[nosefuratyou]

As I may have mentioned elsewhere although I've made lots of Halloween costumes in the past this will be my first time helping set up a haunt. Sooooooooooooo I see all kinds of skeletons around from 200 dollars to Chinese 40 buck jobs. For middle distance or corpsed props what would the group consider the best value. We will probably need several and they need to be more or less life size. ( which to me means 5 feet plus. No offense meant to short persons as I know you are also life sized ). Thanks

 

[spookydave]

If you are putting costumes on them, I'd find the cheapest ones I could, just a thought.

 

[nosefuratyou]

Not necessarily costumed. Really looking for best compromise between realism and price.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

I think the Pose N Stays are your best bet. Especially if you're going to corpse.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Pose-N-St...709112?hash=item35f3cf32b8:g:9DQAAOSwwbdWIm8i

(though honestly, they are usually around $40 in season, so don't know that I would jump on THAT)

Costco had them in the past, I think it was Home Depot last year that had them cheapest.



The next choice, which MIGHT be useful to you would be a Wally skeleton.

I'm not seeing any on a search right now, they were a very similar mold to the pose n stays, but inferior build quality, not poseable out of the box, and the joints would fall apart easy. However, they were easy to beef up with some hot glue, and if you're corpsing the latex could help hold them together.



The third option, IMO is only viable if you have the time. I still go back to this when I want to make one.

http://www.halloweenforum.com/tutor...9-b-y-o-b-updated-make-your-own-skeleton.html

 

[printersdevil]

Garthgoyle has several for sell in the Individual For Sale Forum. Just FYI

 

[BlueFrog]

The very first thought that comes to mind is to suggest you watch your local Craigslist or equivalent. There are deals to be had on even top quality resin skeletons throughout the year, if you're vigilant and quick. You're probably not going to find this beauty for $50 - but then again, you just might:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MEDICAL-PLA...691702?hash=item1c6079fd36:g:R9AAAOSwoydWqXbk

OK, back to reality. "Budget Bucky" is about as high quality as skeleton as is practical for haunt use, and I've seen numerous new and used ones in the $100 - 125 price range via CL over the years, though never at a time when I needed one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Life-Size-B...865812?hash=item417f4162d4:g:ZQsAAOxyBjBTRzoN

I'm reasonably sure "Klaus" is Bucky under another name:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LIFE-SI...ea92fbb&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=121877691702


Barring that, my personal favorite intersection of price and quality has been the 5' Barney. However, I suspect (based on the text description) that these may no longer be the heavier material like Bucky. I have a resin corpse skeleton of this size that I've always believed was Barney, but weights more like a Bucky. Now I'm just not so positive:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Life-Size-B...hash=item3f27f64895:m:mDQmcYLjgzh50tGj2EJoAAA

If you need skeletons that can hang or stand, then I would advise going the Pose n Stay route. The lighter weight and more poseable joints offset some of the significant anatomical inaccuracies.

 

[lilibat]

You can do alot with the cheap poseable ones if you repaint. If you corpse, even better.

 

[matrixmom]

I have bought these http://www.rinovelty.com/ProductDetail/zhskgl5_5ft-gid-plastic-skeleton-eapbh-61535 for corpsing and some times to use for parts. Pretty cheap for $18 when its off season. Not as nice as an actual pose n stay though.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

The very first thought that comes to mind is to suggest you watch your local Craigslist or equivalent. There are deals to be had on even top quality resin skeletons throughout the year, if you're vigilant and quick. You're probably not going to find this beauty for $50 - but then again, you just might:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MEDICAL-PLA...691702?hash=item1c6079fd36:g:R9AAAOSwoydWqXbk

OK, back to reality. "Budget Bucky" is about as high quality as skeleton as is practical for haunt use, and I've seen numerous new and used ones in the $100 - 125 price range via CL over the years, though never at a time when I needed one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Life-Size-B...865812?hash=item417f4162d4:g:ZQsAAOxyBjBTRzoN

I'm reasonably sure "Klaus" is Bucky under another name:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LIFE-SI...ea92fbb&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=121877691702


Barring that, my personal favorite intersection of price and quality has been the 5' Barney. However, I suspect (based on the text description) that these may no longer be the heavier material like Bucky. I have a resin corpse skeleton of this size that I've always believed was Barney, but weights more like a Bucky. Now I'm just not so positive:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Life-Size-B...hash=item3f27f64895:m:mDQmcYLjgzh50tGj2EJoAAA

If you need skeletons that can hang or stand, then I would advise going the Pose n Stay route. The lighter weight and more poseable joints offset some of the significant anatomical inaccuracies.

Klaus is NOT a Bucky. The hardware, skull, and breastplate are different. I do like that model though.

That Barney is not the Barney I grew up with, either, that's for sure. Looks like they've started making him on the cheap like you say. I'd steer clear of that Barney in favor of a pose n stay myself.

One thing about going with Bucky/Klaus/any medical skeleton is the weight. They are heavy to lug around or prop up on things.

