# Sphynx



## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

Started building my first prop for 2010 .
Here are some pics.
Took me 4 hours to make the skeleton and 2 hours for the first mache layer.
The skeleton is completely made out of cardboard and I used a white plastic mask for the face.


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)




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## Growler (Aug 12, 2008)

OMG, it's amazing what you guys can do with paper and cardboard! Looks fantastic so far.


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## kprimm (Apr 3, 2009)

That is looking very impressive so far, cant wait to see it finished.Looks like you have this planned out perfect.


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

Whoo Hoo...That's cool!


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## savagehaunter (Aug 22, 2009)

that is so great so far.


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## izzio (Aug 11, 2009)

I LOVE it! It would be cool if you put red cellophane in he eye holes, then put some LEDs behind the eyes. It would give a nice glwing red effect.


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

izzio said:


> I LOVE it! It would be cool if you put red cellophane in he eye holes, then put some LEDs behind the eyes. It would give a nice glwing red effect.


I'm actually putting in a red C7 light bulb inside , so no need for red cellophane.

Thanks for the nice words guys !


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## darkpenguincowboy (Sep 28, 2008)

Ok, now that is cool! i have been hesitent about building any outdoor props with paper mache, now I have been inspired. I just have a question, are you planning on using this inside or outdoors? How well will this hold up outside? I know that the paper mache will hold up well, but I was under the impression that if you wanted it to hold up outside, you needed a strong base structure, so will the cardboard hold up, or get soggy? Sorry about all the questions, I was just curious. It looks great though! Cant wait to see it come together!


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

This prop will be used indoors. Personally , I wouldn't use cardboard for outdoor props , especially the way I made it.
What you can do , is make your prop the same way I did but wrap it in plastic on the bottom and up the sides a little to make sure no moisture can get in from the bottom because the cardboard WILL get soggy once wet.
The whole cardboard frame is very sturdy , so sturdy you can actually sit on the sphynx. Because the skeleton's ribs are so close together , it's easy to apply paper mache over it and it's also very strong. There are websites that explain how to make the mache weatherproof ( or as good as possible ) but I can't really give you much direction there. I figure if you paint the mache with a layer or two of latex paint and then clear coat it a few times , you should be good to go. Here in SoCal , we don't get much rain or cold weather so I never really had to worry about it.
Hope this helps.


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## yardhauntjunkie (Feb 26, 2009)

Wow I can't wait to see more of the progress on this prop. What a great idea. 

We tried the plastic on the bottom of the mache prop idea. But the water just wicks up the plastic and makes the cardboard soggy anyway. With something like this you could just make the structure like he did, but do it with thin plywood and cover it in monster mud and water proof it.


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## dionicia (Nov 5, 2006)

This looks really good. Can't wait to see more of the progression on him.


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## Calloween (Mar 8, 2009)

Now do you have a tutorial for a pyramid? That would finish my 2010.


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

Calloween said:


> Now do you have a tutorial for a pyramid? That would finish my 2010.


Not yet , working on other stuff right now.
I'm building two 8-foot Anubis statues .


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## dionicia (Nov 5, 2006)

Clad In Shadows said:


> Not yet , working on other stuff right now.
> I'm building two 8-foot Anubis statues .


I can't wait to see pics of those.


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

dionicia said:


> I can't wait to see pics of those.


I usually post new pics on my blog first.

The Prop Shop


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

WOW!!! That Is AMAZING!!! can't wait to see it finished!!!


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## TNBrad (Sep 12, 2007)

Clad In Shadows said:


> I'm actually putting in a red C7 light bulb inside , so no need for red cellophane.
> 
> Thanks for the nice words guys !


*Will those put out a lot of heat close to the paper? *
you could maybe use a 9 volt and some LEDs and not be tied to a plug/oultlet

BUT WOW Great job though I got keep my love off here now or I'll be doing more for next year LOL.


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

TNBrad said:


> *Will those put out a lot of heat close to the paper? *
> you could maybe use a 9 volt and some LEDs and not be tied to a plug/oultlet
> 
> BUT WOW Great job though I got keep my love off here now or I'll be doing more for next year LOL.


Thanks for the nice words.
It's not that close to the paper , the whole head is hollow , so you'll have a hole the size of a soccer ball . I don't mind havind to plug it in since the sphynx is gonna be on top of a tomb . I will need lighting around the tomb also and I'll put in a fog machine.


