# Christmas Martians



## GrimFinger (Oct 20, 2014)

I wasn't where, if anywhere, on this forum that I should create this thread, but if all else fails, I figured that posting it in the Off-Topic section should mitigate any damage to the forum and its visitors in good standing.

Anyway, I'm the guy that never does yard haunts, but who always loves them. What I needed/wanted was a place to store ideas for a quasi-yard "haunt" of sorts. Don't get me wrong - I definitely would like to begin crafting a yard haunt of my own (not that we get any trick-or-treaters, nor that we're even home on Halloween night to greet them, even if we were).

In fact, if I don't forget, then one thing that I want to do next year is to plant a little bit of corn at the very edge of our front yard, in one corner, to facilitate the use of a scarecrow (if I can ever actually get around to making one).

But, this is largely beside the point, even though it is something that I want to do.

Rather, I have this idea, you see. I want to do a yard scene.....of Martians.

Christmas Martians, to be exact.

Yeah, you heard that right - *Christmas Martians!!*

But.....and here's the caveat, what I'm thinking is that the Martians get it all wrong, and that they land on Earth on Halloween Night, instead of on Christmas Day.

It's a bit more complicated than that, of course (of course!). I realize that everyone has their own views about Christmas, and I suspect that I share many of those very same views.

But, even still.....I want to do something involving Martians, and while I did make a feeble attempt at crafting some Martians, last year (during warm weather), an attempt involving 2-liter bottles, PVC pipe, and some green paint, the results of my endeavor proved to not quite pan out, as I had hoped for.

What I am thinking (at the moment), is trying to use Halloween as a launching point for the concept, to "introduce" passers-by to the quaint little odd notion of Christmas Martians - but with a reappearance by Christmas Martians later on past Halloween, in the month of December.

Yes, I know that it's stupid and dumb and silly and ripe for adjectives of all kinds to describe it. Yes, I am well aware that my wife isn't fully on board with the idea (or even partially on board with it). Even still, it's an idea - a concept - that I have, and one that I would like to add to and to grow and to expand upon, in succeeding years, should I be blessed sufficiently with more years into the future.

We do not have a big yard, and in browsing various yard haunts crafted by the Halloween-enlightened, one observation that I would make is that many yard haunts often seem very cramped. And because our yard is small, I am thinking that it is better to manipulate the scale of things, and that smaller Martians may work better and be visually more enticing than larger Martians.

I want to learn paper mache, and I want to learn the art of corpsing. I would prefer to craft some Martians that are durable, that they might reappear in later years, that their numbers might increase from year to year, and that their future invasions might be more visually "impressive" than their early invasions.

I don't want Mars Attacks type Martians, only because I want to try and craft something a tad more different, just to be different. I think that I want their heads to be disproportionally large - of an exaggerated scale, relative to the rest of their body, so to speak.

Blame it all on that Christmas display of that yard that used a pig theme! Pigs climbing up a ladder. Pigs riding a ferris wheel. It wasn't a huge and elaborate pig-themed Christmas concept brought to life, but it was memorable.

The quest is to be different, isn't it? Yet, isn't the very root of what I want the equivalent of a yard haunt?

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Yes, Virginia, Christmas Martians are real!

Didn't Martians even abduct Santa Claus, all those many years ago? Isn't Santa well aware of Halloween, and all that it entails?

My concept is an amalgam, of sorts. Not the height of originality, yet even still, I want to take this idea and make it my own.

There was this monkey, you see, and my son likes Curious George. The last that we saw of that inflatable monkey latched to all those helium-filled balloons was his silhouette against the sky, a few years back, after that birthday party sign-in-the-sky attempt got loose. Our George was the curious type, after all, it seems.

But, it's got me to thinking about something that I would like to try with a UFO or flying saucer.

It won't be the same, without actual Martians, though. Oh, sure, a flying UFO or flying saucer way up in the air might be useful at grabbing people's eye, but what good is that, if you don't capitalize upon it in some tangible, up-close way?

