Dave the Dead's Entry

[dave the dead]

One Pair of Skull Stack Lights
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/skull%20stack%20lights/skulllamps012.jpg
Materials:
2 Cans Greatstuff expanding foam @ $3.50 ea $7.00
1/2 Can Rustoleum Black Primer/Sealer (@ $2.50per can) $1.25
8 Flickering Candle Lights purchased on Xmas
Clearance @75%off ($0.96 ea regular price, $0.24 ea clearance) $1.92
2 6ft extension cords (@ $.079 ea) $1.58
Just a dab of 3 colors of Apple Barrel Acrylic Paints $0.50
3 Hotmelt Glue sticks $1.00
4 Wire nuts $0.32
1 Cranberry Candle $1.00

TOTAL MATERIAL COST $14.50

PROCEDURE:
I made 8 Greatstuff Skulls from a latex mold (yeild is around 4-5 skulls per can) I then arranged the skulls and tacked together with hotmelt glue. I then applied a small amount of greatstuff between the skulls to fuse each stack together. I cut the plugs off of the flickering candle lights, and arranged the candles on the stacks of skulls. I cut holes in the skull stacks, and poked holes clear thu to the bottom to thread the cords thru. Then I glued the candles in place with Hotmelt glue. With the cords extending out the bottom, I wired each set of cords together and spliced to the extension cords with wire nuts. Each skull stack was then painted with flat black primer/sealer. I then drybrushed the black skulls with acrylic paints, mixing paints as necessary to get the desired effect. When dry, I melted cranberry candle wax down the candlesticks and onto the skulls.

[Lilly]

Wow Dave
I really like those!! Excellent!!
I will be making me some soon.
Thanks on the How to!

[krough]

Very Nice Dave.
I like it.

[1031fan]

awesome man!! id proudly put that in my haunted house any day! - glad you entered! 1031fan

[ScareFX]

Nice entry Dave!

[dave the dead]

Thanks everyone!:jol: :xbones: :jol:

[BooGirl666]

WOW.... great job that how to looks pretty easy.

[the_PROCRASTINATOR]

Great project, glad you entered it....

Now maybe I will get off my but and build something...

[Ghostess]

Dang Dave...... sweet propage!!!!

[dave the dead]

WOW.... great job that how to looks pretty easy.

Yeah, other than waiting on the Greatstuff to set up, it was very easy....And I've still got a whole bunch of those candles from cleaning out the clearance bin!:D

[Dr Morbius]

VERY nice...I am impressed. Those are great! Terrific molding job, man!

[scareme]

Those look great. I could see them on my dinning room table. How many skull molds do you have? Do you have to do several molds at once to keep from wasting the greatstuff?

[dave the dead]

Those look great. I could see them on my dinning room table. How many skull molds do you have? Do you have to do several molds at once to keep from wasting the greatstuff?

Just one mold. The trick is to cut off the end of the tube just before you fill up the next mold.....gets pretty small by #4 or 5, but still fill up ok. The skull I used for these stacks were ones that lended up looking weird....trimming off the lower jaw helped out a bunch.

[DeadSpider]

very nice. I like it.

[ScareShack]

Very nice work. They look amazing!!

[Hellrazor]

Thats freeeekin AWESOME!!!! WOW! I love it.

[Smelly-Skelly]

Great prop, love it! Anyone have a "How To" on the making of the skulls?

[dave the dead]

Thanks again everyone! The skull mold was done with MoldMakers Latex..Latex mold with plaster of paris mother mold around it..somebody on this forum has a terrific how-to that I was reading the other day....I'll have to see if I can find it.

[trishaanne]

Nice work. I'll take a set! Ship to.....:D

[DaveintheGrave]

That's a very professional looking prop. Great job!! I bet the Spirit Halloween store would charge at least $80 for something like that.

[Sickie Ickie]

Freakin' awesome! What fantastic imagination. I can't wait to see future props in competitions!

[dave the dead]

Great prop, love it! Anyone have a "How To" on the making of the skulls?

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=5576

Check this thread----some great minds at work here!:xbones: :jol: :xbones:

[pyro]

very nice, just what i need another need to do.

[slimy]

Looks VERY good.

You have many talents.

Awesome.

[Big Howlin]

94 cents each candle! Wow man, wish I lived in the states sometimes. They would be like 8 bux out here. Very nice job, Im jealous of your creation!

[dave the dead]

94 cents each candle! Wow man, wish I lived in the states sometimes. They would be like 8 bux out here. Very nice job, Im jealous of your creation!

yeah, i bought a few regular price, then some more when they went 30%, then a lot more when they went 50%, then A WHOLE LOT more at 75%....never did get a count....go figure...:D

[Big Howlin]

cool

[Beepem]

you guys stop entering youre making me feel behind!

nice job

[Merlin (The Quiet One)]

Nice job Dave. That looks great.

