[dionicia]

I just opened up my linxmotion controller box today and happily discovered I have more room than I thought for servos.

I have to send it over to a good friend to fix as I broke one of the power connectors on one side last year but if all goes well, I can hook up all 4 pumpkins and vincent and just use one computer to run it.

I have to buy a few rolls of servo cable and make up a bunch of connectors.

This is going to be a blast.

I was just thinking this might be a good how-to if you want to make a magic mirror or talking painting. The possibilities are endless.

 

[dionicia]

I'm waiting on some some servo brackets and the servos to arrive. Once they are here, I am going to take more pictures of before, during and after the assembly.

Waiting for packages to arrive is like waiting for Christmas sometimes. Maybe that's why the excitement is not there when I wait to open presents at Christmas time. I get that feeling throughout the year waiting to mail to arrive.

 

[dionicia]

Funny you should mention that. The brackets arrived the last week along with more servos and I finished making the plastic plates to hold everything together.

I have to work on the mouths of the pumpkins to make sure they fit after the hinges are installed.

This is what I have done so far.

P.S. I have paper eyes on the pumpkin right now as I am trying to find the right eyes for the pumpkins that will look good with the LEDs. More to come.

 

[dionicia]

I'm planning on having them sing Weird Al's Punk Polka as one of the songs.

 

[dionicia]

Mad Scientist log supplemental...installing the servo plate works TONS better if you scalp the little...pumpkins and work from the back and either add a hinge for later maintenance or glue the scalp back on.

 

[dionicia]

Just an update, my servo extensions from servocity.com arrived today, the pumpkins have had their innards installed and have been hooked up to the servo controller (yippie). Gonna take pics and check the MAX/MIN on the servos and then give them a run through.

I need to find an MP3 of "This is Halloween" from a Nightmare Before Christmas as I want this to be the test song. Mainly....BECAUSE IT'S STUCK IN MY HEAD!!!!!

 

[dionicia]

I got em workin! HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

I need to find a WAV that is nice and clear so the mouth movements look good. Then...video!

HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

 

[dionicia]

Lights; Camera; Actio...Alright Who Cut One!?!

Hi. Here is a video of the Singing Pumpkins in action. I hope I post this video correctly.

YouTube - Singing Pumpkins

 

[dionicia]

Thank you. Now I just need to find a few good tunes for them to sing. Any ideas?

 

[dionicia]

Ok ... I'm VERY anxious to see your progress , so , I uploaded those files for you .
The first one is the one by Disney , the second , by Marilyn Manson and the last - Panic at the Disco . All songs are "this is Halloween"
Didn't know which version you wanted and since I am REALLY wanting to see how you talking pumpkins turn out , I figured I'd better not take a chance , and just load them all . LOL

Disney-original version

Marilyn Manson version

Panic at the Disco version

Hope one of these are the version you were looking for

( these are in MP3 format )

Here is the original if you need it in WAV format instead of MP3 ( of course , the WAVE file is MUCH larger - about ten times larger , than the MP3 ones )


Original in WAV format

If you like , or want either of the other two options in WAV format , just let me know

I can't wait to here the Panic at the Disco version. Thank you for posting these.

 

[dionicia]

Including parts I already had?

I already had the linxmotion controller ($40) and the VSA software ($60). I bought the pumpkins on clearance last year 60% at Michaels ($???). I paid $6 for the servo brackets and $10 each for the servos. The servo extension cables were $2.99 on sale at Servocity.com. The screws were a few bucks at Lowes and I had some extra electrical wire lying around so I used that to attach the mouths to the servos. Also I already had the plastic from a project I was trying to do like 10 years ago (yes I keep crap I think I might use at a later time).

The LED servo controlled eyes I was playing Guinea Pig for a friend to see if they would work. I didn't know if I would like them at first, but I found they really were awesome and made a huge difference. They were well worth it.

The great thing about the linxmotion and the VSA is you can make multiple projects work with them. Very versatile.

those are pretty friggin awesome!!! I love what you have done with these...what is the grand $$ total on the project, just out of curiosity. I think that we should start including that little bit of information to help other haunters determine the feasibility of making these sort of props.

Awesome work again!!!

-DK

 

[dionicia]

Once you get the software and the controller, sky is the limit.

I recommend a list with a few things a year. I still need to build my new walls for the inside and front of my haunt, the body for my skeleton bride, and an Axworthy Rig (I'm still a little intimidated by that).

 

[dionicia]

Truly Awesome! Are they a standalone prop or do they need to be connected to your computer to work? If they are standalone, what are you using for that?

They connect up to a linxmotion controller which connects to my laptop.

 

[dionicia]

Check out EFX-TEK controller section. They might have something that might work. I'm still learning about those that's why I haven't entered into that realm.

I think I might plan that for next year.