Mad Monk

The mad skeletal monk would be glad to help you get a head.

Original concept
Construction

Original concept

The original concept utilized coarse animation, fine animation, sound, and light. It went like this...

As you walk by the graveyard, you approach a lone figure, standing still. As you draw nearer, you notice that, under his robe, he is thin ... skeletally thin. And his raised hood is empty.

Nearer still, you notice details: protruding beneath the hem of the robe are skeletal feet, shod in sandals. And from his sleeves, slack at this side, hang skeletal hands. The only part of him that is not a skeleton is his head ... and that's missing!

Notice that he is carrying something in his right hand. It's some sort of metal cage, and in the cage is a skull - his missing head!

Grisley little statue, you think.

Then the skeletal figure raises his arm, bringing his caged skull right up to your face ... and he starts talking to you through the skull!

Meet Brother Loquacious, the mad monk!

Construction

Brother Loquacious was yet another of the 2001 props that nearly didn't happen. We had plenty of time to gather the parts. But the actual assembly didn't happen until the last moment, and when the inevitable unexpected problems cropped up, we had no time to fix them. As deployed, the monk lacked some features that we had originally considered essential. But half a monk is better than none - and a lot of people really liked him!

[photo] We started with the cheap blow-molded skeleton from Pic-N-Save. It cost $8.

[photo] We didn't plan to use all of the skeleton, only the torso. We were looking for a cheap and simple way to get the general outline of a skeleton, rib cage and pelvis.

[photo] The actual structural strength for the monk was provided by a second skeleton, made of PVC pipe.

[photo] The PVC and blow-molded torsos are combined: PVC for strength, blow-molded for shape.

The extra piece of PVC running parallel to the torso gives extra rigidity, helps support the weight of the talking skull, and provides support for the pneumatic cylinder.

[photo] The shoulder joint is a simple hinge.

It's not anatomically correct, but the robe will hide that. The hinge gives the necessary motion, is simple, and cheap.

[photo] This side view shows how the pneumatic cylinder is attached. Note that the air hose comes off of the right; the end attached to the arm. This will require that the air hose double back along the arm.

This was done because the mounting for the arm-end of the pneumatic cylinder rotates through a small angle, and won't disturb the brass barb exiting the cylinder.

The mounting for the other end of the cylinder rotates through approximately 90 degrees. The brass barb would hit the PVC.

[photo] The body, standing upright, ready for tests of the pneumatic cylinder.

[photo] These are Bucky feet, as purchased from ACC. We wanted the skeltal feet and toes visible through the open sandals.

[photo] We simplified the legs to just a piece of PVC pipe.

Rebar stakes run up through the lower legs, providing support. The mad monk is completely free-standing.

For more, please see our updated prop: Mad Monk 2

Thank you for visiting. Your comments are welcome.
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