Anyway, I'm GrimFinger, and this idea has landed.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I think the idea of having some Halloween creations reappear later in the year can be a lot of fun. One member here has a skeleton on the roof that dresses according to the holiday

A good place to start learning the craft of papier mache is with the King of Papier Mache, Stolloween. Lots of tutorials on his website and tips for making your props durable:

www.stolloween.com

A technique for corpsing that use paper towels and latex paint (also durable) is posted in Mr. Chicken's thread here:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=40504

Here's an example of an alien/Area 51 display if you're looking for some inspiration:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=38318&highlight=alien

Another corpsing technique which employs plastic and a heat gun is in Allen H's thread here:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=27161


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

I say go for it!! (and keep us updated)


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

After following these forums for years, you think you've heard it all. Well I haven't. You Grim, have come up with a fresh idea. Bravo, Sir, Bravo!


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## GrimFinger (Oct 20, 2014)

*Update # 1*

Well, I figure that if this project is ever going to actually move forward, then I have to begin to make that happen. Accordingly, it is time for me to try and kick this snail, to get it moving.

Toward that end, I recently watched a video on the Stolloween website, one which demonstrated how to create mache paste and mache clay.

Granted, that's not much of a start, but from humble beginnings come...er...ah....great things. Right?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Anyway, I wanted to keep a running log, of sorts, of things, to try and motivate me into bringing this project to fruition - of not by this coming Christmas, then hopefully, by the following Christmas, God willing.

I'm not quite ready to begin making a mess with paper mache. I have started the wheels of my brain noodle pondering various things. Originally, I had wanted to craft the Martians out of PVC pipe and 2-liter soft drink bottles.

Yesterday, I began pondering the use of milk jugs, trying to envision what they might look like, if utilized in conjunction with paper mache.

Tonight, I have been thinking upon how to craft a UFO, or some other type of Martian craft, and get it up in the air a bit. I could probably use balloons to hoist a light weight vehicle, preferably one with some kind of lighting.

For the Martians, themselves, some kind of lighting is imperative, I think. Should the Martians be lit from withing, from inside of themselves? Should they emanate light? Or, should I use an external light source to illuminate them? These are the kinds of questions that I debate with myself.

Also, I have begun looking at various tools at Lowe's and Sears, and am open to suggestions as to what kind of tools might serve me well in the crafting of props and displays.


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## GrimFinger (Oct 20, 2014)

*Update # 2*

You may not have been aware of it. Most people weren't, of course. But, a couple of Christmases ago, the vanguard of the invasion by Christmas Martians appeared - albeit only briefly, in my front yard.

Here's a couple of photographs that I took, back then, of the very first Christmas Martian. Unfortunately, aside from utilizing some pipe cleaners for hands/fingers, the project never really got past the stage of paining the PVC pipe green. I concluded that the approach that I was using was neither feasible, nor really time-effective. But, because you guys craft props for yard haunts and such, I felt that by posting these photographs, that you would be better able to take heart in your own propcraft, knowing that there's always someone much, much worse lurking out there, just beyond the prop horizon.



















Clearly, there must be a better way. I intend to find that way.

All of Mars is counting on it, in fact!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You were actually off to a good start, and pipe cleaners are perfectly acceptable for use in creating a framework for hands, although rebar tie wire is a lot sturdier and almost as easy to work with


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## Plastic Ninja (Sep 30, 2010)

This reminds me of:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/santa_claus_conquers_the_martians/

Watched it once, horrible film. But, it might be funny for inspiration lol.


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## GrimFinger (Oct 20, 2014)

Plastic Ninja said:


> This reminds me of:
> 
> http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/santa_claus_conquers_the_martians/
> 
> Watched it once, horrible film. But, it might be funny for inspiration lol.


I saw that as a young kid. I only remember bits and pieces of it.


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## GrimFinger (Oct 20, 2014)

Months later, an no progress has been made on the actual construction of the Martians.

However, the Great Mind of Mars continues to turn its wheels, and sparks continue to fly with each turn of these wheels rusted over from lack of use in recent solar cycles.

Ideas percolate. I believe that it will not be long, before actual progress is made in bringing this project to fruition.


.....Must.....Concentrate.....


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