# My cauldron creep creeped me out today



## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

I am doing a 3-axis cauldron creep this year and I just put the arms and head on the frame. I was surprised when I took a step back just how creepy he was! Kudos to Devil's Chariot for his awesome design!

I am making modifications to handle the extra weight of the skull and the bucky bones. I will post more if people think it's worth the electrons.

early cauldron creep picture by jamesb_42 - Photobucket

RATS! I still can't get the







tags to work. Can someone spell out in detail how to use those tags so that I can embed a picture rather than a link? Thanks.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You mean like this?:










Left click on the box that says "IMG Code", then right click on the highlighted portion and select "Copy" from the menu that appears. In your posting window, right click and select "Paste". When you save the post, the picture will appear.


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

Thanks.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I edited the post to give additional information


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## tot13 (Jul 25, 2007)

I would love to see more, especially the mechanical portion as I am dumb as dirt when it comes to stuff like that. And yeah, DC really nailed this, but your's looks like he's well on his way too.


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

I'm loving it GOT! He just keeps smiling at me!


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## Darkwalker (Jul 4, 2010)

That is awesome!


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## shar (Jun 19, 2010)

Wow that is creepy nice!


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Would love to see a video of this, keep them electrons coming!


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## Just Whisper (Jan 19, 2009)

Do it. I love this.


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## pagan (Sep 9, 2009)

Looks great! Let's see more!


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## GhoulishGadgets (May 13, 2010)

sweet - love the posture/expression.

And yes, keep taking pics and posting updates, I'd love to see the evolution and how it turns out.

Great work

Si


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## Devils Chariot (May 23, 2007)

He looks like a real friendly chap. I love cauldron creeps. How do they work? Skeletons ain't got no muscles so how do they move? Must be pure evil. bwahahahahahahah!!!!!


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## PirateLady (Jul 23, 2010)

Great job.... love his creepy smile...


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

Ok, since people seem interested, I will post more. I in no way present this as a some improvement to DC's Cauldron Creep. I am merely combining two established elements together (ie: the 3-axis skull and the cauldron creep). The only innovation you will find here are the eyes, which I have not powered up yet, but will describe when the time comes.

Anyway, since I am using much heavier bones/skull than DC did, I had to beef up the frame. All of this I will hide under the cloak.










I simply bolted the bucky arms and legs to the frame. I also screwed a pin into the elbow of the top bucky arm to keep his elbow joint from moving.

For the motor, I used an allelectronics.com CAT# DCM-351. I just attached a pin 90 degrees to the turntable and it was good to go.










I cut a 1.5" section of a 1.25" wooden dowel and drilled a hole down through it's length which was just large enough to fit the metal shaft attached to my skull. The wooden dowel piece then fit into the head elbow joint of the frame.

Here is a video of a quick "proof of concept" test I did. I need to adjust the head movement a lot (he is looking down too much, and needs more side-to-side motion) but it looks good for a first try. I am currently working on his backbone/ribcage (the spine with no ribs is currently just shoved under his cloak). I want his curved spine to be protruding out a rip in his cloak. I also need to fix his hands. More to follow.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

He looks wonderful even unfinished, GOT. I love seeing everyone's take on the DC cauldron creep.


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

I hooked up the eyes today. They are designed to appear to follow you as you walk around the room. Unfortunately, the video turned dark in its transition from my Mac to Youtube. You can see them better in the previous video but the LEDs were not lit.






The eyes are clear acrylic with just a little black pigment mixed in. I placed small, bright red LEDs at the very center of the ball. I got the LEDs a few years ago from Electronic Goldmine but I don't see them there anymore. Any small, bright, WIDE angle LED should do. I used some small Christmas balls as molds.

I made a wooden frame to hold everything in place and glued the LEDs (all wired up) to the tip of a 4-40 threaded rod. I measured the distance from the top of the frame to the center of the ball and screwed down the rod to hold it at the right distance. If I were smarter, I would have tried to dissolve away the metal from the Christmas ornament with some bleach. Then I would have been able to see what I was doing. Unfortunately, I was not that smart and made a few duds. But, after a few tries, I got my eyeballs.


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## trentsketch (Jul 27, 2009)

It's always a good sign when your own props start to freak you out. I know once I calm down a bit from being startled I get very excited about how the ToTs will react to the finished product.

The movement you have going is great. The expression on that skull is freaky.


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

Here is a quick update.

I made a ribcage with foamboard and coat hangers. This was the easiest ribcage I have ever made. All I was going for was the shape and the only visible part will be the top of the spine.










My home-made 3-axis skull doesn't do a good job of looking up and I do need this guy to look at the ceiling at one point, so to give me better control, I replaced the gearmotor for his back movements with a 1/4-scale servo (hitec HS-805BB). These are pretty powerful servos for $40.










Now I ripped the back of his cloak at strategic points. I need to work on this a bit to make the spine a bit more visible, but I will wait until I get him into position to do that. Now all I have to do is tatter his cloak a bit more and work on his movements.



















What do you think, should I give him a hood to hid the seam in his skull (this room will be relatively well lit) or leave him hoodless? Any easy ways to fix that seam without re-painting the entire skull?


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## Psyc0 Walrus (Sep 1, 2009)

Personally, I think a hood would look great! Plus it would bring out his eyes more if there was a shadow from the hood covering his face


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## samseide (Jun 1, 2010)

Good lord this is an amazing prop. My list of projects for this year is full but I'm totally going to have to build one next season. Too creepy!


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## steveshauntedyard (Nov 16, 2008)

GOT I think a hood would be a great idea. Man this thing is really looking better every time. And just when I think it can't get better it does.


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## randomr8 (Oct 24, 2009)

Coolness


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I vote yes on the hood as well. He's really looking great!


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## MorbidMariah (Mar 28, 2009)

WOW! He's fabulous! And I agree with the hood idea.


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## kprimm (Mar 14, 2009)

Very nice work, would love to see the actual build plans of this. This looks very well designed and the creep looks awesome. Very nice work.


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

I pretty-much followed DC's cauldron creep how-to except that I beefed up the frame to handle bucky bones instead of styrofoam bones and used a 3-axis skull.

http://devilschariot.blogspot.com/2009/08/cauldron-creep-how-to-or-how-it-was.html

For the three-axis skull, I followed the instructions in this thread, though I did some improvising for the metal shaft piece since that was a machined part. You can always get a kit from Graveyard Skulls.

http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/62161-my-3-axis-skull-progress-8.html


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## scary rick (Dec 6, 2008)

Wow, it`s looking great. I love the spine!


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## Nevergoback (Oct 2, 2009)

Fantastic, a hood would be good. 

If you guys don't stop teaching me how to do stuff, we gonna have to get a bigger house.


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