# Gemmy Props



## Homestead Haunt (Jun 15, 2006)

I personally dont see the draw to the Gemmy props. I have been doing this for years and just dont get it. Granted, for an animated prop they are cheap and the overall look of the props isnt bad at all. That being said the movement of the props of terrible and from what I gather on this site most of them or at least a high percentage dont work correctly right out of the box or break shortly thereafter. I would rather build a static prop that has the same or better look and save myself the $$. I would be happier if they cost a little more and woud at least last you for several seasons. Right now, Gemmy is just another word for garbage. Of course, this is just my opinion.


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## anonuser (Sep 16, 2007)

I, too, purchase Gemmy products and have had nothing but good luck with every prop I have bought except for two. I like to mix both the static and animated props together for maximum effect. One problem I experienced was a broken chain on Leatherface, I called Gemmy customer service, faxed them my Spirit receipt, and they sent me a brand new chain saw free of charge 2 weeks later, just great service. I agree that their best props are in short supply, however, do enjoy both the hunt for them and am happy to be the only person in the neighborhood with Jason, Leatherface and Freddy. I did buy a Zultan from Amazon.com for 70.00, the lips on the fortune teller did not move, I e-mailed Amazon, they refunded the $ and said keep the prop, which I then purchased a Zultan that worked and exchanged the defective at Garden 
Ridge, you have to love it. So, like Vancouver, always test the product as soon as you buy it and you should be fine. And, start looking at the Gemmy site in early August every year to see which retailers are carrying their life-size products and get there early. Thank you Gemmy for keeping at least a semblance of sanity price wise in life size animated props, I will probably never be in a position to pay four figures for a prop.
Happy Haunting!


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## Deadna (Oct 19, 2002)

I haven't had many problems with their products either but when I did their customer service was excellant. That will keep me coming back!


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## wilbret (Oct 8, 2004)

It's not the cheap labor, it's the cheap components that make the product what it is. (IMHO)

Packaging is worse. Parts are worse. Raw materials are worse. Quality control is worse or non-existent. 

Crappy wiring, crappy solder, crappy plastic, crappy screws, crappy fabrics, crappy crap crap crap. Those factors make for stuff that costs very little and fill lots of containers to ship over here. 

People in the USA have almost come to accept the fact that stuff from China is junk, and they don't complain very much about it. They just buy a replacement. Plus, vendors make so much margin on the savings (labor savings and eliminating all overhead of production) that they can just send out free replacements if needed.


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## Vancouver (Sep 5, 2007)

wilbret said:


> It's not the cheap labor, it's the cheap components that make the product what it is. (IMHO)
> 
> Packaging is worse. Parts are worse. Raw materials are worse. Quality control is worse or non-existent.
> 
> ...


So that being said, why the worry then?...if your product is deficient, replacement is not an issue....the stores dont mind the exchange for a better working product, like u say they are making huge profits and they would re-coup their original cost from Gemmy later...

not all of us here can afford the thousand dollar animated props....so for the more common folk, Gemmy is somewhat of a saviour...they have great affordable life sized animated props...the break downs are a minor nuisance, nothing else (this is why u test the item right away when u get home!)


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## Vancouver (Sep 5, 2007)

BadOleRoss said:


> I personally dont see the draw to the Gemmy props. I have been doing this for years and just dont get it. Granted, for an animated prop they are cheap and the overall look of the props isnt bad at all. That being said the movement of the props of terrible and from what I gather on this site most of them or at least a high percentage dont work correctly right out of the box or break shortly thereafter. I would rather build a static prop that has the same or better look and save myself the $$. I would be happier if they cost a little more and woud at least last you for several seasons. Right now, Gemmy is just another word for garbage. Of course, this is just my opinion.


ah yeah, i think most of us here who have seen the new Jason Vorhees or even past gems like Leatherface, etc, would disagree with you completely...they look great and the movement is excellent (especially the Jason)

Not all of us here have the knowledge or skill set to build our own so if u can do it with the same, if not more effectiveness, then fill your boots!

