FRANKENSTEIN Life Size Prop Project

[Richie]

Hi folks,

I don't know how many here are real fans of the Frankenstein monster as I am, more specifically, the monster portrayed by Glenn Strange in the 1948 film, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. We all know Boris Karloff was great, but from the time I saw Glenn Strange in the two previous movies, and finally in the last film with the new makeup appliances, I totally went nuts for him to the point of trying to build a respectable facsimile of him.

Finally, at the age of 45 years old, and with the grateful assistance of my wife and other sources, I've come very close to having my Frankenstein dimensionally to what he appeared to be in the movie. Below is the latest photo of him with completed padding work, which was not an easy task. There wasn't room for me to get in the photo to give him scale, but he stands 7'-2" tall and can be removed from the custom pedestal I made for him so he can stand on the floor. His jacket is size 52, shoulder width is 24" and his pants are size 46.

We've also acquired the elusive or iconic book and the only one in existence, "The Secrets Of Life & Death" by Dr. Frankenstein.

I hope you all enjoy this.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/Trek13/frankydesktop1.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/Trek13/bestfaceclose-1.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/Trek13/secretsbook.jpg

[playfx]

WOW, this is AWESOME!! I like the clothes small, kinda gives him size.

[infoamtek]

Let's not forget Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi in their protrayals of the monster.

[slightlymad]

Awsome Richie

[Dr Morbius]

Wow! so...how many corpses did it take to make him?

[Richie]

Thanks folks. He'll look much better as I evolve the clothing. Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi were also great. I have a wonderful and very rare Lugosi bust as he appeared in Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.

LOL...Morbius, you know how it goes, a piece from here and a piece from there. At least I can say he's Made in America.

[thenameisaimee]

wow...amazing work!

[Richie]

Hi PlayFX,

I always intended the sleeves and the pants to look short as they do. But the jacket itself needs to be longer down towards the waist by maybe another 4" As the shoulders become more padded, it causes the jacket to rise up. So a larger jacket is a must. Thanks for your positive comments.

[Vlad]

Hi Richie. Great work. What's the body frame made from? I've always been a big fan of the Glenn Strange Frankenstein myself.

[Sickie Ickie]

Nice job, man. A lot of time involved, I'm sure!

[Richie]

Yeah Sickie, its been very tricky to get the body correct.

Vlad, I'm going to start a thread in the "General Prop Discussion" area and answer your question about his construction. Thanks for your interest.

[BudMan]

Richie,
Very nice, can't wait to see him in person.

[jdubbya]

Richie, I'm anxiously waiting the how to on the body. Several years ago, I purchased the universal studios licensed frankenstein mask and hands. I have never used them, mostly because I wanted to have a life size frank as a centerpiece prop. I keep saying every year that I'm going to build it but never do. This has really inspired me. It looks awesome!

[Lilly]

very cool , great likeness of a great Icon.

[Richie]

Hi Jdubbya,

The photo below was sort of a prototype Frankenstein I built in order to work the bugs out of the design. Believe me, there were numerous things that had to be taken into account with it due to the size. Is this the Universal mask you have or do you have one of the higher quality Calendar versions?

The best part about the one in the photo below was the nearly full length arms. I don't recall the artists full name, but I think his last name is Burnett. The arms came from the same molds as the ones used in Disney World. I believe they have an actor walk around as Frankenstein down there. I didn't use those arms for this new one because I wanted the fingers to be reaching outwards a bit more. But they can easily be worn by a real person for a costume

I did step into the photo with this one. I'm 6' and 178lbs, so if you think this Frankenstein is big and tall, my new one is far taller and wider.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/Trek13/franken2.jpg

[slimy]

The Frankenstein looks good, but he's not as scary as the mustached monster standing next to him. Did you make that one out of mache? Or how did you get the wig head to look that scary?

[Richie]

LOL...yeah, we picked that thing up out of a dumpster. Glad it isn't worth much money, especially since the kids egg the heck out of it every year.

