# NOLA themed Halloween prop help - animated flashing skeleton?



## wdallen504 (Aug 26, 2017)

Love the idea! Wiper motor comes to mind and some fishing line seems the simplest. Reindeer motor instead of the wiper motor if you can get one. Fright Props has the motors and speed controllers.


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## SamhainPropworks (Aug 27, 2020)

Alright, here is my take on your idea.

First off, the shirt is going to add friction, which means the ability to drop the shirt will have to be done by adding weight to the bottom of the hem or by another means of forcing it to return. This also adds a level of complexity as the mechanism cannot be hidden in the chest as the shirt is going to be pulled up to reveal all to the world.

So my idea is as follows, using a plumbers snake You can use it as the connector mechanism for the wiper motor, The snake is light and has the luxury of being flexible yet allow for both pull and push strength. I'm including a very rough picture of the concept and while it would most likely need refinement, it would be a great starting place.

Motion would be done via an arm attached to the wiper motor to allow for the amount of movement needed.

The plumbing snake should be strong enough to push the cloth back down (along with the arms) to the starting position after being drawn up. You will just have to make sure that the the back of the bar that attaches to the hands is smooth enough to jump up over the sternum when the shirt is drawn up. Some minor weight may be needed at the bar level to ensure the return of the shirt to pre-flash position, it would very much be based on the fabric of the shirt chosen.

If this is unclear I apologize 

Just an idea, I tend to overcomplicate things but this is the direction I would go, I'm sure more veteran animatronic people would have a better and easier idea  lol

edit: Looking at this, the 90° at the back may add too much direct friction, 2, 45° would be a better option here. The pipe is needed to ensure the push motion on the snake does not cause it to deflect.


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## wdallen504 (Aug 26, 2017)

Nice setup... I think the weight of the arms and hands of the skeleton should be enough weight but you could add weight there. The hands and arms should slide along the rib cage for the effect.










Very basic drawing, sorry. You will need to get the hands all the way up to the chin so you can show off those headlights. So remember to have your lift point high enough to bring them all the way up. 

You could hide the wiper motor inside the torso if you like. To help the downward motion you could do a simple loop, IE attach line to the bottom of the hands and then thread it through the seat or bottom of the skeleton and attach it to the same ring the "raise" or top line uses. That way it pulls the shirt up and then pulls it down.

This is, of course, the KISS method and you may or may not see the fishing line. The other method is cool because it is hidden. There are other ways to do this too if you really want to get into it.


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## theundeadofnight (Aug 14, 2011)

Anubis51369 said:


> Hi all! Looking for any and all help in building a skeleton which raises it's shirt like it flashing for Mardi Gras beads for a NOLA themed Halloween party. Suggestion? Thanks in advance!


 Hi Anubis51369 ,
Fun and creative idea .
I’ll throw out an idea , what about using a Flying Crank Ghost rig from above ? Fixed skeleton with shirt , arms loosely connected to skeleton with cable ties , hands attached to front lines of the FCG rig to raise arms/hands and shirt . 
Tom


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## stick (Apr 2, 2009)

This will be so fun to see when finished so please post a video. Make sure you have lots of Mardi Gras beads around her feet.


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## Anubis51369 (Jun 1, 2021)

Great ideas thus far! Thanks all!


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## Anubis51369 (Jun 1, 2021)

Update:
Looks like I'm going in a different direction...."skeletons and zombies would NOT hang out together. You have to make the flasher a zombie." Wiser words were never spoken by a wonderful wife. I gussied up one of our mannequins (P*rn Store Barbie), and now have a whole new set of issues. Try as it might, my trusty reindeer motor just does not have enough umph to lift the mannequin arm. Trying to keep it simple as I am not all that mechanically inclined. I have included some pics (hope I don't get the ol' heave ho for posting them). The arm swings up pretty smoothly, but it's weighty. Suggestions? Want to keep the mannequin relatively intact as we always change our theme every year. Thanks in advance!


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