Anyone have a suggestion for good prop book for the technologically challenged
I want to build a couple of pop-ups and would prefer elect to something that requires an air compressor

Check out "Animatronics-A Guide To Animated Holiday Displays" by Edwin Wise. I don't understand any of the electronic stuff myself, but the mechanical sections are great! Shows how to build Halloween props using pneumatics and electric motors. Amazon.com sells them-

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...988415-5244150

Wiser,

What type of prop projects does the book have. The description with the link was a little generic. It seams to cover a verity of holidays (but I guess that's just a matter of prop dressing, one month it's a werewolf, the next it's a reindeer). I'm going in for a little sugary next week and I'm looking for a good book to read while I lick my wounds.

No rest for living,
No peace for the dead.

It doesn't show how to decorate props. The book shows the mechanics of animated props. How to figure out lengths and placements of linkages to make props rise, move forward, etc using mathematical formulas. There's a section on using compressed air that shows how to figure out what size cylinders and pressures to use. A section on using electric motors and cams to run props. A section on electronics and how to use a computer to trigger props. Inside are photos of the authors version's of a crank ghost and a trash can trauma. Also, lots of simple line drawings that are easy to understand. Best book I've found on how animated props work.

Hey dragon have you thouroghly checked out the monster pages @ http://markbutler.8m.com/monsterlist.htm There is alot of help info there!

They mostly come out at night........Mostly
Check out my pic's at here in this forum