# Reanimated Prop Help



## BobC (Aug 23, 2005)

Hello all, I am putting together a prop to tie in a scene on my porch this year I want to make a corpse reanimating in a toe pincher which is standing upright against my house. The look I am going for is more of a shiver or light shake from the upper body. I know people have done this with motors and off set weights and also pneumatics not sure how to go about it. But I would like to stick with motors for this prop as I want it to continuous. Can anyone recommend a motor for this a how to or walk me through it? I have always wanted to make a shivering motorized prop now Im finally getting the time to make it.. Thanks all.


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## CoolDJTV (Jun 28, 2011)

if it is the shivering effect you are going for a motor would be your best bet, but if you want it to pop up then go down for more of a startle scare then pneumatics are the best


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## BobC (Aug 23, 2005)

Yeah Pneumatics would be to jerky and loud I need this to constantly run on my porch. Anyone have any ideas how I can make it and a motor to use?


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

I think what he needs is a Part number for an appropriate motor and some guidance on how to build it. Should we put Rich on the Case??


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## Zurgh (Dec 21, 2009)

Here is a pic of the kind of offset weight used in many vibration motors, just nicked it off Google images...










...the idea is to keep the weight close to the center for a buzzer like vibration.

Not sure if that is the effect you are going for... I was thinking of doing a similar type of prop using a cheep 120v desk fan built into a corps prop, too, but haven't found a place in my haunt where it would 'fit' and was a bit concerned about the re-purposing of the motor and straining it to short out and cause a fire...

Another idea is the 'wobbly' gear wheel... where the gear wheel is not completely round & the prop is connected to a rod that rides the gear wheel smoothly for a time, then jerks about when it hits the irregular gear area... did that make any sense to you?

Perhaps a look at some of the electric chair props might help out for inspiration in the design... hope some of this was helpful...


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## BobC (Aug 23, 2005)

Zurgh, Thanks for posting. I guess I will have to play around until I find the effect I like. Also I totally understand what you meant with the wobbly wheel thing. I actually have a spare old desk fan maybe I will try attaching a weight very close and see the result. I dont think it would be a fire issue if built right.
I know there is a prop called shivers I have seen that some company makes wish I could see the motor they use. Thanks again.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Perhaps something like the haunted vibrating hedge prop (Spirit carries it, as did Target last year) could be incorporated into your prop to give a subtle shivering effect. We put one into a half skellie torso last year and it worked better than we thought it would

Here's a short video of what this looked like in action - fairly subtle, but definitely a shivery motion. The only drawback based on what you've mentioned you were hoping to achieve is that the motion is not continuous since it was sound activated.

Halloween 2011 :: Shivering Skellie video by bontom - Photobucket

Or perhaps you're looking for a motion more like this guy:

http://www.gagstudios.com/product_movies/ggs520.html

We have a Scaretaker prop that shakes somewhat like this. Spooky1 says it has a high RPM motor with an offset weight on a propeller arm and that causes the wobbly movement. His upper body is attached to the lower with heavy duty springs. I'll ask him to get a photo so you can see the set up.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Our Scaretaker shakes. Here's a pic of the mechanism. It's just an offset weighted arm, with the upper body on springs.


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## BobC (Aug 23, 2005)

Awesome thanks so much for the pic...it almost looks like it is off set with washers as weights?...And I guess I am on the right track because I was going to use springs for the upper body..thanks again I really appreciate the help.

p.s. if you happen to look inside again please see if there is a model # on the motor.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Yes, ir looks like it's washers. The motor is recessed, so I can't see a part #.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

The fan motor could probably give you the motion you want, but keep in mind that fan motors depend upon the fresh air being pulled through them by the blades of the fan itself. If you remove the blade and also enclose the air space for the motor it will get hot in a real hurry in there. You may be able to use the fan motor if you also add some computer fans and a way for fresh air to get pulled into the body or area where the motor will be.


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## rottincorps (Jun 1, 2008)

Fan motors work really well, there cheep and can be found at thrift stores.


