# Hangman Upgrade



## Dr Morbius

Some of you know I built a kicking Hangman last year. It was OK, but the motion was too subtle. This year, I screwed all the PVC joints together and padded him out better. I also gave him "kneecaps" to keep his legs from bending forward, and I cranked the voltage across the wiper motor from 5 volts to 12 volts. The result is a very angry hangman.

Please see the vid and let me know what you think. 
IMAG0002.flv video by DrMorbius02 - [email protected]@[email protected]@http://vid23.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid23.photobucket.com/albums/b364/DrMorbius02/[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@b364/DrMorbius02/IMAG0002


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## krough

That is sweet Doc


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## scareme

Looks great! Noone is going to miss the movement this year.


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## JohnnyL

SAVE HIM! How can you just take a video???? haha. Looks really realistic, great job!


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## Dr Morbius

Thanks. I'm thinking of hooking up to a color organ. Not so he can thrash to the oldies, but I think an intermittant sound (no speakers) would give him a more random movement.


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## Lotus

Me Like Me Really Like


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## ScareFX

Nice movement with the changes Doc. Great work!


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## airscapes

Great job!! Hope you have audio of his agony!!


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## Dr Morbius

I do have a CD I burned of me making choking sounds. I just haven't installed a speaker in him yet...and my camera doesn't record sound.


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## morgan8586

Me like.....Is this the traditional wipermoter in the bucket prop?


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## slimy

I couldn't get mine to work like that. Next year for me I guess. Congrats on the movement. Looks really good.

I tried to talk my neighbor into letting me hang him. I told him it was just for one night, but he was a no go. I even offered to put a ladder under his feet every ten minutes or so. He just was NOT interested. Party pooper.


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## Dr Morbius

morgan8586 said:


> Me like.....Is this the traditional wipermoter in the bucket prop?


uhhh..no. I did try that once, but it just looked BAD. Here is a pic of the PVC frame and mech. It cranks a hinged hip made of a single PVC pipe through two PVC Tees on the bottom of the torso. It makes the upper legs pull up, like if you were to sit down, and throws the lower legs forward by momentum.


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## DeadSpider

Looks great Doc!!


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## heresjohnny

Good idae on kicking the legs like that Doc, I love it.


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## incubus0

That's some amazing movement, Dr., any hopes of you posting more detail on the building of it? Maybe some photo's of the leg portion.

I'm pretty much a nube at building props, I've done a few bodies before, but would just stick a Bobble Ball in their chest for some random twitching, with a somewhat rigid skeleton for realistic movement (elbows, knees, etc) unfortunately, those aren't on the market anymore.


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## kevin242

very cool, dr. m!


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## Dr Morbius

incubus0 said:


> That's some amazing movement, Dr., any hopes of you posting more detail on the building of it? Maybe some photo's of the leg portion.
> 
> I'm pretty much a nube at building props, I've done a few bodies before, but would just stick a Bobble Ball in their chest for some random twitching, with a somewhat rigid skeleton for realistic movement (elbows, knees, etc) unfortunately, those aren't on the market anymore.


I could take a pic of the legs, but they are all covered in padding now. There really isn't much to it, as I borrowed Deathlords Hangman body frame and hip joint design. The only difference between his and mine, really, is his is pneumatic, and mine uses a wiper motor.

Here is a link to his page, which should give you a better idea how the body is constructed.
http://www.deathlord.net/Lynching/lynch.htm


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## incubus0

Dr Morbius said:


> Here is a link to his page, which should give you a better idea how the body is constructed...


Thanks, didn't know that's where it came from.


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## darryl

I see I'm not the only one with to much crap in their garage!!
Prop looks fantastic though. Wish i had one, maybe next year.


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## Dr Morbius

Garage? That's my livingroom! jk..LOL! Yes, my garage is crap central. It was real clean 2 weeks ago..untill I hauled out the props and started tweaking them. To do that I needed my tweaking stuff, of course..Power supplies,PVC pipe, wire, extension cords, rope, old clothes, solder, screws and fasteners, glue, paint..well, you get the idea. Oh yea, and power tools...I have it all just where I can get at it. Right at my feet!