 

[nosefuratyou]

Thanks a bunch for all the suggestions. Looks like it will be different models for different situations. In the next couple days we will be moving all my neighbors old props down to the basement of the barn so then I'll know for sure what he has and what we might need. Thanks again.

 

[Gym Whourlfeld]

When I went "Pro" there was a catalog where you could buy actual human .. skeletons.
If you were cheap you could get a skeleton of an old person (Missing teeth, osty-bones?) If you wanted a youthfull skeleton it cost $1,200.
I think they all came from india? ("Don't fall asleep on the street!)
A year ago I bought a 35 dollar skeleton, then cut 3/8 rebar and welded thin steel scraps, drilled holes for the bolts and then had a re-inforced, posable skelly.
Maybe too much time and effort since he just rests in an antique wheel chair with a set of battery jumper cables clamped on him?
His sign says :"I Almost Made It Out Alive!"
It looks good, didn't cost a ton of $$.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

When I went "Pro" there was a catalog where you could buy actual human .. skeletons.
If you were cheap you could get a skeleton of an old person (Missing teeth, osty-bones?) If you wanted a youthfull skeleton it cost $1,200.
I think they all came from india? ("Don't fall asleep on the street!)

That's a STEAL! For a long time I had a webpage bookmarked that specialized in human skulls that died a violent death. You could specify age, sex, and specific wounds. I always expected the FBI to come talk to me about my search history over that one. Said skulls started at $800 IIRC. It was eventually taken down, but up for YEARS.

India and China were AFAIK the two places that allowed such trafficking.

 

[Gym Whourlfeld]

In New Orleans, French 1/4 i saw some "jewelry" made from human finger bones... and all of those above-ground tombs, so close at "Hand"!?
My house is already haunted, I don't need any actual human bones dropping by to say"Hi!"
And.. if it is haunted because of human bones buried here, well, we don't need any new-comers or "Johnny-come-Latelys", we Fine, mostly.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

You telling me that 'send my bones to Gym' should be scratched off my funereal instructions?

 

[Pumpkin5]

( which to me means 5 feet plus. No offense meant to short persons as I know you are also life sized ). Thanks

Hey.....wait a minute....ha, ha, ha.... Too funny!

 

[BlueFrog]

When I went "Pro" there was a catalog where you could buy actual human .. skeletons.
If you were cheap you could get a skeleton of an old person (Missing teeth, osty-bones?)

As with everything else, supply and demand. Lots more elderly skeletons available than young people - thank goodness!

If you wanted a youthfull skeleton it cost $1,200.

Ahh, the good old days.....

That's a STEAL! For a long time I had a webpage bookmarked that specialized in human skulls that died a violent death. You could specify age, sex, and specific wounds. I always expected the FBI to come talk to me about my search history over that one. Said skulls started at $800 IIRC. It was eventually taken down, but up for YEARS.

Oh dang, that would have been cool to see. Sometimes these pop up on medical sites and from private collectors but they are very, very hard to come by. I had a few offered to me via private sale that left me suspicious of their origin so I passed, but self-restraint was HARD.

India and China were AFAIK the two places that allowed such trafficking.

Yes. India prohibited their export when grave robbery and Burking started to occur (or more likely, were documented as occurring). China banned export prior to the Olympics. There are still tons of skeletons on the market, so much so that they're sometimes cremated rather than sold. Closing of OddFellows lodges has also released a big supply of Victorian era skeles onto the market. My only full human skeleton was "retired" from a school district that chose to replace him with plastic. He was taken home by one of the teachers (rather than being thrown out), stored in the loft of a barn for years, and finally sold via eBay for a BIN I was in a position to afford. Must have been pigs in that barn because he stank to high heaven. I will never forget unwrapping his plastic cocoon to be flattened by the smell of a dead man in my kitchen....

In New Orleans, French 1/4 i saw some "jewelry" made from human finger bones... and all of those above-ground tombs, so close at "Hand"!?
My house is already haunted, I don't need any actual human bones dropping by to say"Hi!"

I've made, and even occasionally sold, human finger jewelry. No hauntings to report I'm very careful about whom they're gifted or sold to, so that they are worn and displayed in appropriate circumstances in the spirit of honoring the dead rather than using them to frighten the living.

Hey.....wait a minute....ha, ha, ha.... Too funny!

I got a good giggle out of that one too.

 

[Gym Whourlfeld]

I met a man at an auction who told me he got the bid on "Everything in the second floor". "But you have to remove, Everything!"
He took the big, fancy chairs, he left the over 50 coffins with the skeletons of the Odd-Fellows in them.
Funny thing is, this same man bought a glass eye collection.
"Yer crazy! Who would want them?"
He eventually sold them all for a large amount of money, one or two of them at a time.
The old Mount Carroll Odd-fellows Hall is my next door neighbor, now Charlie's Tavern. The "Fellows " left during the Depression. nobody had any dues $ .
My Grandfather had been a member. My Dad had the fancy watch-fobb with a mini-suit of armor/knight's helmet . It was tiny, but the face shield moved open and shut.

 

[BlueFrog]

Gym, are you trying to make me swoon?!