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

boy oh boy is that amazing. so what is your theme and have you done this theme before? are you just adding or starting a new theme? i can't wait to see this finished


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

Completely new scene this year. Never built anything Egyptian before . We do a different theme every year. So , this year it's Egypt .
The sphynx is one of the smaller " major" props I'm building.
I'm also working on the two Anubis statues right now.
Won't be building a pyramid because it's indoors. We need all the room we can get for the guests.
The bulk of the work will be going to the hieroglyphs on the wall panels.
Need about 20 panels ( 4x8 ) with hieroglyphs , which will be puzzles for the guests at the party.


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

okay, i looked up anubis and hieroglyphs. wow, you will have some haunt. i love you are going to have puzzles for the guests. your haunt should be real different and fun. put egypt on my to do some year list.


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

that is so cool!! I am a ancient Egypt fanatic anyway, watch everything I find on it, totally cool theme!!!


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

a valley of the kings, mummy theme for outside would be so fun to do!!! hmmm, file away for future reference!!


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

Ancient Egypt is indeed a cool theme. Not really a "halloween" type of thing but the whole concept is great. It's going to be a long way to the finish line but it'll be worth it. Our guests are looking forwards to our parties every year just to see what I've been up to.
I would love to take the theme outside also but we have strong winds (up to 80mph ) during the winter so I don't think it'll be a good idea to put my stuff out there , especially because it's lightweight.


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

bethene said:


> a valley of the kings, mummy theme for outside would be so fun to do!!! hmmm, file away for future reference!!


mummies are gonna be part of the inside theme also. Good stuff.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

*Your Whole Theme*

Wouldn't have to be simply Egypt to justify your decorations because in this country (USA) I believe there was huge intrest in such items and artistic works around 1820.
In downtown Dubuque, Iowa one of their government buildings was built in the Egyptian Revival style and features colunms that slightly bow -out in their center and other style cues.
My old nieghbor restored very expensive furniture for a living for most of his working life, museum pieces and for collection$. When I saw what seemed to be a long chair/bed in his shop that looked as if it was plucked from inside a pyramid he told me that it was "old"...made right over here around 1820...still a very valuable piece but it had never been inside a pyramid.
So everyone at your party could be Americans dressed circa 1820.
I know, it might be easier to dress like ancient Egyptians, or at least "walk like an Egyptian....try not to "Bangle " when you walk!
(I liked that song)


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## Bobamaltz (Dec 27, 2009)

What a great idea!


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

Still need a King cobra for the head piece but he's pretty much finished for as far as I'm concerned.


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## savagehaunter (Aug 22, 2009)

The Sphynx looks great. the cobra will be the proper finish.


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

so is it a pinata, do we stuff it and take a stick and bust it? lol. just joking. that turned out amazing. you put a lot of time, effort, and creativity into that. WOW!!!!!!! I LOVE IT


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

great job, LOVE the red eyes!! the cobra will be a great finishing touch!
I actually think a ancient Egypt theme, while not traditional , could be very scarey, lots of scares could be done with that theme,mummy's being the main thing, but not the only, death beetles, snakes,Egyption spirits / ghosts as well,curses on tomb raiders, etc., if researched, could be awesome, for research the mummy movie is a good place to start, but lots of other places as well,


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## cinders (Oct 12, 2003)

The Sphynx looks great!


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## Glass 'eye' (Jul 22, 2007)

Nice job. The eyes look great. Looks like your time and effort paid off.


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## bobzilla (Nov 15, 2008)

Nice work !


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## ice111302 (Apr 15, 2008)

that is fantastic.....i was thinking an egypt theme....but here it would have to be an indoor prop...never know if we will get snow for halloween.....wow...thanks for posting your progress....


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## TNBrad (Sep 12, 2007)

I found this in my stuff.... now I know what I want to do.
Does anyone know about vacumforming??or another way to make a copy??


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## DRKSAINT (Sep 30, 2009)

That looks great! I like the Egyptian theme.


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## Calloween (Mar 8, 2009)

Make a good, cheap, upgradeable sheet plastic vacuum former


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## StanFam3 (Oct 5, 2009)

LOVE IT!!! This is going to be a grand prop when done.


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## savagehaunter (Aug 22, 2009)

the Egyptian theme is a great idea.