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## morgan8586

Hey Doc,

Thanks for the details on how you get your movement. I made the wipermotor/bucket version 2 years ago. The movement is nowhere as good as yours. I think I may have to do some "tweaking" next year.


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## Lilly

Hey Doc Thats Awesome..
very real looking hope you dont have any one calling the law on that. Your dememented mind( thats a good thing) working overtime once again ha ha.


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## Fangs

Wha..... WOW!!!!!!!! Dr M, that is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! It certainly gave me the heebeegeebees.. LOL Fangtastic job!!!! (times a gazillion!)
Ahhh, there is so much talent here on the forum...... :> Thanks for sharing Dr. M :>


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## Dr Morbius

Thanks..I was wondering if a cop would stop to investigate..I hope so! hehe..


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## Hellrazor

r u sure thats not real


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## ScareySuzie

wow... that is freaky-real looking


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## pyro

perfect, i love it thanks for the idea. next year mine wouldn't look like it belongs in a electric chair---mmmmm?


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## mrklaw

great job. I like the use of pvc.


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## Great White

That's looks awesome. I think you'll find quite a few people actually try to help your prop. lol. 
Awesome job. I need to pick up some wiper motors and start creating.


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## PrettyGhoul

*Dr M your hangman just blows me away. It is so real looking that it scares me just to look at the video.*


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## Dr Morbius

Yes..It does look real, doesn't it? BTW, I haven't seen my neighbor in a while...Hmmm..


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## DRoZ

*PVC size*

I was just curious what size pvc you used in this prop. I was in the middle of building the same prop but by the deathlord standard, instead of using a wiper motor, after reading your post I am sure I would rather go the route you went but I am not sure how well it would work with the set-up I have now, due to the weight. Thanks,


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## Dr Morbius

I used 3/4 PVC and fittings for the frame, and 1/2" PVC for the hip hinge, as that is what I had on hand. Also, you're right, you have to keep the weight down to accomodate the wiper motor. It turns out kind of thin, but with padding it fills out nicely. BTW, the frame looks crooked, but it is purposely off set to counter the weight of the motor itself, otherwise one leg would hang lower than the other.


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## kerryike

Thanks all! 

The movement looks great, Doc! 

Where did you get the idea from? I'm not familiar with the linkage set up, so if you can point me to a place that'll help explain it to me, I'd really appreciate it.

kerryike


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## Dr Morbius

I posted the link to the page where I got the body frame from earlier in theis thread, but here it is again..http://www.deathlord.net/Lynching/lynch.htm, The linkage is all mine. I took Deathlords idea and put a wiper motor in it, as opposed to pneumatics. The linkage is just a crank that is attached to the frame, and you should get the idea from the pics I posted above.


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## kerryike

Thanks, Dr 

This is top for my plans for next year.


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## DRoZ

Well it looks like I successfully finished the hangman prop right in the nick of time. Thanks so much for the inspiration, Dr Morbius, with the wiper motor I think it turned out a lot better than the pneumatics would have. I had compliments all night for its realism. Now for next year I have to add some better kneecaps (all I had for these were bungie cords, which added some good bounce to it, but they still hyperextended from time to time) and to ease the side swing of the legs esp. the left one... it would go haywire every now and then. That and find some bigger pants for him because the ones I had were too small and I had to split them to get them to fit. Thanks again.

Heres the link... Its a small 4 sec vid, I will post a longer one later.

Hangman prop video by DRoZ_photos - [email protected]@[email protected]@http://vid130.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/DRoZ_photos/[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@p257/DRoZ_photos/Hangman06


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## Dr Morbius

LOL! I love that! You did a great job on it..Are you using 12 volts on it? If you use 5 volts, it still works pretty well, and the legs won't flail around. I used 2" drywall screws to mount pool noodles to the upper and lower legs. Zip ties hold the lowers legs (PVC) to the thighs (also PVC)..the noodles are butted up together and meet at the kneecaps. Since you have to split the noodles up the center to get them to fit around the PVC, the open slit in the rear of the noodles allows the legs to bend back...but then when they try to bend forward, the noodles meet, upper and lower, having the effect of a kneecap. I would like to see a pic of your crank, and how you mounted the wiper motor, if you took any.


