|
Our witch Ezmerelda, eternally stirs her foul concoction to horrifying perfection. Wanna know how? Read on my friends, read on...
Materials:
one old turntable one plastic cauldron foam water noodles a good stirring stick a wig form and wig 2 small pillows old blankets chicken wire 3/4 inch pvc and fittings wire coat hangers wire ties duct tape spray paint (Black, green, brown) wood
Tools:
a screw gun and screws a staple gun construction adhesive carpet knife tape measure/pencil
Step One: Prepare the base
First, we cut a piece of 2x6 wood about 13” long and screwed it to a piece of 1/2” plywood. We then used a smaller piece of 2x6 for the front of the base allowing for the turntable to fit snugly while allowing access for the motor and switch mechanisms to run unimpeded. Measure and cut your plastic cauldron so that it fits over your turntable. Next we drilled a hole in the back of the base just large enough for the 1/2 pvc pipe to fit. A 1x1 was attached to the base with an L-bracket and screws for support. We used a 45 degree fitting to hunch her back for a more realistic pose.
Step Two: The Arms
The shoulders were cut from pvc and assembled into the form of a “T” using a 3-way fitting. We drilled 2 small holes into the tops of the shoulder pieces and used coat hanger wire with loops on both ends to do the upper and lower arms, these were then covered with the foam noodles cut to size and trimmed. A small length of pvc was used for the neck. The arms should be jointed and allow for pretty free movement.
Step Three: Stirring action
Drill a small hole into the edge of the turntable. Drill another hole into the bottom of your stirring stick, hammer a small-headed nail into the hole in the stick, it should protrude about 3/4” and be able to fit into the corresponding hole on the turntable. We used wire ties to connect the “hands” to the stick. Power it up and check the movement of the stick: it should not rub or touch anywhere while its “stirring”. Tweak the movement by adjusting the stance or bending the arms slightly until you are satisfied that the action is realistic and doesn’t put undue weight onto the turntable.
Step Four: Dress up
We cut chicken wire and wrapped it around some blocking to form her lower body. Small pillows were used to form the upper body. Duct tape was added to give dimension and cinch her waist for a more feminine shape. We dressed her in an old skirt, pillow case and a shirt with frilly sleeves (kindly donated by Laurie) and spray painted everything reddish brown for consistency. The hands are 3” pieces of water noodle carved to look like fingers and sprayed to match. The wig form was painted latex gray and then black was sprayed around the eyes and mouth. We sprayed green stains on the dress, the long wig and medallion were added as the final touches.
Step Five: Afterthoughts
We are very happy with the results. A few ideas we have for Ezmerelda include pumping some fog into the cauldron, putting sticks around the base and using colored lighting to make her look even creepier...
see you next time,
-=k
|
