[J-Man]

Made a slight upgrade to my MIB, added some hands and improved the rocking motion a bit. I built this several years ago and it's still one of my favorites, the scares I get with it never get old!

 

[Tzaddi93]

That's fantastic - love the motion and then the scare at the end is unexpected and just awesome! Would love to see the mechanics behind this one.

 

[ooojen]

That's clearly the best I've seen yet! Amazing work!

 

[thruster]

Amazing. I want one.... please....

 

[J-Man]

Thanks guys! There's a lot of parts in this box. It fully self contained with no wires or air lines running into the box which really gets people wondering if there's actually something alive inside. It's triggered with a 4 channel Key Fob, I can simply have it just growl with no movement, growl with movement, and then I decide when to unlease the Beast. Here's a couple pics of the inside. Kinda hard to show everything that's stuffed in there.

 

[mrincredibletou]

That is bad ***!

 

[ice456789]

That is awesome! I'm going to learn pneumatics next year. This year was electronics, so I actually know what you're talking about with the relay.

Do you have a silencer on the solenoids? Have you ever tried one and if so do they make much of a difference?

 

[J-Man]

That is awesome! I'm going to learn pneumatics next year. This year was electronics, so I actually know what you're talking about with the relay.

Do you have a silencer on the solenoids? Have you ever tried one and if so do they make much of a difference?

The remote is actually a 4-channel (4 relays). The valves for the rocking and lid rattle don't have mufflers, just wide open exhaust ports facing down. The 4-way valve that operates the "Beast Attack" has a brass muffler on the exhaust port, the return stroke has a flow control so the doors close slowly instead of banging shut. The 2 cylinders that rock the crate are 2" bore, 2" stroke. The 2" bore allows me to operate the whole pneumatic system on only 40psi, which is amazing considering the crate weighs almost 100 pounds. Originally I didn't intend for the finished weight to be that much but as it turned out, it kinda adds to the realism effect. There's a single 12" stroke cylinder that operates the doors and pushes out the "Beast". Figuring out the linkage for that part took a little trial and error but once I got it, it works really well. The sound system is an AP-16 audio player from EFX-TEK, hooked up to a pair of 6x9 triaxial car speakers. They're built into a sealed compartment in the rear of box facing the front. The sound is unbelievable in person. The jaw of the Beast is synced using one of my Audio Servo Controllers. All the electronics are controlled with an EFX-TEK Prop-1. The whole thing is powered with a 12v battery.

 

[Phantom Blue]

Hey J - Nice MIB! I love the little twist at the end.

 

[dirtTroll]

Holy crap that is awesome!!!! I love mostly that it's all self contained!!!! Genius!

 

[J-Man]

Holy crap that is awesome!!!! I love mostly that it's all self contained!!!! Genius!

Thanks DT! We took this along on a Halloween camping trip a few times, 300 camp sites where everyone decorates their site and the kids go around TOTing on Saturday for 2 hours. We had so much fun with that box, it was a blast. I'll lure them in by just making it growl, a lot of them are completely baffled when they circle the box and don't see any wires or cords. Then I'll make it rattle and shake and just when they think it's over, I unleash the Beast! Funny thing is though, a lot of the grown ups jump more than the kids!

 

[residus]

How many times you can trigger with the airtank

 

[J-Man]

How many times you can trigger with the airtank

About 15 full cycles and then the tank needs air.

 

[ice456789]

The remote is actually a 4-channel (4 relays). The valves for the rocking and lid rattle don't have mufflers, just wide open exhaust ports facing down. The 4-way valve that operates the "Beast Attack" has a brass muffler on the exhaust port, the return stroke has a flow control so the doors close slowly instead of banging shut. The 2 cylinders that rock the crate are 2" bore, 2" stroke. The 2" bore allows me to operate the whole pneumatic system on only 40psi, which is amazing considering the crate weighs almost 100 pounds. Originally I didn't intend for the finished weight to be that much but as it turned out, it kinda adds to the realism effect. There's a single 12" stroke cylinder that operates the doors and pushes out the "Beast". Figuring out the linkage for that part took a little trial and error but once I got it, it works really well. The sound system is an AP-16 audio player from EFX-TEK, hooked up to a pair of 6x9 triaxial car speakers. They're built into a sealed compartment in the rear of box facing the front. The sound is unbelievable in person. The jaw of the Beast is synced using one of my Audio Servo Controllers. All the electronics are controlled with an EFX-TEK Prop-1. The whole thing is powered with a 12 battery.

Thanks, that's very helpful. I'm not going to go as nuts as that next year. My theme next year will be creepy dolls so I'll have a few of them jump pneumatically, very simple. Give me about 4 more Halloweens of trial and error with electropneumatics and maybe I can attempt something as complex as your box.

 

[annamarykahn]

well done!

i luv it

amk

 

[NOLAGT]

So awesome!! I bet it was a ton of fun at a campground!

 

[J-Man]

So awesome!! I bet it was a ton of fun at a campground!

Ooohhh yeah!

 

[thehoghunter]

Fantastic MIB! Normally you don't get to see the monster...great twist!

How large is the air tank (capacity)?

 

[J-Man]

Fantastic MIB! Normally you don't get to see the monster...great twist!

How large is the air tank (capacity)?

It's a 5 gal tank that can handle 100psi. The regulator is set to 40psi so it lasts quite a while before I have to "feed the beast"!

 

[punkineater]

Amazing prop! The movement, sounds, and the scare at the end...I'm sure a few of the ToTers pooted their pants First class work there, J-Man!