Articulated body form

beelce · Jan 3, 2009

Articulated body form
Here I go again with a "how to follow along" which means I'll add to the thread as I progress with the form

This project was seeded by Systematic Chaos at this thread http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=14614

These are arms...upper arm, lower arm, and hand
After some quick calculations, I sized these arms to fit in the suit jacket

The hinge is 2 fence gate lock parts from Home Depot

A few washers, a nut and bolt, and some treated 2"x2" pine

So far I have 2 hours in the project, and I am really surprised at how smooth the joints move and how well the stay where I pose them

beelce · Jan 3, 2009

My plan is to build an articulated human frame with off the shelf parts
In this case I went with the spring tension method to hold the joints stiff after posing the figure

I found this 3 piece suit, shirt, tie, and shoes at Goodwell ...$8.

beelce · Jan 3, 2009

Here is the spring tension set up....3 lock washers with flat washers on both sides

Sickie Ickie · Jan 3, 2009

Extremely clever!

beelce · Jan 3, 2009

Thanks Sickie.......here are some more

Got the legs made tonight.... and screwed on the shoes

Here is the shoulder set up.....the hanger came with the suit, and it holds the coat in a natural shoulder pose...I will bolt on the shoulder joints to it tomorrow.

Systematic Chaos · Jan 3, 2009

This is really great!!!! I can't wait to see more. Thanks a bunch!!!!

Sickie Ickie · Jan 3, 2009

Are you using 1 x 1's or 1 x 2's?

also, any chance on measurements?

dave the dead · Jan 3, 2009

Nice job Beelce! I like where this is heading.

RoxyBlue · Jan 3, 2009

This is going to be one snazzy looking dude when he's done.

turtle2778 · Jan 3, 2009

Hey keep this coming!! Your doing a great job. Do you have a parts list and possibly a cost estimate for those parts?? Also how did you screw the shoes on? I can't wait to see this when its done.

pyro · Jan 4, 2009

im liking this

beelce · Jan 4, 2009

OK folk here is todays work...

Here is the finished torso...you can see the shoulder and hip joints...

I was shocked....he stood up the very first time I tried!

Posing is easy....If any joint is too tight or loose just need 2 wrenches to tweak them

beelce · Jan 4, 2009

He is about 6' tall....weighs about 25 lbs

If I could only get him to mow the yard while he sits on my tractor

RoxyBlue · Jan 5, 2009

beelce said:
If I could only get him to mow the yard while he sits on my tractor

Well, really, what can you expect? He's not dressed for yard work:googly:

Great work - he's going to be one wonderful prop, and very versatile - switch out a head, switch out an outfit - every year, he can be reborn as a new prop.

beelce · Jan 4, 2009

Sickie Ickie · Jan 4, 2009

Awesome!

Mr_Chicken · Jan 4, 2009

Excellent work beelce, this is turning out better than I expected!
So do you loosen the joints, pose, and then tighten, or is it such that you can move them, but they still hold?
Think he's strong enough to hold a prop in his hand?

sharpobject · Jan 4, 2009

Very impressive. How much was the cost for the wood and hardware?

hpropman · Jan 5, 2009

Cool! he may need some filling out with pool noodles and such but nice progress.

ededdeddy · Jan 5, 2009

Man That thing is a great frame. Looks like I got an idea to steal.

Monstermaker · Jan 5, 2009

Excellent work Beelce......just plain excellent!

turtle2778 · Jan 5, 2009

Awesome!!!

Ghoul Friday · Jan 5, 2009

Really great! I love how easy it is to change the poses. Smart work.

PerfessorEvil · Jan 5, 2009

Very nice... I need to make a bunch of these this year.

beelce · Jan 5, 2009

Roxy....no wonder, when I asked him to to mow he just responded with 1 finger

Mr_Chicken · Jan 6, 2009

Wow, that is an impressive prop, seeing as he doesn't have any!

Silent Requiem · Jan 7, 2009

i love this! how much did it cost to make, though?

beelce · Jan 7, 2009

thanks for the good words everyone!!!

Sickie...I used 2"x2" treated pine as the primary material, but also there is a few feet of 1" x 2" pine and 1" x 4" and 3/4" plywood...It took me 2 hours to figure out what parts to buy at Home Depot and 6 hours to design/build the standing form...I think the next one I build will take less than 3 hours

Turtle and Sharpobject and Silent Requiem...I spent about $60 on hardware (metal) and about $10 on wood and $8 on the clothes...so he is not cheap, but still well worth it for the long life this prop should enjoy

RoxyBlue...you hit the nail on the head...this guy is versatile to the max. He can pose new every year as well as becoming a new character every year

Mr. Chicken and Ghoul Friday....what I found is that he is extremely easy to pose...If I tighten the joints about 3/4 of the way, I can pose him repeatedly without re-adjusting the joints and he will stay right where I leave him. However the hip and knee joints do better if I tighten them 100% after he is posed.

Hpropman...filling him out with foam will be the next part of this project

By the way...the form looks just as good in an old prom dress that I picked up at Goodwill

RoxyBlue · Jan 7, 2009

beelce said:
By the way...the form looks just as good in an old prom dress that I picked up at Goodwill

A cross dressing prop? Now THAT'S versatility!:googly:

Articulated body form

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