build.
Now, first thing's first: I needed wheels. Because there was no way I was going to attempt this without having the coach wheels ready to go. So I found mine at a few different At Home stores. Actually they were the last in stock and I had to hit a nearby town to find the last one thankfully the right size I needed to. Unfortunately there's no way these decorative wheels would support the weight of the final hearse, so I'm having to support it on sawhorses for now.
After that, it's simply building a box on a bigger scale right? Well, at least that's what I convinced myself
And I knew I wanted some curves to soften up the boxy feel, so I routed some into the plywood walls and painted them black
Here is where I also started playing with some embellishment options. I made four skull trophies/plaques from foam skulls and wooden French provincial unfinished wood plaques both from Michaels. Stained them darker, then joined the two with glue and a screw from behind. Then spar varnished the entire thing to help protect them from the elements.
View attachment 571143
And then fast forward several days after gathering some vintage lamps off Ebay, LED candle lights from Michaels, and some winged skull designs from Necrotic Creations. The wheels at this point were disassembled and placed there just to help me visualize the final goal.
Then I felt like I need a padded seat. So pleather from Joann Fabrics, 2' foam cushioning from Walmart and some leftover plywood were stapled together to become what I wanted. Brass rod holders from Hobby Lobby and a pair of bronze curtain rods from Ross became my coffin rails. Also, some solid black iron handles were found at Hobby Lobby and joined onto the foot rest as a climb-onto feature.
And the back door: Hinges from Hobby Lobby antiqued with brass paint, a foam picture frame from Michaels customized with skulls painted black and bronze and a Victorian replica doorknob from Necrotic Creations. I used the plastic picture guard from a movie poster frame set to fill in the oval where real glass would normally go.
View attachment 571153
Lastly, I added a 2' foam roof, some black silk fabric from Joann and ivory curtain pulls found at Ross (adorn the pulls with white skulls - one each). At some point I hope to add plexiglass windows.
I'm pretty happy with it, though I am keeping my eyes open for some real carriage wheels to carry the weight in the future. I'm particularly fond of the 1313 sign homage behind the driver. I dunno why, I mean, the spiderwebs are simply solder wire superglued into place, but it references the Munsters and for some reason that makes me happy.
And as a bonus: went ahead and threw together a pumpkin sentinel to guard the yard while I plan the rest of the layout for this year.
Oh, and lastly, I've since removed the middle sawhorse support as I've carriage-bolted the seat portion to the coffin box portion making them one strong unit. Also, after these photos were taken I've filled in the corner joints where the crown molding was amateurly cut off short, blending them into each other now.
Now, first thing's first: I needed wheels. Because there was no way I was going to attempt this without having the coach wheels ready to go. So I found mine at a few different At Home stores. Actually they were the last in stock and I had to hit a nearby town to find the last one thankfully the right size I needed to. Unfortunately there's no way these decorative wheels would support the weight of the final hearse, so I'm having to support it on sawhorses for now.
After that, it's simply building a box on a bigger scale right? Well, at least that's what I convinced myself
And I knew I wanted some curves to soften up the boxy feel, so I routed some into the plywood walls and painted them black
Here is where I also started playing with some embellishment options. I made four skull trophies/plaques from foam skulls and wooden French provincial unfinished wood plaques both from Michaels. Stained them darker, then joined the two with glue and a screw from behind. Then spar varnished the entire thing to help protect them from the elements.
View attachment 571143
And then fast forward several days after gathering some vintage lamps off Ebay, LED candle lights from Michaels, and some winged skull designs from Necrotic Creations. The wheels at this point were disassembled and placed there just to help me visualize the final goal.
Then I felt like I need a padded seat. So pleather from Joann Fabrics, 2' foam cushioning from Walmart and some leftover plywood were stapled together to become what I wanted. Brass rod holders from Hobby Lobby and a pair of bronze curtain rods from Ross became my coffin rails. Also, some solid black iron handles were found at Hobby Lobby and joined onto the foot rest as a climb-onto feature.
And the back door: Hinges from Hobby Lobby antiqued with brass paint, a foam picture frame from Michaels customized with skulls painted black and bronze and a Victorian replica doorknob from Necrotic Creations. I used the plastic picture guard from a movie poster frame set to fill in the oval where real glass would normally go.
View attachment 571153
Lastly, I added a 2' foam roof, some black silk fabric from Joann and ivory curtain pulls found at Ross (adorn the pulls with white skulls - one each). At some point I hope to add plexiglass windows.
I'm pretty happy with it, though I am keeping my eyes open for some real carriage wheels to carry the weight in the future. I'm particularly fond of the 1313 sign homage behind the driver. I dunno why, I mean, the spiderwebs are simply solder wire superglued into place, but it references the Munsters and for some reason that makes me happy.
And as a bonus: went ahead and threw together a pumpkin sentinel to guard the yard while I plan the rest of the layout for this year.
Oh, and lastly, I've since removed the middle sawhorse support as I've carriage-bolted the seat portion to the coffin box portion making them one strong unit. Also, after these photos were taken I've filled in the corner joints where the crown molding was amateurly cut off short, blending them into each other now.
