# A very special Halloween prop.



## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey y'all, I've been MIA for the last few months dealing with some pretty bad health issues, and I've finally beaten them, but there are no guarantee's in life, lol!! So this years Halloween will probably be the biggest and most grandiose I've ever had!! So I've started a new prop, and it's really going to be a huge undertaking!! I'm going to start the skull and flesh it out as soon as I get the parts (probably in the next week) and I've already started sculpting some of the other parts. I'll be asking for y'all's advice regularly and I was hoping y'all's input would help me shape this guy!! I'm really hoping this comes out awesome!! Thanks in advance for all your input, and I'm hoping to pass on as much of my experience as possible to my kids. They'll be doing a lot of the work, but bear in mind, they're 10 and 12 years old!! They've done this sort of thing before, and are pretty talented, but they're young!! Lol!! So anyway, again thanks in advance for any input!! I'll be posting progress pics as we go!!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Good to see you back again, Jack


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## Wildcat (Nov 3, 2007)

Welcome back.... and way to build the suspense
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WHAT IS IT ALREADY.
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YOUR KILLING MEEEEEEeeeeeeeee!!!!! :zombie: :zombie:

Okay I'm better now. Can't wait to see what your up to next.:biggrinkin:


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Welcome back HMJ! Glad to hear you've gotten better with your health issues. I've been through stuff like that and it ain't fun! Can't wait to see what you come up with for this years Halloween!


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Yay! I've missed you HMJ! So good to hear you are doing better and up and creating again. If this prop is anything like your props of the past, it will be fantastic...and you know I love to give opinions....(along with a few others here) You're in good hands!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Lol...Thanks y'all, I have to make this as fun and big as possible!! I hope my kids enjoy this as much as I do!! For the record it's a sci-fi type build, completely different from anything I've ever done, and I'll be completely re-VAMP-ing sorry couldn't resist, lol, my haunt. I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off, but I have lots of time!!! Lol!! (Hopefully)!!


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## The Halloween Lady (Aug 18, 2010)

Oh my gosh, I can hardly wait!!!! You said that *this prop* will be a huge undertaking and then use words like biggest and most grandiose?!?!?!?! This thing must be specular because I can't imagine how anything could top your mammoth winged devil creature!!!


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

Glad to see you back HMJ! I can't wait to see your creation. I know it's going to be awesome!


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

Welcome back!!!!! Like everyone else I'm looking forward to seeing all the new stuff!


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## kprimm (Mar 14, 2009)

Welcome back Jack, glad to hear you are doing better and I wish you great health and great prop building in the future.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Did you start it yet?:jol:


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## Death's Door (Mar 22, 2006)

Glad to see ya back!!!!! Can't wait to see what you have been brewing up!!!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks again for all the well wishes!! Lol Roxy, I just received the parts, and I've started the skull for the base. That way I can flesh it out slowly and get a feel for the dimension. I'm also in the beginning stages of assembling the frame for the body. I'm going to start the basis for the arms and legs in the next few days, but I'm going to have to sketch them out first. I should have a a full body sketch out soon, and post it. Remember, this is just a preliminary sketch Lol!! I'm not the greatest artist!!


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## Zurgh (Dec 21, 2009)

Glad to see you and your health return. There are no guarantee's in life, to be sure, HMJ. You always do great work, so don't get too wrapped up in the perfection of the preliminary details. Looking forward to another shining HMJ production.


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## Bethene (Jan 19, 2008)

glad you are doing better, can't wait to see what you are creating!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Alright, I sketched out the what I wanted the basic principle is going to be, but I realized that my drawing skills leave something to be desired!! Lol!! So I'm just going to post pics of the very beginning of the skull/under body of the head. The kids did a majority of the clay work, (mâché), and I did a little fine tuning, like getting things properly centered, and digging out too much clay, and that sort of thing. Mind you this is very early, but where do y'all think I should add, or refine, or change all together? Thanks for y'all's input!!


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## Spooklights (Jul 4, 2006)

From one health-challenged haunter to another, Welcome Back HMJ! And glad to hear you're doing better. While it's true there are no guarantees in life, I hope the odds are in your favor now. Can't wait to see what you're going to build. Good luck! 

P.S.....I hear that working on Halloween props is good for your health!


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## Zurgh (Dec 21, 2009)

howlin mad jack said:


> Mind you this is very early, but where do y'all think I should add, or refine, or change all together?


I'm not sure of the particular look you are going for, but so far, its a terrific start! Is this beasty going to be scaly or leathery skinned? If leathery, will it be smooth, rough, warty, wrinkly, or some combination there of? Or is it to be exoskeletal and bony? Lots of potential for this!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I really like its profile.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Zurgh said:


> I'm not sure of the particular look you are going for, but so far, its a terrific start! Is this beasty going to be scaly or leathery skinned? If leathery, will it be smooth, rough, warty, wrinkly, or some combination there of? Or is it to be exoskeletal and bony? Lots of potential for this!


Thanks Zurgh, I'm going for an alien like creature, with a leathery/horny type outer skin, and the body is going to be kind of similar, but it's going to be styled like a space type suit, but organic. I'm also thinking of adding a breathing apparatus to give him a space type appearance, but not full head, just over the nose, and possibly the mouth.

Thanks Roxy!!


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

They are looking amazing. Love the detail.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Wow Mike, that looks so good! I can tell your kids have picked up that "mask-making gene"! I wasn't sure what your whole "Alien" thing was going to be, but this thing looks amazing. I love the folds on the forehead going into the spines, and the nostril?? It looks great, I just can't wait to see what this creature evolves into...You are just such a wonderful artist! Now I have something to look forward to on the forum!


