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I started a thread in the "Showroom" section for a full size Glenn Strange Frankenstein project I've been working on that can be viewed here:
http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=6189
Any build questions I'll be answering on this thread.
A few members where curious about what the body is made out of. Due to the very large size of this prop, it was important that it can be disassembled easily to move it around and not be flimsy. I decided not to go with the much less expensive PVC body and go with a high end mannequin.
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The other reason I chose this route was because of the difficulty building up a PVC stick figure to the correct size and proportions I was looking for. The mannequin pictured is the largest you can buy at 6'-4" tall with about 18" shoulder width, if that at all. As large as this mannequin was, the Frankenstein jacket would just slide right off the shoulders. The first thing I had to do was build some shoulder extensions for it that not only added an additional 6" width to the shoulders, but still enabled the arms to attach in the same fashion. Even more important was the fact that once you start heavily padding a mannequin's torso, the arms would now be pressed into the torso, so moving them outwards several inches was a necessity and adds a great deal to his presents. If anyone goes this route, I have a photo of the shoulder modification.
Once that was complete, it required very careful padding from top to bottom, anywhere from 2"-4" thick or more of batting material throughout. Once he started building bulk, I had to start test fitting the clothes to make sure he was shaping up correctly. I didn't want him to look as if he was simply filled with uneven newspapers, but appear to be a real person in a well made Frankenstein costume.
The batting was also applied tightly so if you touched him, he actually feels real. Bottom line is that you can make one of these on the cheap, or spend some money, either way, it's going to take a lot of time to fine tune an authentic look. We keep a few of our life size props set up all year in a spare room. So some of our halloween props don't actually get disassembled and stored in the basement. Hope this answers some of the questions asked.
http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=6189
Any build questions I'll be answering on this thread.
A few members where curious about what the body is made out of. Due to the very large size of this prop, it was important that it can be disassembled easily to move it around and not be flimsy. I decided not to go with the much less expensive PVC body and go with a high end mannequin.
The other reason I chose this route was because of the difficulty building up a PVC stick figure to the correct size and proportions I was looking for. The mannequin pictured is the largest you can buy at 6'-4" tall with about 18" shoulder width, if that at all. As large as this mannequin was, the Frankenstein jacket would just slide right off the shoulders. The first thing I had to do was build some shoulder extensions for it that not only added an additional 6" width to the shoulders, but still enabled the arms to attach in the same fashion. Even more important was the fact that once you start heavily padding a mannequin's torso, the arms would now be pressed into the torso, so moving them outwards several inches was a necessity and adds a great deal to his presents. If anyone goes this route, I have a photo of the shoulder modification.
Once that was complete, it required very careful padding from top to bottom, anywhere from 2"-4" thick or more of batting material throughout. Once he started building bulk, I had to start test fitting the clothes to make sure he was shaping up correctly. I didn't want him to look as if he was simply filled with uneven newspapers, but appear to be a real person in a well made Frankenstein costume.
The batting was also applied tightly so if you touched him, he actually feels real. Bottom line is that you can make one of these on the cheap, or spend some money, either way, it's going to take a lot of time to fine tune an authentic look. We keep a few of our life size props set up all year in a spare room. So some of our halloween props don't actually get disassembled and stored in the basement. Hope this answers some of the questions asked.
