New take on an old fav. (crank arm marionette show)

Thx guys and gals.

Well the stage is set. time to move on to paint and detailing. Still have to figure out the xmas lighting for the stars in the night sky.


Lucked out this morning and found a small bird at a garage sale ($0.10) It was yellow, so I just colored it with a black sharpie.

Here's a short clip of the finalized movements and the moon.
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Started painting some signage for the machine. I can't believe how much extra work go's into painting/making something to look old.
Theres 3 layers of color. Sand dinged and dented. All of which where tinted with blacks, browns and yellows to look like the colors of yesteryear.
Each layer of paint thicker than the last. I want it to look like its had layers and layers of paint.
New pieces of lumber needed to be aged (sanded/worn/antiqued) while old weather checked pieces of lumber were difficult to paint with clean lines.
I even sanded wet paint to almost instantly add years of grime.



I can't wait to get the crate stained up and start detailing the scene inside. Real earth, an old streetlight, the possiblities are endless.

The projects coming together better than I expected. I stainded the crate and added some 6v lighting (old pinball parts). The lights and motor are actually running on the same power supply. (with fuse just to be safe)
I think with the right paint, the plant stand I picked up a couple weeks back (garage sale-2 for $5) will make a fantastic cast iron stand for my machine.

The list of things left to do seems to get bigger as I go. With that said, I'm very pleased with the way its shaping up. Still gotta figure out a coin slot, frame a piece of glass for the front, paint the stand, travel stencils on the outside of the crate, sew/embroider a little old trick or treat bag for the cowgirl, and most importantly decorate/paint the outside.
Should fit right into my carnival of chaos theme.

Btw, Is the colored fabric that looks like burlap, sold as burlap? Or is there another name for it?

I decided to change out the stand and use my old cast iron base. It's served multiple purposes over the years but this has to be the best yet.
Built the frame for the glass and finished it off with a nice halloween orange.

My little nepthew was over at the house today. He told me Hellga wasn't a real witch, cause she didn't have a broom stick.lol
She does now.
It's just taped inplace, but I love the way she sets it in the corner when she's finished with it.
check it out.

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Thx dave.

So the stage is set. A cobblestone street for this little trick or treat scene.

Found 2 seemingly random items to make my coin slide.
The dark cast piece is part of an old chime clock (actually held the chimes inplace) and the gold piece is an old shelf bracket.
Just needs a little paint.

Managed to button down a lot of the loose ends this evening. Still need glass, finish the coin slot and a few stencils for the crate itself.



I'm very pleased with the progress. I'm actually putting on a carnival of chaos this year. 3 live bands at a billiard hall. We have a few circus type acts to wonder the crowds and lots of prizes to give away. This is the first of many amusement type props I'll be building for this event. hopefully they all go this well.
Here's the final video. Not bad for an old wooden crate and a couple $5 marionettes.


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