[Sickie Ickie]

How did you do the shoes?

[Haunted Bayou]

Fantastic.
I am a big fan of the original Frankenstein movie with Karloff. I loved the A&C movies when I was a kid but I don't think I have seen those in a long time.

I am Frankenstein's-Monster-green with envy!

[Richie]

How did you do the shoes?



Hi there Sickie,

I'll answer that question in the General Prop discussion area I started, located here:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=6195

[Zombie-F]

Wow, that thing is incredible. Apart from Karloff, Glenn Strange is the next person I think of as "being" Frankenstein's Monster. Great job.

[jdubbya]

[B] Is this the Universal mask you have or do you have one of the higher quality Calendar versions?

The best part about the one in the photo below was the nearly full length arms.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/Trek13/franken2.jpg

Mine is the Universal studios licensed mask. It has the hair, eyes are open a bit with viewing slits. The difference I see with yours is the color. Mine has a greenish blue complexion as do the arms. The arms are long as well, and go almost to the elbow. It has a lot of room in the head cavity so to wear it is a bit uncomfotable and you need to pad it out quite a bit. It look really out of place on an average sized person, so building an appropriate sized prop would be the best way to properly display it, IMO.

[Richie]

JD,

The reason I asked about which head you have is because of the observation you've already discovered. Using a head that is actually designed to wear will cause you a great deal of difficulty trying to get the proportions correct. As an example, I found a very closeup photo of that prototype Franky I built and am posted it for you. The proportions are so far off, it's almost comical to look at.


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/Trek13/universal.jpg


The body on it is not as large as my final version, but it is much larger than a normal man. In fact, that particular mask was so large, I knew immediately I'd never be able to use it and get the scale correct. If you decide you really want to try and build a good life size franky, I think you'd be much better off getting one of those Karloff calendar heads and use your existing arms with it. The calendar heads are not designed to wear, so they are much more in line with what would be considered life size and not oversize.

[Front Yard Fright]

that thing rules!!!
he could use a pink feather boa though!
hahaha.
:rolleyes:

[Nightshade]

Way awsome!!

[NATUREPIXIE]

Wow! That's really great work.. Awesome job!

[Richie]

Hi folks,

I had some time to return to my Glenn Strange Frankenstein project recently and made final improvements to him. Mostly to his suit and some additional padding work. He's now considered complete and the best I can do. He sports a 24" shoulder width and size 46" pants, so he's a big boy. I can't wait to display him for the TOT's this year. Thank you all again for your kind comments.

If there was only a way to get Lauriebeast's Bride of Frankenstein standing next to mine, that would make one great photo.


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/Trek13/frankydesktop1.jpg

[beelce]

WOW Richie...That's nice!

[Lauriebeast]

If there was only a way to get Lauriebeast's Bride of Frankenstein standing next to mine, that would make one great photo

That sounds like a great idea, Richie....maybe some Photoshop magic? It would be great to see those two together. I'm game if you are :)

[Richie]

That sounds like a great idea, Richie....maybe some Photoshop magic? It would be great to see those two together. I'm game if you are :)


I'd love to. Perhaps if you can snap a full length photo of the Bride, I should be able to get them together. I think I'll remove mine from the pedestal and take another photo of him. That's the way he'll be displayed for halloween anyway. If you do think you can snap a photo, let me know what color the background would be. Thanks.

[Lauriebeast]

Okay....When I get her finished (very soon) I'll snap some photos and let ya know what the background will be, probably a grayish color. Hehe, this is gonna be fun!

[MistressOfMayhem]

Man I love your Frankie! I'm so jealous right now, top notch!

[buckaneerbabe]

I love him. Truly a work of art.

[oct31man]

Awesome work man!

[Johnny Thunder]

That is fantastic! Kudos to you! :cool:

[lowdwnrob]

That thing is amazing

[Lady Nyxie]

Looks great.