This file is one of the Wolfstone archives of the Halloween mailing lists. You can find out more, and reach the entire collection here: http://www.pobox.com/~wolfstone/_r/HalloweenArchive.html This particular archive deals with "assorted effects" topics. This includes: o animated props It does NOT include related topics: o Pepper's Ghost o flying ghosts o larger effects filed under "architecture". - - - - - Subject: Re: FCC? (Floating Crank Candle) From: "Tim D" Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 00:17:52 -0700 This is basically the way that the candelabra in the endless hallway at = the Haunted Mansion works. I worked on one in the Adventures of Sinbad ride = at Lotte World in Seoul, Korea. The tricky part of building one for use in a commercial installation is the need to provide power to the "candles." We used thin steel cables to suspend the candelabra and connected a DC power supply + to one cable and - to the other. The - cable was bonded to the brass candelabra. The + cable was insulated from the brass and connected = to wires that went to the candles. The candles - connection was bonded to = the brass, completing the circuit. The power supply voltage was adjusted up = to account for the losses in the relatively high resistance steel cable. The tops of the cables were insulated and connected to cranks that were chain-driven from a single motor. The gear ratios for the two cranks were different to induce a randomness in the motion. The speed of the motor = and the orientation of the cables had to be adjusted to prevent a resonant oscillation that caused the candelabra to swing wildly. It was a bit dangerous since the brass was quite heavy. A traditional FCG mechanism would need to be powerful and/or well balanced to lift a candelabra. -The Enchanter (There are some who call me ...'Tim'?) Visit www.hauntinggrounds.org "Nostri Spectaculum Fabricatum Stercois" ----- Original Message ----- From: "brandon champlin" To: Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 7:54 AM Subject: Hall: FCC? (Floating Crank Candle) > Ok Folks, > I have an idea, it may not be the first but here we go. > What if you took a candelebra that has 3 arms, then you take 2 strings from > the crank arm and attach them between each one? it would make the candle > float up and down and tilt side to side. Has anyone ever tried this? if = so > did it work? - - - - - Subject: Re: FCC? (Floating Crank Candle) From: Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 03:38:07 -0700 Enchanter, >This is basically the way that the candelabra in the endless hallway at the >Haunted Mansion works. I worked on one in the Adventures of Sinbad ride= >at >Lotte World in Seoul, Korea. The tricky part of building one for use in= >a >commercial installation is the need to provide power to the "candles." This is a great account of your project! In the case of a home haunt, you should be able to get by with battery-po= wered candles, possibly in conjunction with a lamp flicker circuit (like Jim Ka= del's BLF). I'm sure that the circuitry could be contained in the base of the right candelabra. Jim's BLF is 1.75" x 2.625". >A traditional FCG mechanism would need to be powerful and/or well balanc= ed >to lift a candelabra. We must be able to find a plastic candelabra. If not, we'll slap some Por= -A-Mold on a brass one and cast our own. Spray on a little metallic brass paint and we're in business. - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: GID Ouija boards From: "Terror" Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 10:13:49 -0600 I designed 2 props like this before however only one did I do the wiring myself. We had a production which used a quija board and it needed to spell something out exactly. And respond to questions asked. The way to do = this is to make a track system with a couple servos pulling an electromagnet. You can build one of these magnets really easy, a kid made one as a = science project in 6th grade and it worked great. You can find instructions on making the magnet on the internet im sure. Then just attach it to a = device that can slide it back and forth on each axis. (I used rubberbands and erectorset motors on a budget). Schematic: | | | | | | |--o-| | | Unfortunatly we had the advantage of a really nice DMX control panel so we just pre-programmed macros to spell everything out as neccesary. Another time I merely worte the software to move a similar (and much much much more expensive rigging for a custom design quija board. But you = know, if your on a budget and live near a toystore its really not too hard to = make something like I described first. on 7/22/01 12:53 AM, William Prince at Billhaunt at hotmail.com wrote: > Hello Everybody, > > While cruising through Kay-bee toys today I came across a glow in the > dark Ouija Board! I naturally bought it without a seconds thought but = when I > got home I realized that if I could get the pointer thingy to move by = itself > then I would have a decent prop. > Here's my thought: > I'll attach three meduim ball bearings to the feet of the pointer and > underneath the board place an old turntable with a speaker magnet (I'm = into > recycling old junk into usable junk) attached to it I think it may make = the > pointer move in a circular path but I think people may just be creeped = out > with it moving by itself. > have any of you guys ever attempted a "possesed" Oujia board, and if so = do > you have any feedback or ideas on the moving