For some of us, we appreciate that there is a company like Gemmy out there...it enables us to have a good haunt without spending thousands on one prop and worry free from building one (which most us can't)


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## wilbret (Oct 8, 2004)

I do buy Gemmy props. I have a frankenstein monster from last year. 

I'm qualifying the reason there are so many problems with their products. Savings in China are realized with material costs even moreso than labor. I bought a knockoff power tool from China since it was a specialty tool I seldom use. It gets so hot using it, I have to wear gloves. The plastic cracks just sitting on the shelf. It's just insane how poor the quality is.

Out of the box, it looks just like a Makita tool. 

I buy it because they are cheap, but realize they are not going to be with me for very long.


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## Nightshade (Jul 18, 2004)

I also buy Gemmy props occasionally. Last year I bought the Edwardian Butler for my Grimsley Manor display. It worked great and added a nice touch to the yard haunt. I mean what manor house doesn't have a butler. I also bought Freddy a couple of years ago and he is still working great. But I do remember the great zombie disaster of a few years back. I was going to purchase the shaking talking zombie, but we couldn't find one that worked correctly. I think it turned out to be a problem with the power supplies being defective.


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## Vancouver (Sep 5, 2007)

Nightshade said:


> I also buy Gemmy props occasionally. Last year I bought the Edwardian Butler for my Grimsley Manor display. It worked great and added a nice touch to the yard haunt. I mean what manor house doesn't have a butler. I also bought Freddy a couple of years ago and he is still working great. But I do remember the great zombie disaster of a few years back. I was going to purchase the shaking talking zombie, but we couldn't find one that worked correctly. I think it turned out to be a problem with the power supplies being defective.



I just bought that Edwardian Butler too...for just $99 at Save On Foods (a type of Safeway out here)...weird place to buy it...set him up right away as soon as i got home but his head would not turn when he talked so i returned him a half hour later (which is working just fine)...great deal if u ask me!

You are very luckey to get that Freddy, I got in this game too late!...would love to get him but internet buys cost too much...i am very pround of my Jason Vorhees though...i have spent too much this year!


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## maximpakt (Aug 11, 2006)

I have a ton of gemmy props. The only problem ive ever had was freddys arm breaking off. Overall , they are some off the better made props, way better than fitco or many of the other inexpensive prop companies. I think it would be cool if gemmy had thier own retail stores that carried all thier product. They have so much stuff between holiday merch and just novelty items. It would be nice to get all thier props in one place.


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## SinTheDoll (Oct 10, 2004)

Fitco is crap basically, since most of their props we can make 10X better. The only Life sized prop by gemmy that I have is, take a guess- Donna the Dead. I'm really pleased with her to say the least. I wasn't too keen on any of their gowns- not the gowns themselves, the quality of the fabric. Upon taking it off, I learned that she was actually well put together, and her circuit board and such looked well protected and strong. The only thing I'm worried about Is her motor. It's particularly flimsy- but easily duplicable, and if it ever broke down, I wouldn't have a fit since her motion isn't what makes her special. The grinding noise she makes annoys me sometimes- but it's out heard by her very loud sound effects. Gemmy, I feel, is the king for soundtracks in props- even though they sometimes reuse them on certain ones. 

I'm happy with Gemmy props, but i do have to agree- sometimes it's easier to just make them. And If you have the ability, make them look even better then the ones they offer.
-Anthony


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## Jeffwilson34 (Oct 10, 2007)

I personally buy lots of lifesize gemmy props.
I have 
leatherface--broken chain.
Vampire--mouth was not working when I bought him so I got a great deal
Freddy--I sadly knocked him over and broke his head and but I think I can fix him.
Jason--VERY NICE
Donna of the dead -black dress with shaking severed head
Donna of the dead--white dress
Full sized ripping head guy.

I think for the price they are great especially for someone that is not handy at building things.


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## SouthernBelle (Aug 30, 2004)

I personally think the best one Gemmy ever made was the witch stirring the cauldron. She's so cool!

The spirit store nearest me still has the Jason guy. I wasn't impressed. Looked very "mechanical" in movement. The witch runs smoother, I think.