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## dacostasr

That is GREAT!!! MUST HAVE....Priority on my list.


EXCELLENT JOB!!

Dennis


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## DRoZ

Thanks Dr. Yes it is 12V I wanted to keep the action looking violent as possible, I also wanted some side movement with the legs, just not as wide as the left one was kicking. I think I will add two metal brackets to each side of the pvs to keep them somewhat straight, maybe just not tighten them all the way down. I was kind of rushed finishing this in time so I didnt have enough time to tweak it the way I would have liked. No pool noodles for me... I couldnt find any around here, mainly just used rolled up and duct taped old clothes to add some bulk. The chest area is in chicken wire which is what I wanted in the beginning in order to keep the clothing away from the motor and linkage, and maintain a healty amount of air flow for it. I also like the look of chicken wire frames, they look realistic and allow for some changes in the shape. The bracket holding the motor is an old tin planter I found in one of the old barns around my property, it was cut down and bent around the two chest pvc pipes and secured with drywall screws. I will show some pictures when I get home tonight.


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## DRoZ

Ok I loaded up a few more pics of the linkage of my hangman... I had some pictures of it before I added the chicken wire, but I cant seem to find them right now. Anyhow, these were taken from underneath the chicken wire. If I can find the original pictures I will post them as well, but for now these will have to do. Hopefully you can get the general idea of how I built it.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/DRoZ_photos/HangmanLinkage.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/DRoZ_photos/HangmanLinkage2.jpg


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## Nytemare

Wow, if I had just stumbled across that video, I would have thought it was real .... very unnerving. Great job. :jol:


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## Dr Morbius

You know, that is REAL close to mine. I like how you mounted the crank to the side of the PVC hinge. I cut a slot in mine, but I think yours is sturdier. I also noticed you used PVC cement. I used it too, at first, but after a while it just came undone from the stress, and I had to use wood screws. Yours might be OK, as you used HUGE PVC pipes. I may have to rebuild mine to utilize 1" PVC instead of 3/4", but for now it functions fine. Excellent job. Thanks for sharing the pics!


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## Dr Morbius

Nytemare said:


> Wow, if I had just stumbled across that video, I would have thought it was real .... very unnerving. Great job. :jol:


Who's? mine or Droz's?


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## DRoZ

Yeah, like I had posted earlier, I was building it with the intention of using air to power it instead of electricity so the upper half of the prop is by the air standard ( with much bigger pvc) ... I think the cement has held up nicely although I have been on the lookout for it breaking down... One thing is that it fell down once right after I finished building it (the temporary hook it was attached to snapped) about a 4 foot drop one of the arms broke but the cement held up very well. I will probably add some screws for next year. Oh and I build the metal frame because you had mentioned earlier that it adds a bit to the weight so I just decided to center the weight instead of offsetting the pvc.


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## spokanejoe

Kudos to both of you! Great props! Thanks for the pictures,videos and tips. Since I am in the plumbing industry...this is a must build for me!.


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## Dr Morbius

Just wondering why this is in the pneumatics section...no air here! LOL!


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## ScareFX

Dr Morbius said:


> Just wondering why this is in the pneumatics section...no air here! LOL!


 It was in the wrong place Doc. Just misfiled when the forums were divided up. Thanks for the heads up. It's now in Technological Terror.


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## Dr Morbius

Thanks. I get alot of questions about this prop, and I needed it in the right place to direct folks to.