mechanics for it? anyway = thanks > a heap. - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: GID Ouija boards From: "Michael Baumann" Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 09:26:09 -0700 (PDT) On Thu, 2 Aug 2001, Terror wrote: > We had a production which used a quija board and it needed to spell > something out exactly. And respond to questions asked. The way to do = this > is to make a track system with a couple servos pulling an electromagnet. Just something to consider: you may not need an electromagent. Check the surplus houses for the neodyium 'rare-earth' magnets. Very small and *VERY* strong - as one of my co-workers found out. She was holding 1/2 of a pair that I have and let her had get too close to the other. It flew off the table, smashed her finger (yes, left a bruise) and hung on for a few shakes of the hand. - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: Re: FCC? (Floating Crank Candle) From: "Damien Stafford" Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 12:50:01 -0700 (PDT) What if you built a candleabra out of PVC and then painted it brass and used individual battery operated candles in the holders. Would this make it light enough for a regular FCG set up? ~TVD~ --- Tim D wrote: > This is basically the way that the candelabra in the > endless hallway at the > Haunted Mansion works. I worked on one in the > Adventures of Sinbad ride at > Lotte World in Seoul, Korea. The tricky part of > building one for use in a > commercial installation is the need to provide power > to the "candles." We > used thin steel cables to suspend the candelabra and > connected a DC power > supply + to one cable and - to the other. The - > cable was bonded to the > brass candelabra. The + cable was insulated from > the brass and connected to > wires that went to the candles. The candles - > connection was bonded to the > brass, completing the circuit. The power supply > voltage was adjusted up to > account for the losses in the relatively high > resistance steel cable. The > tops of the cables were insulated and connected to > cranks that were > chain-driven from a single motor. The gear ratios > for the two cranks were > different to induce a randomness in the motion. The > speed of the motor and > the orientation of the cables had to be adjusted to > prevent a resonant > oscillation that caused the candelabra to swing > wildly. It was a bit > dangerous since the brass was quite heavy. > > A traditional FCG mechanism would need to be > powerful and/or well balanced > to lift a candelabra. - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: GID Ouija boards From: "Terror" Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 16:48:16 -0600 Well actually, we needed one that we could power on and off with the = board. It was sort of a custom thing for a really weird show, (name escapes me = now) but the board was mounted on a very steep angle, and we needed to turn it off at a moments notice and have it drop the view thingy. -- FX - Terror@DarkDragon.com > From: Michael Baumann > Reply-To: "Halloween List" > Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 09:26:09 -0700 (PDT) > To: Halloween List > Subject: Re: Hall: GID Ouija boards > > On Thu, 2 Aug 2001, Terror wrote: > >> We had a production which used a quija board and it needed to spell >> something out exactly. And respond to questions asked. The way to do = this >> is to make a track system with a couple servos pulling an = electromagnet. > > Just something to consider: you may not need an electromagent. Check > the surplus houses for the neodyium 'rare-earth' magnets. Very small > and *VERY* strong - as one of my co-workers found out. She was holding > 1/2 of a pair that I have and let her had get too close to the other. > It flew off the table, smashed her finger (yes, left a bruise) and > hung on for a few shakes of the hand. - - - - - Subject: Axworthy/Widow Maker Success From: "Scott" Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 15:07:32 -0500 I had a proud moment with my Widow Maker. Per Malcolm's design I tested = my drive unit today and it ran well for 2 minutes. Didn't break, but I need = to weld up the uni-strut and my mig welder is out of gas. So till I can make = it more solid rather than using "C" clamps, I'll call it a success. I need to connect my speed control and dial it down and let it run for a few hours = but I'm reached a point where many, including me, have failed often. I still have the sky racers working as a secondary prop, and if the Widow Maker works the sky racers will go in the crypt if I ever finish that. - - - - - Subject: RE: Hall: Scary Tree Idea From: "Claudette Griffith" Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 13:42:14 -0500 No I haven't but when I was little One my neighbor used to have a mouth = prop basically it was a box with a mouth cut into it, you had to put your hand into it to pull out the candy or prizes... but first you had to shove your hand down the monster's throat... As closely as I can remember, the throat consisted of two heavy duty trash bags, one on either side of the mouth, they were filled with water and it took considerable pressure to push past them... another smaller box was behind and slightly below the mouth box = and it held the candy... If you really wanted to get gross you could add a little Kyjelly for slobber! If you try this please let me know how it works... It's something I've always planned to try but haven't gotten to