# Need Bucky help.



## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

I'm adding a Bucky this year (thanks to BIGANTS inspiration) that will be sitting on a coffin greeting TOT's. If I can get me act in gear, hopefully he will be talking by then.

I have a bare bones skeleton and am looking for the best way to "dress him up" so as not to be too scary for Halloween. I'm probably more mechanically inclined than artistically, so I need something simple. I've tried old tee shirts and top-hats, but it just doesn't look right. I'm thinking he'll be holding a lantern or something lit, but that's as far as I've gotten.

Any help for making a Bucky seem less scary and more "kid friendly" would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Dress him as a tour guide. He can welcome the ToTs and give them directions and the advice of not getting lost and ending up like him!


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Is there a theme to your haunt or display?
Having him or her fit in with your theme but in a friendly way or capacity would be a logical answer. Since most buckies are somewhat small, having it dressed up in a kid's costume, and having a kid's voice seems like the easiest route to take.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Any fashion-conscious Bucky would tell you that it's totally "What Not To Wear" to mix a T-shirt with a top hat

The suggestions above are good ones. Personally, I would dress him in top hat and dress coat, but leave off the pants. That will give him a nice mix of dignified and comic that should be seen as non-scary.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Even if you can't do the formal coat, then maybe a dickie, a bow tie, and maybe some spats and shoes, oh, and if you can find a cane to go with the tophat, that would finish it up nicely!


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

All great ideas. Thank you.



Sawtooth Jack said:


> Dress him as a tour guide. He can welcome the ToTs and give them directions and the advice of not getting lost and ending up like him!


I like the idea of making him into a greeter. Inviting and non-threatening.



fontgeek said:


> Is there a theme to your haunt or display?
> Having him or her fit in with your theme but in a friendly way or capacity would be a logical answer. Since most buckies are somewhat small, having it dressed up in a kid's costume, and having a kid's voice seems like the easiest route to take.


Couple things. I'm in a rental house right now and don't have a haunt here. I'm actually building a couple props for a friends house. His kids are just old enough to like halloween and still be scared of everything. His wife set up a little display last year with some flimsy tombstones and a couple bones. It bothered me quite a bit so I lent him a fogger, chiller, and a FCG last year but the FCG was a tad much for the kids when it was running. They should be good this year.

And I know I said Bucky, but the one I'm using is a full size (5'8") first quality teaching skeleton that I stumbled upon a couple months ago. Grabbed it off a med student for under $100. :smoking:



RoxyBlue said:


> Any fashion-conscious Bucky would tell you that it's totally "What Not To Wear" to mix a T-shirt with a top hat
> 
> The suggestions above are good ones. Personally, I would dress him in top hat and dress coat, but leave off the pants. That will give him a nice mix of dignified and comic that should be seen as non-scary.


I shouldn't post after 10pm. Might have had a couple adult beverages and didn't mean I tried the ragged t-shirt and top hat at the same time. 
I do like the idea of top only with no bottoms.



fontgeek said:


> Even if you can't do the formal coat, then maybe a dickie, a bow tie, and maybe some spats and shoes, oh, and if you can find a cane to go with the tophat, that would finish it up nicely!


I've had this top hat for years that I was going to use on a different prop and would love to incorporate it in somewhere. He's going to be sitting on a coffin near the front door, so maybe one hand holding the cane and the other tipping his hat to the TOTs. Maybe turn the hat upside down and make it look like he's begging for candy?

I'm really digging the formal look ideas. Hat, cane, maybe a tattered vest. I was originally thinking of having him holding a lantern, but the cane sounds like a much better idea.
Like I said at the beginning, I'm more mechanically inclined and suffer artistically. All I see when I look at the skeleton is where gear motors and armatures would go to animate him, not how to make him look inviting.

Thank you again for all these great ideas.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Damn, I need to friend some medical students

Top hat + cane = the reincarnation of Fred Astaire. I like it


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Have your skele rattle off some corny Halloween jokes, some knock-knock riddles, and maybe singing a couple of tunes (Putting on the Ritz, I aint got no"body, The hokey pokey, Dem Bones, etc.). He can joke about the songs, Halloween, his own physical state, and his clothes. Just keep it light and fun.

The little additions to the top hat can make all the difference in how the skele is perceived by the TOTs.


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

RoxyBlue said:


> Damn, I need to friend some medical students
> 
> Top hat + cane = the reincarnation of Fred Astaire. I like it


Yeah it was a great deal. It is perfect and way too pretty to use as a static prop and need to be center stage. Fred Astaire might be the way to go.



fontgeek said:


> Have your skele rattle off some corny Halloween jokes, some knock-knock riddles, and maybe singing a couple of tunes (Putting on the Ritz, I aint got no"body, The hokey pokey, Dem Bones, etc.). He can joke about the songs, Halloween, his own physical state, and his clothes. Just keep it light and fun.
> 
> The little additions to the top hat can make all the difference in how the skele is perceived by the TOTs.