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## hauntfordad (Jan 2, 2010)

This gives me great ideas for some things i need to build for my 2010 display


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## TNBrad (Sep 12, 2007)

A long time ago in the late 80's LOL. We did a haunt at the YMCA and did a mummy room. A lot of the kids wouldn't go past it. We took two large black book cases (7' tall) with a refrigerator box between them and a sarcophagus painted on it. The door was cut to the shape of the mummy case. Just behind it I was dressed in rags and backlit and there was one of those giant gym fans. As the kids came in I turned on the fan and the wind blow the sarcophagus open and there I was with arms out ... staggering out of a bright light. Only one counselor was killed in a stampede (not really) but the kids would try to go through over and over.. so I guess they had a great time like us.


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## Atum (Nov 21, 2009)

*The Four Sons of Horakhty*

Don't forget to make canopic jars.


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## SB_Haunts (Jan 5, 2010)

wow, really great work, I commend you, awesome job


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## anubis1369 (Jul 19, 2009)

VERY impressive. Where did you get the idea for the construction?


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

Great job!


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

anubis1369 said:


> VERY impressive. Where did you get the idea for the construction?


I was looking at my Hugh human wood skeleton.
Pretty much the same thing as those miniature wooden dinosaur skeletons.

Next project : two 8ft Anubis statues.


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## anubis1369 (Jul 19, 2009)

15+ years ago (oh oh, showing my age) I made an Anubis costume that utilized a old Batman mask. It was a full cowl with really long bat ears. I then added a blow mold plastic wolf snout ( the kind that just has the nose and an elastic band to wear it on your face) and covered it all with several coats of black liquid latex. I'll see if I can dig up any pics. I was quite proud of it. If you can find any of those old rbber Batman masks it my make things easier than trying to go the paper mache route.


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

I would love to see that. 
I'm gonna start on my 8ft Anubis statues . The heads need to be bigger than an average mask so I had to cut them out of styrofoam. 



anubis1369 said:


> 15+ years ago (oh oh, showing my age) I made an Anubis costume that utilized a old Batman mask. It was a full cowl with really long bat ears. I then added a blow mold plastic wolf snout ( the kind that just has the nose and an elastic band to wear it on your face) and covered it all with several coats of black liquid latex. I'll see if I can dig up any pics. I was quite proud of it. If you can find any of those old rbber Batman masks it my make things easier than trying to go the paper mache route.


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## ELH(Erin Loves Halloween) (Nov 5, 2008)

awesome great prop love it


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## savagehaunter (Aug 22, 2009)

you should make a Bast statue now. Bast is the cat godess the Egyptians worship


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## HallowSusieBoo (Aug 11, 2009)

OUTSTANDING!! We are making an "Explorer" room this year as part of our haunt - and all we have to start with is a jungle/pith helmet, and a full size knight in shining armor... It will be a cross between sort of an Indiana Jones meets Mummy meets Myst meets Night at the Museum room.. filled with artifacts, animal trophy "heads" and an "explorer" who never made it out alive! Your construction method with the cardboard under-skeleton is ideal!! Thanks so much for posting this and getting us all inspired! Can't wait to see how your other props pull together. Yes - you deserve an award for sure!


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## Clad In Shadows (Mar 21, 2007)

Thanks Erin. Savage Haunter , I'd love to build a Bast but my Anubis statues come first as they should be the entrance to the next room. Then we'll see how much room we have left in there. This Egyptian room will also be the dining room for the party guests.
And thanks HallowSusieboo for the nice words and I'm glad to inspire people. This method of prop building is cheap and light , which are the two most important things for a home haunter. I hope this info is useful for a lot of people.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

Vaccum forming an Egyptian bust with the long chin-beard would be very tough(all in one piece) but just last night as I was watching "Karloff" in that first Mummy movie I noticed they intentionally broke off the chin beard as they buried him because he was disgraced...so who needs a chin beard? hahahah!
Just say:"Thank You Mummy!"


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## TNBrad (Sep 12, 2007)

Gym Whourlfeld said:


> Vaccum forming an Egyptian bust with the long chin-beard would be very tough(all in one piece) but just last night as I was watching "Karloff" in that first Mummy movie I noticed they intentionally broke off the chin beard as they buried him because he was disgraced...so who needs a chin beard? hahahah!
> Just say:"Thank You Mummy!"


 I *was* thinking of removing it from the bust. and just casting it separately.


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