[Ghost of Spookie]

Last year when I saw the Scary Peeper on GrandinRoad's site I though "ooohh that is scary if you suddenly saw it pop up out side a window or behind a couch, etc." Didn't buy it last year but am still thinking about it.

I am NOT mechanical/pneumatically inclined so am hoping someone here can suggest reusing something already in existance without alot of effort to get the effect of rising up from below ( kind of like how people repurposed the Back Massagers for different things using their mechanics). It would be ideal to have his head slowly rise up from behind the couch for example, stop and then lower back out of sight (and I could see adding an audio of him saying "Boo!" but we won't go there now). Just the rising head would be great.

Suggestions?

Here's a link to the Scary Peepers website where there are two different peeper heads available--Peeping Tom and a Peeping Clown. I thought there were more last year but I may be mistaken. GrandinRoad is selling the same one as last year this year--the guy in the hoodie.

 

[Abunai]

Look here:
YouTube Tombstone Peeper

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Thanks for the link to the video Abunai. I can see that sort of circular up and down movement working for that tombstone due to the shape of it, however I'm thinking a "simple" (or maybe not so) just up and down movement is more what I've got in mind. The movement needs come closer to a person rising up to peek and then slinking back down into hiding.

 

[bl00d]

You could run a toilet chain onto a reindeer motor so it wont do the full rotation.

 

[Abunai]

Thanks for the link to the video Abunai. I can see that sort of circular up and down movement working for that tombstone due to the shape of it, however I'm thinking a "simple" (or maybe not so) just up and down movement is more what I've got in mind. The movement needs come closer to a person rising up to peek and then slinking back down into hiding.

How about a mechanism like this?:


The slot and two guides will keep the upright bar moving straight up and down. (The cylinder thing at the bottom is a motor...quick sketch...let me know if the sketch is not clear)

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Your sketch is really great and I can see how the movement works. Thanks for taking the time. I admire your sketch ability to illustrate (Google sketch?). So is this available in some ready made product that I can reuse? I really don't want to go in search of parts and build something as mentioned above. When you don't have a lot in the way of tools, workshop space and skill it makes it much harder to pull things together.

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Blood I have a reindeer and can get a toilet chain. Won't restricting the movement strain the motor?

 

[Excogitate]

Like this?

http://youtu.be/Yf-WmWqK2XA

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Yes! That's how I want the movement of the Creepy Peeper to be.

 

[Abunai]

Your sketch is really great and I can see how the movement works. Thanks for taking the time. I admire your sketch ability to illustrate (Google sketch?). So is this available in some ready made product that I can reuse? I really don't want to go in search of parts and build something as mentioned above. When you don't have a lot in the way of tools, workshop space and skill it makes it much harder to pull things together.

Thanks GoS.
I used Google Sketchup.
I'm not aware of a ready made product that already contains a mechanism like that.
A reindeer motor or other low RPM motor would be the basis of the whole thing.
Maybe you could befriend a handy-man type neighbor in your area

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Thanks GoS.
I used Google Sketchup.
I'm not aware of a ready made product that already contains a mechanism like that.
A reindeer motor or other low RPM motor would be the basis of the whole thing.
Maybe you could befriend a handy-man type neighbor in your area

Haha yeah, got my eyes on the young guy who moved in a few houses down who seems very handy, put up his own yard fencing and he likes Halloween to boot! He and his wife have a little girl and he was saying in a few years he's looking forward to decorating the house for her for halloween when she can start to appreciate it (yeah, another potential haunter). Would be fun to have a halloween compadre since Hubby doesn't like halloween and isn't too handy with construction projects. Heck I had more tools when we got married than he did and that's not saying much. He's still a keeper and is willing to co-exist with props.

 

[drzeus]

Hey Ghost of Spookie!
I used Abunai's mechanics to achieve this;

Pretty easy to do...
I used a drawer slide for the vertical rod.

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Hey Zeus! Nice seeing you around. So that was your video? That is the movement I would like to achieve. Easy huh? Any chance you already put up a tutorial or still have the prop and can take photos of the back of it so I can get a look at what you did exactly (would be looking for a late summer project on this guy so no big rush)? If this is something I think I can handle I'd like to buy the Scary Peeper and give it a try.

Thanks all of you guys for your help.

 

[drzeus]

Sorry it took so long for a reply. I've just now started pulling stuff out from storage.
Here is a behind the scenes video of my Vertical Grave Poppers using a drawer slide...
This camera perspective is from behind the prop which would be normally hidden with a gravestone (see previous post in this thread above).
My recollection is that the prop would run for about a week on 1 nine volt battery.

No tut is available but if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask

 

[Saruman of Many Colours]

I've summoned this thread from the depths to say: Thanks! This is exactly the sort of mechanism (using a drawer slide for smooth up-and-down movement) that I'm envisioning for a 2016 prop build.

 

[billappleton]

Why not just mount it on an electric or hydraulic piston?