OK, I wanted to make him a three axis skull, now I have to. Just have to figure out how to get what I see in my head into reality.

Anyone available to do all the programming and send it over to me?


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

If you can have the friend and his kids help set things up it will take the terror out of the props for them, and they will "lead" their friends and cohorts into the haunt or yard without any issues. 
Even simple little things like collars, cuffs (with cuff links), spats and shoes, a pocket watch, etc., can make the difference between the kids being terrified and being enchanted by your bucky/skeleton.


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

fontgeek said:


> If you can have the friend and his kids help set things up it will take the terror out of the props for them, and they will "lead" their friends and cohorts into the haunt or yard without any issues.
> Even simple little things like collars, cuffs (with cuff links), spats and shoes, a pocket watch, etc., can make the difference between the kids being terrified and being enchanted by your bucky/skeleton.


I agree. Last year was extremely last minute. I dropped the ghost off the day before for him to set up and I brought the fog machine and stuff late afternoon Halloween day.

This year I'll have more time and start dropping off props well ahead of time. That'll give his son some time to get used to everything. The plan is to have him make his own ghost to set up in the crank assembly. Hopefully that will help also.

And I love the idea of the cuffs and cuff links. It's those little things that I tend to overlook Great ideas, thank you.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

This is going to be one dapper-looking bucky when he's all duded up

Fontgeek is absolutely right about getting the kids involved in the process to help them overcome their fear. Even something as simple as letting them push the button to start an animated prop can make a difference. We have a grave grabber in our display that terrified a small ToT one year until Spooky1 let him hold the remote control and make the prop run. After that, he was totally cool with it


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

RoxyBlue said:


> This is going to be one dapper-looking bucky when he's all duded up


You have all given me such great ideas, now I just need to figure out how to get it all done.

Anyone want to put together a pre-assembled clothing kit and sell it to me?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

LOL, Tok, just hop on down to the local Goodwill or Salvation Army and pick up a suit coat and a pair of men's dress shoes (preferably both black if the top hat is also black). Pick out a white men's dress shirt, then take everything to the kids and ask them to help you get it dusty and torn so it looks well aged for the skellie The idea is to make it look as if he were buried in that outfit and, of course, somehow lost his pants.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Working on bigger haunts, where we had hundreds of zombies and ghouls, we aged the "costumes" by putting the clothing into a cement mixer with a bucket of sand and gravel, and let it run for 5 hours to overnight, depending upon how distressed we wanted the garments to appear. They could then be washed so that the actors could wear them without risking injury. The sand and gravel acted as abrasives to wear the cloth 'til it was thread bare and wore holes through in places, you can slit or slash clothing ahead of time to speed up the process and give a different look. Using lava rock instead of gravel will work faster, but it shreds the clothing a lot faster too.
Like Roxy, I'd hit my local thrift stores, you may even ask them for discarded clothing, they may have some stuff that they are going to toss out anyway. The cuffs and collar of a shirt could be from almost any sized shirt, the shredded remains of the shirt, if you want to go that route, only need to drape over the ribcage and shoulders. The likely hood of you finding an actual match in size between your skeleton and a shirt and coat will be slim to none.


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

RoxyBlue said:


> LOL, Tok, just hop on down to the local Goodwill or Salvation Army and pick up a suit coat and a pair of men's dress shoes (preferably both black if the top hat is also black). Pick out a white men's dress shirt, then take everything to the kids and ask them to help you get it dusty and torn so it looks well aged for the skellie The idea is to make it look as if he were buried in that outfit and, of course, somehow lost his pants.


Salvation army is where I was going to check when I get a chance.
Have some old dress shirts and dress shoes already that I can donate towards the cause. Never would have thought to use them until everyone recommended the "formal" look. 



fontgeek said:


> Working on bigger haunts, where we had hundreds of zombies and ghouls, we aged the "costumes" by putting the clothing into a cement mixer with a bucket of sand and gravel, and let it run for 5 hours to overnight, depending upon how distressed we wanted the garments to appear. They could then be washed so that the actors could wear them without risking injury. The sand and gravel acted as abrasives to wear the cloth 'til it was thread bare and wore holes through in places, you can slit or slash clothing ahead of time to speed up the process and give a different look. Using lava rock instead of gravel will work faster, but it shreds the clothing a lot faster too.
> Like Roxy, I'd hit my local thrift stores, you may even ask them for discarded clothing, they may have some stuff that they are going to toss out anyway. The cuffs and collar of a shirt could be from almost any sized shirt, the shredded remains of the shirt, if you want to go that route, only need to drape over the ribcage and shoulders. The likely hood of you finding an actual match in size between your skeleton and a shirt and coat will be slim to none.