yet. -----Original Message----- From: Halloween-L at WildRice.com [mailto:Halloween-L at WildRice.com]On Behalf = Of Sue McDonald Sent: August 07, 2001 8:59 AM To: Halloween List Subject: Hall: Scary Tree Idea I am becoming intrigued with the scary tree idea but was thinking about doing a modification to it so that the candy container would be inside the mouth where the kids had to reach into it. Has anyone done this? - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: Scary Tree Idea From: "EGADS" Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 13:43:12 -0500 On somewhat the same theme, one year, I just boxed off my front door on = the inside....black cloth on a frame. I set up a screen door that opened "in" with a pneumatic "screen door ram. When the TOTs pushed the door = bell...the door flung open...to reveal a dark cubicle with just a halogen light = shining down on the candy bowl sitting on a black table...slight fog...ominous = music from behind the scrim....very little candy gone.... - - - - - Subject: Haunted Science From: "Gene Beldean" Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 06:54:41 -0400 It's early, I know ! I just had to tell everyone about the game I found last night. My wife and I took our 3 month old son at Zainy Brainy's toy store last night and I found this kit called Haunted Science-Discover the Science of Scare. It's the coolest thing ever ! It's like a miniature version of everything we make, but for kids to put together. And what's really cool, it explains why each illusion works. It has: 1. Pepper's ghost illusion 2. Tombstone pop-up ghost- uses straws to make a little air cylinder you blow into ! 3. Following faces- you make a mold with plaster of a doll face- all supplied materials 4. Hand through the mirror 5.Dissapearing head 6. Dancing skeleton 7.Transformation window And a few others... It really is great ! Now the little ones can make their own versions of the grownup stuff. Or demonstrate the illusions for a science fair, etc. It's by a company called The Wild Goose Company, check it out here http://www.wildgoosescience.com It's listed on their web page for $21.99, but I got mine for $19.99 - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: I've been making witches today... From: "Michele Slack" Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 07:41:30 -0600 I got one of these I'm going to put a little skeleton from boneyard bargains in. You might want to compare the price in your catalog with www.abcdistributing.com or www.ldtcommodities.com they're usually a lot cheaper than regular catalogs. Michele Slack > > *** > > I also got a Seventh Avenue catalog today...not much Halloween stuff, = but > one item caught my eye...it's a decorative birdcage intended for use as = a > planter. The cage is black metal and hangs on a black metal stand with = a > black cat silhouette o the base (looking up) and another on the top = (peering > into the cage). I thought that might look interesting if you filled the > cage with rubber mice/rats or maybe black feather birds. - - - - - Subject: Haunted Science From: "Gene Beldean" Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 09:33:37 -0400 Kath, the tombstone that the ghost pops up behind is 4.5"x7.25" and about 1.875" thick. It's hollow so the ghost is inside. The ghost is made of a ping pong ball for a head, and drinking straws for the piston. I'm not too familiar with doll houses, but it would have to be a pretty big one for these props. Now the windows range from 2-2.5" tall and about 1.5" wide, so the pepper's ghost effect would probably be really cool in a doll house. Hope this helps you. - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: Haunted Science From: "digger C" Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 10:15:50 -0400 it's a desk top activity the cardboard house is about 16" tall +/- >From: "Kathleen A. Klatte" >Reply-To: "Halloween List" >To: "Halloween List" >Subject: Re: Hall: Haunted Science >Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 00:08:57 -0400 > >...I found this kit called > >Haunted Science-Discover the Science of Scare. > >It's the coolest thing ever ! > >It's like a miniature version of everything we make, ... > >Just curious...how miniature? I mean, could you use this stuff in a >haunted >doll house? Or a haunted Barbie doll vignette? Inquiring minds want to >know! - - - - - Subject: Re: Hall: Spewing Blood From: "Pat Tantalo" Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 07:30:24 -0700 (PDT) --- Robert King wrote: > Ok gang how can I use a fountain pump to make blood > (water) spew from a > head. I was thinking of using some type of drip > sprinkler to make the > blood look better than if I just use a standard > tube. Best and easiest way to achieve this look is to get a piece of copper tubing that will fit into the plastic tubing from the pump. coil the copper tube and drill some small holes in it so you create a pattern that fits neatly inside the mouth of the prop head. I have used this technique for 20 years and it has never failed to make a realistic spray of blood. you can try a ring of copper tubimg too instead of a coil pattern. experiment and you ca have all types of varying patterns. if your pump hose is too small diameter just get some barbed fittings from home depot. they make them in all sizes (ex. 1/4" to 1/2", etc) or just find a piece of vinyl tubing that fits snugly over the exiting tubing and work up from there. - - - - -