[Oak Lane Cemetery]

Most of you have probably seen my "tomato cage" witch I made about 4 years ago. At the time I made her I was really tight on cash for props so I used whatever I had laying around, tomato cages, pool noodles, hands from another prop, old costume, ect. and ordered a $10 mask, which was actually an old man mask for the face because it was the cheapest I could find that looked reasonably witch-like. She came together great and I was pleased with the prop, but always thought I could do better. Last year I noticed some pretty bad deterioration of the face due to being stored out in the shed and exposed to 90+ degree heat in the summer, freezing temps in the winters and humidity swings. The latex was getting brittle and there were two holes forming in the forehead between the eyes. I've been looking at masks since last Halloween when I noticed the damage, but everything I looked at was either not the look I wanted, or way out of my price range. Finally a couple of weeks ago I stumbled on a post in the Facebook group Haunters Hangout from Cody Snyder who was selling some masks he had made. His crone mask was PERFECT for the look I wanted - not too scary/monstrous but witch-like while still retaining human qualities. So began Hagetha's makeover. I decapitated her, gave the old mask to my little boy to play with and reconstructed her head from the neck up, this time using a foam mannequin head as the base so that it will be removeable for indoor storage where things are more climate controlled. I've also repainted the hands, blacked the bottom edge of the dress a bit, added a belt and some accessories, and what I think is the thing that really makes the new face really awesome, installed some plastic eyes I found on Amazon that look VERY realistic. Just a couple more changes I want to make and she will be ready to resume resurrecting the bones of the dead to do her bidding in Oak Lane Cemetery once again this year !

This was Hagetha her first Halloween. I got loads of compliments on her and a lot of the kids thought she was a real person in costume who was going to jump out at them...

Comparison pic of the old face and the new...

Full view after the makeover...

 

[The Stalk]

Hi nightfisher. I'm new to the forum, so this is the first I'm seeing of this prop, but it looks amazing! Fantastic job!

 

[spookydave]

they both look great, but I like the new one better, looks very realistic!, good job!

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

they both look great, but I like the new one better, looks very realistic!, good job!

More poseable too! I couldn't turn the head on the old one.

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

Hi nightfisher. I'm new to the forum, so this is the first I'm seeing of this prop, but it looks amazing! Fantastic job!

Thanks and welcome!

 

[Diabolik]

Nice job! I think the pose is fantastic and you did really well with the details. The Tots will certainly think she is real this year.

 

[printersdevil]

Love her! She is so realistic.

 

[Si-cotik]

very nice

 

[punkineater]

Well done! You nailed her pose, as if she is pausing, in search of her next victim. Love the new face as well
Your witch made me recall something I read, by PUMPKINROT, that holds true for static prop creations, and the goal of motion~
"As a static prop haunter, my props are motionless. So I have to try to achieve a potential for movement - an appearance that my props are in a moment of rest, or waiting. I've found that the static props that work best are the ones that look like they've just paused for a second:
Corpses that just pushed out of the ground and are now surveying their surroundings...
Witches that are staring into a steaming cauldron thinking dark twisted things...or a skeleton stretching out its hand seconds before the hand drops to the ground for leverage."

 

[TheHalloweenKing]

She looks great!

 

[kittyvibe]

she looks awesome! I think you should make her a buddy with the old mask, it was really unique, Id love to have the same one, do you remember where you bought the older mask>?

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

she looks awesome! I think you should make her a buddy with the old mask, it was really unique, Id love to have the same one, do you remember where you bought the older mask>?

This is the mask I used on the first incarnation... http://fancy-dress-costumes.jn19.com/costumes-store.php?id=510438926&p=Old-Man-Grumps-Mask&c=Fancy-Dress-Costume-Accessories

The photo makes it look like a full head/neck mask, but it is just a face. I found it on Amazon originally, but it's not listed there anymore. I paid like 10 bucks for it. I used a plastic skull from a yard stake light underneath, glued black cloth over the skull as a cowl, and glued the cheeks down to the skull to make it more sunken and female looking then glued the edges to hold it in position.

 

[matrixmom]

To be honest I love both masks! They have such character - and you would have never known from the ad of the first one that it would look so good. I pinned it on my pinterest account, in case I ever do a witch.

your new witch - she looks superb!

 

[Pumpkin5]

Love the makeover! She looks exactly what a witch should look like. I love her expression and the hooked nose is classic!

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

To be honest I love both masks! They have such character - and you would have never known from the ad of the first one that it would look so good. I pinned it on my pinterest account, in case I ever do a witch.

your new witch - she looks superb!

The wig and hat went a long ways in hiding the cheapness of the mask.

 

[Mr_Chicken]

The posing is excellent. It's as though she's in the middle of something and just turned to look at you.

 

[bobzilla]

Great looking witches!
Nice work on the makeover!

 

[wdragon209]

I love her! The face is so realistic, too! While I still like the first one, the new one is even better.

 

[WickedWino]

Nightfisher, I have always loved the simplicity of your witch prop and how amazing she looked. Even better with the new mask!

Punkineater, thank you so much for sharing that static prop guidance from pumpkinrot. It's so true! That anticipation of movement is what makes Nightfisher's witch so compelling!

 

[Hilda]

I wholeheartedly agree with WickedWino. ^^