Cement mixer = great trick. Probably a little more than I need to do but I'm going to file that idea away for future use.

Gonna head out next week and try to source what I can. I'm thinking I need a bow tie, cheap cuff links, and cane (love that one) and perhaps a tuxedo jacket with tails. If he's going to be formal, gotta have tails.:smoking:


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

BTW, if you want an idea of how "dapper" looks on Buckies, check out the videos of Halloween Bob's quartet, Sindy Skinless and the Decomposers:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=19223


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

RoxyBlue said:


> BTW, if you want an idea of how "dapper" looks on Buckies, check out the videos of Halloween Bob's quartet, Sindy Skinless and the Decomposers:


Yes, very familiar with his work. His quartet is phenomenal.

All of the 3-axis routines absolutely amaze me. Boney Bennet is another one of my favorites. My next purchase is a Triaxial skull kit from HomeyDaClown and hopefully I can make him say a few things by halloween. I'm running out of time quickly since I have no experience at all. 

The plan right now is to get the skeleton dressed and mounted on the new prop, then order the skull kit. If I can get it talking before halloween, then I'll just be able to pop and swap heads.

Well, that's the plan at least. 

Thanks again for everyone's insight and suggestions. It's been extremely helpful.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

You might look at virtualhaunt software to do the programing, it looks like it wouldn't be that difficult to do. The price/value?, that's really a question only you can answer.
This is a link to the user guide for it. http://www.monkeybasic.com/VirtualHaunt_User_Guide.pdf


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

fontgeek said:


> You might look at virtualhaunt software to do the programing, it looks like it wouldn't be that difficult to do. The price/value?, that's really a question only you can answer.
> This is a link to the user guide for it. http://www.monkeybasic.com/VirtualHaunt_User_Guide.pdf


Thanks,

Already downloaded Trackskull from monkey basic to test out once I finally get to ording the triaxial kit. Only glanced at virtualhaunt, but I'll look at again.

Delving into the 3-axis stuff is a whole new world for me, but it's just so cool that I have to try it.


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

I love the idea of a top hat and tails, they can be found at thrift stores, just be prepared for some hit or miss. I would sent you tails we had here from a Joker & Harley photo shoot, but it ended up becoming a costume from a friend of mine and has been permanently altered.

One idea to be kid friendly too is stripes. I have a personal obsession with them and have probably 50+ striped items, probably half of that are striped jackets. I got married in stripes. Anyhoo, I seem to wear stripes every Halloween and the kids seem to associate a bit more with fun. Maybe it's the Beetlejuice thing, I don't know. Just thought if you're going thrifting, maybe it's good to have a couple of options, never know what you'll find. I just found a doctor's examination table at the thrift yesterday. And you can always paint stripes like I did for my actual Beetlejuice costume. 

Good luck!


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

Acid PopTart said:


> One idea to be kid friendly too is stripes. I have a personal obsession with them and have probably 50+ striped items, probably half of that are striped jackets. I got married in stripes. Anyhoo, I seem to wear stripes every Halloween and the kids seem to associate a bit more with fun. Maybe it's the Beetlejuice thing, I don't know. Just thought if you're going thrifting, maybe it's good to have a couple of options, never know what you'll find. I just found a doctor's examination table at the thrift yesterday. And you can always paint stripes like I did for my actual Beetlejuice costume.
> 
> Good luck!


Wow, now than you mention it, the stripes do seem to appear more often in kid friendly movies and such.

Exery bit of "kid friendly" will help. I really like the stripes idea and am going to do my best to incorporate it into the prop.

Thanks again.


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## Tokwik (Oct 12, 2011)

Quick update on Fred:

Unfortunately life and work got crazy busy before Halloween and time ran out before I had a chance to properly dress up Fred. So a quick run to Spirit on Oct 30th yielded a Betelgeuse costume that seemed to work out well enough.



















My friend's boy was terrified before Halloween and didn't even want to go into the store to pick out a costume. 

Well, he helped set up Fred and the rest of the decorations and absolutely loved running through the fog that came out of Fred's "bench". He also made his own FCG to haunt the garage since the one last year was too scary.


















Overall, it turned out successful. Hopefully next year Fred will be properly dressed and talking.

Thanks again for everyone's help and inspiration.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Fred looks great and that FCG is totally adorable


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