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## 1031fan

great job guys - i was wondering if any of you got a chance to see the hangman prop that wicked stone or wicked beernut (i forget what his name was) had?? i know it was all pneumatic and he said it was so realistic he wouldn't let his kids watch it - it was called - HOTD hung out to die - and if it was anything like his electric chair prop - then WOW - but i never got around to seeing it or any of the linkages because it was about that time that he took his sight down because people wre giving him heat about reverse engineering pro props and putting it up on the net for everyone to see - im not exactly sure of the whole story - but i just know he was in the process of making a really really sweet prop that i never got to see finished - 1031fan


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## ScareFX

1031fan said:


> great job guys - i was wondering if any of you got a chance to see the hangman prop that wicked stone or wicked beernut (i forget what his name was) had?? i know it was all pneumatic and he said it was so realistic he wouldn't let his kids watch it - it was called - HOTD hung out to die - and if it was anything like his electric chair prop - then WOW - but i never got around to seeing it or any of the linkages because it was about that time that he took his sight down because people wre giving him heat about reverse engineering pro props and putting it up on the net for everyone to see - im not exactly sure of the whole story - but i just know he was in the process of making a really really sweet prop that i never got to see finished - 1031fan


Yeap. I remember that prop. It was being made by Joe Stone a.k.a. WBN (Wicked Beer Nut) in the summer of 2004. I was really looking forward to seeing that one finished but he never posted a how-to. It's a shame too. Joe's props were a real inspiration to many of us back in the early days of MOM. I hated that he felt he had to take down his site. It was a wealth of information and the details of how-to's were incredible. I did find a copy of a clip of the Hung Out to Die hangman that he posted that year. It was already pretty awesome at that stage.

For your enjoyment.
http://64.226.23.133/woodycarr/scarefx/clips/hotd.zip


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## 1031fan

yep - thats the one - anyone have any contact with him?? that thing is AWESOME i now remember him saying something about not only did he have knee joints, but hip joints and the upper torso twisting as well - man - thats one heck of a hangman prop - it would be great if we could get him to come to the forum here...im on MOM too and it just seems he dissapeared for some reason - would love to see what hes up to - thanks for the link - really brings back some memories...tear tear..haha - 1031fan


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## Dr Morbius

I can't get the link to work.


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## ScareFX

Dr Morbius said:


> I can't get the link to work.


Try it now Doc. I put it in a zip file. It's an mpeg file that plays using the Quicktime player.


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## Dr Morbius

Wow! That's terrific..in fact, it's so articulated that I got to wonder if that prop is for pro haunts? Seems overkill for a home display, but it is quite ingenious. Thanks for sharing, SFX.


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## ruafraid

Woody do you know if Joe Stone is still active in Haunting and prop building ? His site now seems to be setup for "members" only.


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## ScareFX

ruafraid said:


> Woody do you know if Joe Stone is still active in Haunting and prop building ? His site now seems to be setup for "members" only.


  I wish I knew ruafraid but sadly I'm not sure if he's still active.


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## Sickie Ickie

Anybody else have a problem getting the zip to open?


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## Dr Morbius

You're having a problem with your zipper? I don't wanna know.


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## haunted1

What kind of wiped motor did you use?

How did you hook up the wiper motor to power?


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## meltdown211

*Damn...*

He looks seriously pissed now... Great work Dr..

I actually stumbled across one of your compilations on a DIY Halloween site. When I looked at the link, it said Dr Morbius and I knew it was your work!

You are...infamous

Melty


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## Dr Morbius

Really? What site? I'm curious!


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## Seanutz

That is awesome....and maybe next year you could have him thrasing more violently....Is there a way to make it a more violent kicking and thrashing about? I dont know if you can do that with one wiper motor but maybe next year you could use 2...and have each leg thrashing?


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## Dr Morbius

Possibly..I think any more might look unrealistic though. It shakes and bounces enough now that the gallows almost tip over!


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## HauntCast

Doc,
I've decided to call my haunt the Village Gallows, so I think I'm going to have to attempt this prop. Questions will be coming.
Have you seen any how-tos on constructing a small gallows? I'm sure I can figure it out, but if there is one out there let me know.


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