# Articulated wing movement and safety



## CreepyThing (Sep 27, 2015)

Alright, here's the deal. Last season, I debuted a new character for the large outdoor attraction I work at as a line entertainer. Without getting overly complicated, she is a type of demon. Last year was the prototype - now it's upgrade time! The boss is on board, I just have to sell him on the way I want to do a few things. One of these is moving wings! I am small framed, so they don't need to be gigantic - thinking 5' tip to tip absolute max. For running and maneuvering in highly crowded areas (sometimes required), I need them to fold up as close to my back as possible. I also want them to be able to swing open for the more grand and intimidating effect wings can provide. He loves the idea, but is concerned as he knows other haunt owners who have had actors with moving wings that have inadvertently caused injury to a patron when the actor was either careless or had a limited field of vision. He's mentioned connecting them to my arms at the elbow or wrist, though that would prevent me from being able to move only one arm at a time without looking like a doofus. 

He knows I am careful. He knows my awareness of my surroundings even in the middle of a good scare is above a lot of the other folks he's had as line workers. But there is still that chance of the trigger for the wing movement being pushed at the wrong time, either on accident or just impulsively and causing injury. So, what I am looking for is a way to mitigate this risk to the highest degree possible while still allowing for moving wings. So far, the only idea I have is somehow placing the trigger for the movement in a place very difficult to hit by accident, somewhere that would require more conscious thought to activate. I just don't know how, or where.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

I have found a few wing designs on Pinterest while looking for dragon wings and bat wings.

http://www.pinterest.com/

https://www.pinterest.com/uncleulric/dragon-wings/

https://www.pinterest.com/uncleulric/maleficent/


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Take a look at this video for ideas. The movement for these wings is entirely under control of the actor.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

I made a set of wings for a Jeepers Creepers costume once. They were run off of a pneumatic cylinder and high pressure bottle on my side. Likely not the right route for your application although they were run completely by me and only triggered when I wanted them to.

A bunch of pictures here if you want them. http://www.hauntofthefalls.com/costumes.html


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## Aquayne (Sep 1, 2008)

How about two switches that must be triggered at the same time. This way they can be in a convenient place,upper palms, but still have a safety factor. Im thinking a movement like spiderman when he shoots web from both hands at the same time.


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## DeadSpider (Feb 3, 2006)

I made, or assisted with my friend, who I asked to help me to make, wings for my Harpy costume last year. They opened up to about 10 feet but man o man, you have to be so careful that there isnt someone remotely close to you, or you could easily thwack them in the head or poke an eye.


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## CAMILWAMMY (Jul 23, 2019)

I've made several sets of wings before but never anything articulated, I am definitely going to check out some of the links posted in this thread for my build


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