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

That is looking S w e e t!!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

The kids and I worked on the alien critter some more, and this is the evolution. Mind you it still needs lots of refinement, and there are several area's that are just in the build-up stages. Plus were going to have to shave down several area's so they have an edge appearance. So any suggestions, or critiques? What do ya'll think so far.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Personality starting - yes!

One suggestion unrelated to the prop itself - if you continue to provide pictures as attachments, you're going to have to start deleting them as you go along. That will mean no long term record of the build, which will disappoint future generations of haunters.


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

Looks terrific. Very dragon-like, which should be a striking look in a biotech space suit.


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

Your attention to detail is amazing! Sure gonna enjoy watching this develop!


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## Wildcat (Nov 3, 2007)

Great looking sculpt.


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

I love what I see Jack! It will be fun to see its progression. I wish I had sculpting talent. So glad to hear you are back on your feet. Thanks for sharing your creations with us. I appreciate it!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Again, thanks for the compliments, and well wishes!! Y'all are awesome!! Roxy, I'm the most backwards individual in the world when it comes to computer things, and the photobucket thing confounds me everytime!!! Lol!! But....I'll try it again, so that I don't disappoint all the future haunters!! Lol!! I'm going to try to understand this durn thing if it kills me!! So as soon as I figure out how to do it, I'll post more pics. We've made some more progress, but a lot of the fine tuning has been by my hand, cuz the kids felt like I had more skill in that area, and they were afraid to mess up. I've told them over and over, you can't mess it up, the clay can always be added over the oops!! So anyway, I'll either be posting pics soon or kicking the crap outta my computer...Lol!!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

That looks great so far!!


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## Joiseygal (Sep 3, 2008)

It is turning out great! I'm glad you are feeling better and I will definitely be following this thread on the progress of your prop.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Ya'll, we've been working on the prop little by little, but I'm now back to work after being away for almost four months, and due to the inactivity for such a long time, and coming home exhausted every day, I haven't done much. But.....I do have some progress pics! Just not a great amount. so here they are...oh, and one thing I forgot to mention earlier, I have LED's in the eyes so they'll glow.


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## Wildcat (Nov 3, 2007)

Looks awesome.

PS. I need to move to Miami. It's a warm day here right now at a balmy -23C/-9.4F


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Mike that is looking so good! Wow...I just love it!
(you really better learn to photobucket...you will run out of pictures soon)


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Lol WildCat, yeah it's about 75 degrees here. Just like I like it....balmy!! Thanks for the compliments!! 

Thanks Jana!! Lol, I'll master that durn thing yet!!


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## The Halloween Lady (Aug 18, 2010)

That is really looking good! I can only imagine how wicked it will look with glowing eyes. What do you have planned for it's body?


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## MommaMoose (May 15, 2010)

My son thought you bought it at Spirit as was just repainting it. Really looks great!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Really great job on the surface finish! Are you using paper clay?


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks again y'all, we're working hard on this, but it's going to be a slow process!! Halloween Lady, the body is going to be alien like, with some twists, and it's going to have an organic type space suit. Kind of like a Kevlar outer shell with attachments. It's kind of hard to explain.

Roxy, yeah it's mâché clay.


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

HMJ - that is looking really good! I like seeing the progress and look forward to seeing it complete.


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## CarolTerror (Aug 10, 2010)

That looks utterly amazing!! Inspiring, even...


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Looking good. Can't wait to see everything come together with that spacesuit idea too. I didn't see it in the thread, but hands, claws, lasers?


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks Carol, Sawtooth, I appreciate the kind words!! I just started the framework for the body, and it's going to be a huge undertaking. The hands/claws are in the beginning stages, and I'm kicking around idea's about how I'm going to make claws, and still have them visible through the "space suit". It's funny, because I have this vision in my head, and it's slowly evolving into reality. I have several parts in the very early stages of production, and I still have the head to finish. So hope fully I'll have the whole thing done before Halloween!! By the way, I'm now in the designing stages of his lifesize spaceship!!


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

Great progress pics! Keep up the good work!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks Fick!! I'll be adding pics of the arms and torso soon, and ya'll can get an idea of the body shape, and very rudimentary view of what I'm going for. Hopefully I'll be able to tie this all together....Lol!!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Ya'll, sorry I've neglected this thread lately, but had a setback with my health issues, and had to take a break so I could deal with some stuff. The kids have taken over the build with my direction, when I've been up to it, and these are some progress pics. Mind you, we've had some slow progress, and the torso is still in the molding stages for the bottom half so it can be taken apart at a later date. Hopefully We'll be able to get some more work done in the weeks to come, and I can work on the lower half so that the little ones can do the fleshing out. anyway hope ya"ll enjoy....


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Oh Wow Mike, that looks so great. And your children are totally adorable! Nice to see they are a chip off the old block, getting on that prop making groove. Feel better soon, my friend.


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

Love it HMJ! What a wonderful looking creature.
Hope you're feeling better soon Mike!


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

Your prop just keeps getting better! What fun to have your kids help! Hope your health improves.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks Jana, Lunatic, Hairazor, the majority of the mâché work is being done by the kids, and they're having a blast doing it!! On another note, the torso is still in the beginning stages, we haven't started the detailing yet, and the suit would be added afterward. It's still in its infancy...lol!


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

Looks like the kiddos are doing a great job with the mache! Great update and hope you are feeling better!


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Love the detail on the back. The way the muscles integrate with the neck and head make it very believable! Nice work.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks Fick, SawTooth Jack, I really appreciate the compliments!! The kids and I will be working on the alien this weekend and hopefully we'll make significant progress. I should have some progress pics up soon. I also picked up some supplies for the ship, and I should have pics for the frame up soon. I also want to pick y'all's brains for a method of skinning the ship so I can paint it. I was thinking of using shrink wrap, but I don't know if this is feasible. What do y'all think, any ideas?


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