Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Inside the Animated Creepy Coffin


Many of you have seen the Animated Creepy Coffin I made for Halloween 2006. I never got around to doing a proper how-to for that coffin.

However, I've had several questions about the mechanism used in the prop so I dug up several old images of the internal mechanics.



The bottom of the front of the coffin lid is attached with a couple of hinges.



A wiper motor with a crank arm powers the coffin lid at the top.



A clevis pin and a couple of brackets attach the crank arm to the top of the coffin lid.

6 comments:

Chris 'Frog Queen' Davis said...

Very nice! Great prop, thanks for the look inside!

Cheers!

NA said...

Love the prop, thanks for sharing.

mom_2byz said...

We are going to do this project this Halloween. We were wondering how the mechanics worked so thanks for posting. We did the witch (or a version thereof) last year.

ScareFX said...

Thank you all for the comments.

@mom_2byz - It will be a fun project. Let me know if you have questions.

mom_2byz said...

We built the coffin (not every husband will build a coffin for his wife! HA HA) Now we're waiting on the wiper motor and we'll let you know how it goes.

I've got a question about lighting the graveyard. What do you use to light your various props? Any tips?

ScareFX said...

@mom_2byz That is one NICE husband! Let us know how your project goes.

I like to use Malibu low voltage plastic flood lights. The 4-watt bulbs are available in colors. They seem to cast just enough light that everyone can see the props without ruining the atmosphere. Below is a link to a picture of several.
Malibu Lighting