I have lots of Gemmy props, too but had to exchange a couple to get a good one. You just never know.


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## a witch from canada (Jul 13, 2005)

i buy alot of gemmy props too , and some of you know how i feel about them espacially last season when all 3 i got at the same time work defective and since me being in canada is a big deal returning internet bought merchandise i just keep them like that .....

here is my list 
edwardian butler that the chest moves (works great) 
gemmy monster 1st model (worked fine sold it )
got the new gemmy monster with light up brain and heart had no power supply and mouth was defective
mad scientist thats the worst one , one arm was broken , and his mouth wouldnt move , got a replacement head , wouldnt work on the body , then got a new scientist from gemmy worked when we tried it then got him out this year for our lab well his eye wont light up tried everything wont work tried the other head wont work so finally repaired my old one .

got the bride mummy ( one eye doesnt light up or flashes not in sync with the other)

spirit ball gypsy (so far so good)

donna the dead micheals crafts model (so far so good)

mummy dog , ( only works with press me button TOTALLY STUPID AND USELESS why do they even make props with only push button)

hummm what else do i have , oh the crow on a bowl , works , hummm last month bought 2 foggers a small and big one both broke down after one 5 min use or 5 min second use so end up no foggers for this year.....

humm we have a dancing santa in french bought last xmas worked fine , we had one before from the first year they got out but the year after his boots caught on fire ....

and i bought in ebay a very old gemmy life size witch that i use as a fortune teller and she still works ....

will i continue to by their products..... yes cause i am still electronic prop challenged and wont be out of that catogorie any time soon to make my own props like that....and i love haloween to much to have it none animated .


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## bozz (Sep 22, 2006)

*The Pirate gets my vote !*

I was never really into their props too much through the years, they were always cool and cute until this year and when I first saw the Dead Eye Drake Pirate prop , he gets my vote as the coolest one of all. Now as some of you already know my Pastor got him for me as a gift and I went nuts over him and at this point I am so very impress with the quality and detail of wardrobe, hair,and the boots seem to be real suede leather.... I sniffed them to tell...lol. I really crawl all over a new product to see whats use,... His hat may be to at least the under side seems to have the suede liner,now thats attention to detail !!!


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## Isabella_Price (Sep 6, 2008)

I apologize for bringing a year-old thread back from the dead. I actually found this website through this thread popping up on google.

I'm new on the site. I love Halloween more than anything, so I'm glad to be here!

Anyway, I just wanted to throw in my opinion on Gemmy. Four years ago to this day/week, I purchased Gemmy's original dancing/singing pirate skeleton, who I named 'Captain Jack Jangles'. He moves back and forth, his arms swing, his head and mouth move, and his eyes light up as he sings. He has literally been in my bedroom on motion sensor since that Halloween four years ago. He's been turned on every day. I usually use him as a stereo by plugging my mp3 player into him. He's still standing there in front of my closet. And aside from his right leg creaking really loud, he works absolutely perfectly! There are no flaws at all in his performance. I honestly never imagined it would last that long. He doesn't seem like he'll be dying out any time soon, so he'll be with me for a very long time.

The only other Gemmy animatronic figure I owned was a 6' tall Butler (there were a few of these. He has a cravat, a olive green vest, and a long black coat on. His head was bald, but he had a stiff felt top hat with hair attached.). My friend bought him for me as a Halloween present. I owned him for only a year, and he worked 100% perfect. But then I noticed his eyes weren't moving anymore. I ended up selling 'Fester' as I called him. He was way too big to fit in my teeny little room with Jack and all the other Halloween props I have stuffed in there.

I really wanted the Freddy and Jason ones, but they're hard to find. I wouldn't mind paying extra to get them, but I have no space to keep them. I'm 17 and I live with 5 other people in a small house. My room is the only place I can keep these things. And my room is the size of a large bathroom and a small closet put together. So, unless I want 3 square feet of walking space, I guess they're out of the question.

However, I've completely fallen in love with Dead-Eye Drake, Gemmy's most recent pirate skeleton. So, I'm trying to track him down for under $250. I'm also quite fond of their mad scientist, but like I said, he wouldn't fit in my tiny room. Ah well. I'll probably end up giving in and buying him anyway and deal with my 3 square feet of walking space.