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## BobC (Aug 23, 2005)

Spooky1 off hand do you know what company makes your scaretaker? I have found videos of it online and people selling them but no company. 

The motor looks pretty small ghoulishcop recently found some smaller motors while looking for a replacement to the well known vent motor we all use. Maybe Ill give them a whirl.

Also is it only springs holding the upper body from the lower body? Its hard to tell in the picture.

I should be starting this project very soon (when I find the right motor) Ill try to post pics as I go along but definitely finished pics will be posted.


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## walterb (Jul 27, 2010)

I have a shaking floor with a motor with an offset, but that is overkill. Have you thought about a bass shaker? I am working on a similar effect in my breathing grave. You can pick them up pretty cheap.


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## BobC (Aug 23, 2005)

never thought of a bass shaker because until you just told me I had no idea they made something like that..lol I havent looked deep into them just yet but it looks like a device that vibrates bass played through speakers is this correct?


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## walterb (Jul 27, 2010)

I am not sure how the mechanism works mechanically, but it takes bass and creates vibration. It can be used just like a speaker, in parallel or series with another speaker or standalone. I do not think you need a crossover to filter out high either. The beauty of using a bass shaker is that it does not require another device to time the movement. You can simply build that motion into your audio track. 

I am working on a low bass test right now. Once I get it set up, I am going to swap the 18" for the bass shaker to see how controllable it is. At the same time I am checking to see if mid range sound fires it off, too. 

I have found simplicity = durability when making haunts. I think a bass shaker maybe the simplest solution. I use a lot of pneumatics and motors, but I just think the bass shaker is cheaper than pneumatic route and simpler to control than a motor with an offset. My experience on the forum is someone will have done the everything you want to do in some way or form and posted pics/video so keep searching past posts and post progress pics and videos as you build it.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

What you are talking about is a "Buttkicker" it's a powerful, subsonic transducer. They work great for their intended use, but they need to be fastened to a fairly solid and substantial material to make them work, and the vibration is rarely, if ever, visible to the naked eye.
You might look at something substantially cheaper and easier to get, maybe something like an electric beater style mixer, and just put one beater in with washers or something heavy enough fastened to one side of the interior of the beater/whisk. The mixers have a variable speed control so you can tweak the speed to get the desired amount of shaking, and depending upon how you mount it, you can control the direction of the shaking too.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

BobC said:


> The motor looks pretty small ghoulishcop recently found some smaller motors while looking for a replacement to the well known vent motor we all use. Maybe Ill give them a whirl.
> 
> Also is it only springs holding the upper body from the lower body? Its hard to tell in the picture..


The motor is indeed tiny - not much more than an inch long. It has a sticker on it, but it's not accessible to read.

Along with the two springs, there is what appears to be a plastic-enclosed metal rod holding up the front end of the torso. You can see it in the photo Spooky1 posted.


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## BobC (Aug 23, 2005)

I worry about using a cake mixer motor for the reason that is sounds like a cake mixer...Unless the undead like to bake brownies or something..lol I think I am going to look for a silent motor because this will be constantly running what type of motor would you guys suggest what kind of rpm's etc? I would think it need a decent amount of torque. Thanks again by the way I appreciate all of the ideas coming in. Talk to you all soon.


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## SuperCreep31 (Nov 22, 2009)

the motor that Zurgh posted is what I am familiar with. These are the same mini motors that are used to make your cell phone vibrate. So basically if you take that concept and enlarge it with a bigger motor and a bigger weight, you'll be golden. Spooky's picture is perfect for what you need. Try to replicate that with a fast motor (wiper motors and deer motors probably won't work unless you figure out a way to speed them up quite a bit)


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## SuperCreep31 (Nov 22, 2009)

If you can find any of these humidifiers cheap (check craigslist) they have some powerful motors that almost seem like fan motors. I've never used them for anything but I've been looking for a good use for them. Maybe this is it?

http://insightfulnana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/coolmist-copy.jpg


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

BobC said:


> Spooky1 off hand do you know what company makes your scaretaker? I have found videos of it online and people selling them but no company.


Finally found the company , it's Gag Studios.

http://www.gagstudios.com/


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