[CerysCrow]

These are amazing!

I never could have imagined using Greatstuff to make something like that.

Great job!

[rasp]

Totally great looking props Dave The Dead!! Thanks for the inspiration! That's something I'll have to learn to do. Totally cool dude!

[Fangs]

Whoa........ Those are AWESOME!!!!!!!! What a cool idea! Looks like we've got quite the talent here! Very sweet prop Dave! :>

[IshWitch]

Did you make the latex mold for the skulls? Those look awesome!

[dave the dead]

Did you make the latex mold for the skulls? Those look awesome!

yep...the original skull was a $6 Big Lots cheapie.....every new skull from the mold comes out with it's own unique look, though....weird how that happens!

[Big Howlin]

skulls seem to be cheap in the states vs here....hmm should do a lot purchase.

[slightlymad]

Man I gotta get to work

[TearyThunder]

These are awesome Dave! I was wondering what KJ and I was going to do with the 30+ candles we bought for 10 cents ea. Now I know what we are going to do. :D

[roadkill]

No pics?

[dave the dead]

No pics?

check pg one of this thread for the pics,material list, and how-to....

TearyThunder....10cents each????? wow- you did well!!!! Gotta love the clearance bins!

[Big Howlin]

u have any other pics?

[dave the dead]

u have any other pics?

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/halloweenprops2007071.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/halloweenprops2007067.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/skull%20stack%20lights/skulllamps009.jpg

[turtle2778]

Nice job. Looks really good.

[Otaku]

One cannot have too many skulls, especially creepy-looking ones like yours. Nice entry!

[Fangs]

Hey Dave the dead, If you could, I think that you should make a video showing the lights flickering.... I'd love to see that! :D :> BTW----I just have to say it again, You have a sveet prop!

[dave the dead]

Hey Dave the dead, If you could, I think that you should make a video showing the lights flickering.... I'd love to see that! :D :> BTW----I just have to say it again, You have a sveet prop!
Ok...I'll see what I can do for ya!;)

[Dr Morbius]

Oh yea! That would be great!

[halloweengoddessrn]

Video would be nice! Great job!

[dave the dead]

Ok guys....heres a quick video of the skulls lit up, and some of the materials used to make the lights.:cool:
skull stack lights :: skullstacks004.flv video by davethedead - Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@http://vid105.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/davethedead/skull%20stack%20lights/skullstacks004.flv@@AMEPARAM@@vid105@@AMEPARAM@@10 5@@AMEPARAM@@m240/davethedead/skull%20stack%20lights/skullstacks004

[Sickie Ickie]

Nice NIce Nice

[Dr Morbius]

Hey that's pretty cool! Nice skull pulls too.

[the_PROCRASTINATOR]

AWESOME VIDEO CLIP BUDDY!
I like your production line.

[Spooklights]

These really look great! You could use them for almost any haunted scene, too.

[dave the dead]

Thanks everyone for all the kind words. Good luck to all the terrific contest entries....man, this has been fun!

[Haunted Bayou]

Just saw the video. I think your prop looks like something that would cost a lot more than $20. Fantasic!

[the_PROCRASTINATOR]

DAVE, DAVE, DAVE!!!

[Koumajutsu]

I rally love this prop. I have since it was first posted. I really have to give you a pat on the back Dave. It's one of those things that I can look at and I can visualize everything that went into it. I also think you estimated your prices toward the high end to be nice to the other contestants :D Your creativity is amazing with this

[dave the dead]

I rally love this prop. I have since it was first posted. I really have to give you a pat on the back Dave. It's one of those things that I can look at and I can visualize everything that went into it. I also think you estimated your prices toward the high end to be nice to the other contestants :D Your creativity is amazing with this

Thanks Koumajutsu, that is really nice of you to say that. Yes, I was liberal with the prices, and I see this as a prop that anybody could do if they wanted to. It was alot of fun to put together, and I was pretty pleased with the result.:)

[Dr Morbius]

I agree..I love props like this too. What kind of paper is that you used in the background?

[Sickie Ickie]

Looks like a bedsheet?

[dave the dead]

What kind of paper is that you used in the background?

Ahhhhh, you noticed my secret weapon! That is a packing fabric that I scrounge from work for free.It comes packed around leather sofas......I have used it for everything from monster mud props, costumes, wall decoration, stuffing, dog kennel bedding, and probably 100 other things I haven't remembered. ( oh yeah, photo shoot backdrop, too) My garage shelves are full of it right now.:D

[NATUREPIXIE]

Awesome job, I think I need some of those too.....
This is an awesome forum...with lots of talent.

[Haunted Bayou]

Congratulations Dave for your placement in the top 3 props in a really tough competition. Well done.