Oh, almost forgot. Gemmy makes those famous candy bowls with the hand in them (The ones where the hand 'grabs' you when you reach for candy). I had one of the originals way back when they came out and we had it for quite a few years before the latex hand tore and I found the thing out in the trash. So I took it to my room where it sat on motion sensor(Yay! Light sensitive!) for a few years. I sat on it when I was cleaning one day and it snapped. I have a new one now that is currently a year old and it's safely up on a shelf away from my butt. The only problem I have that really annoys me about these things is that the originals said about 16 different phrases (I actually memorized them in order due to hearing them every day of my life), but the newer ones say 3. I can't find the originals anywhere! Not cool.

Anyway, so all-in-all the very few props I purchased from Gemmy have worked wonders for years. I thouroughly reccomend them to anyone. Just try to buy in the store and not online. If you buy it in a store you can test it on the spot. Online you have to deal with people slamming your package and stuff, which could risk in it breaking. And then there's horrifying shipping costs of sending it back and forth. But it's definitely worth the money. From my personal experience, they last for quite a long time!


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## bozz (Sep 22, 2006)

Welcome, yeah Drake is still my fav. and if you do a search on Drake here you'll see a wonderful story and thread from last year where my Pastor gave me one as a gift so I am forever sentimentally attached to him. As a matter of fact we named our attraction and maze here ; Drake Manor. He was a big hit on movie night (projected on the garage door 6'x9') in the garage with out foggers running. He of course was the host and guest speaker (comes with a microphone). I see Menards is selling him this year and e-bay is a little high as always, not sure but saw him online at someplace else, maybe Spirit ?!?. Good luck


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## cinders (Oct 12, 2003)

I have some small Gemmy props that have serviced me very well for many years. This year I bought my very first life-size prop: The stirring witch with the cauldron. It was delivered yesterday and I found that it doesn't work properly--the hips don't move at all. That was a major feature about the prop that I liked because she was so animated. I sent an e-mail to Gemmy and received a reply of something I could try, but sadly that didn't fix the problem. I sent them another e-mail but I suspect they're off for the weekend, so I'm really hoping to hear back from them on Monday. Through the years I've read posts where other people have had good customer service experiences with Gemmy so I'm hoping this proves true.


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## TylerMech (Aug 11, 2008)

I have the butler, not the now edwardian, but the older one, which I personaly think looks more like a butler, which I have never had any problems with. I really do like the look of there props, and I think the movement is usually good, some better than others. The only reason I dont buy more is because since I have a yard haunt, I wouldnt want to take them out, and then take em in at night. My butler is behind my front door, and he really looks great peering out. For my out door props, I either make them static, or moving in a way that can stay outside.


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## Diabolik (Apr 10, 2006)

My Donna the Dead just came yesterday. She was the one thing that I didn't buy last year that I regretted. Really just wanted her for filler out in the yard. I am happy with the overall quality of her. I did have to play with the head a little as the eyes didn't work the first time I tried her, but I think it was just not on all the way. I bought her on Ebay for $79 this past week. Today I saw the same vendor's auction has jumped to $149.... glad I bought her when I did......


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## bozz (Sep 22, 2006)

*MEIJERS.COM has Drake the Pirate*



Isabella_Price said:


> I apologize for bringing a year-old thread back from the dead. I actually found this website through this thread popping up on google.
> 
> I'm new on the site. I love Halloween more than anything, so I'm glad to be here!
> 
> ...


If your still looking for the pirate Meijer.com has him at good price.


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## Conman (Aug 7, 2008)

2005-Freddy
2006-Leatherface
2007-Jason
2008-Hannibal

we got lucky and found Freddy in a store 2 years ago and we got him at half price because it was after Halloween. we bought Jason after Halloween last year but we never saw Leatherface. we are going to get Hannibal after Halloween this year. we also have donna of the dead.

I think if you get Gemmys on sale it is worth every penny because they just scare people so much.


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