# Help with frozen pirate ship scene.



## Aquayne

I want to build a pirate ship prop out of plywood. I want it to look like it has been in the arctic for some time and is covered with snow and Icicles. 
Any ideas?


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## BobC

You can make a mold out of air dry clay for Icicles fill them with hot glue and make as many soft icicles as you want. Even get a pot at the dollar store melt glue sticks on the stove and pour over anything you want to look iced. Glue sticks arent just for candle drip effects..lol Can Throw some sort of snow on top or add something that sparkles into the glue. Just make sure you use the clear glue sticks...yellow ice isnt good..lol

Other then that you could always paint and shelac or polyurathane for a shine of ice. something white would shine nice. I would imagine if you threw a bunch of white styrofoam beads in either products it would dry hard for snow piles etc.


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## Bascombe

try coating everything with the santa snow in a can. It's mainly for windows but I think it will work on other surfaces as well. Blocks or sheets of white bead foam can be cut and shaped into ice blocks around the prow to appear that the ship broke through the ice a bit before it came to rest


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## Warrant2000

*Frozen In Time: *Cut out a 1-2 foot irregular shape in plywood, and place plexiglass behind it. Carefully condition and paint the plexiglass to look like a block of ice. Behind it place a torso of a pirate skelly lit with small blue and white lights, place a white/blue background behind the skelly. Skelly positioning could show an action pose (fast freezing) or a huddled pose (slow freezing). It would look like people are peering into a block of ice seeing the frozen figure inside.

*Snow Bank:* Using more plywood, you can cut out sillouettes (sp?) of snow banks to go on your larger structures. Pillow matting comes in rolls, unrolls easily, and keeps it's shape well to use as snow.

*Ice Blocks:* 4x8 foam board (white bead kind), cut into large angular shapes can look like sheets of broken ice. This would look especially good at the bow (front) of the ship. Looking like the ship was trying to plow through ice but got stuck.

*Snow Banks:* Make mounds and shapes out of chicken wire, cover with sheets, then paper mache', paint white. That can be mounds of snow, or snow drifts coming into doors or windows. Press in a few hand/foot prints, or even some animal tracks.

*Freeze 'Em: * Not sure how cold you area is on Halloween, but you could aim 1 or more air conditioners into an enclosed space to give the real sense of cold and ice.

*Sound Effects: * Sound effects of wind, lots of it. Water lapping against the ship hull. Maybe some animal growls, and some footsteps walking across crunchy snow.

This scene sounds fun! I remember a vintage haunt in the Los Angeles area done by an old Hollywood special effects guy that turned the side of his house into an artic station. Got a diagram on how you'll set this up?


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## CoolDJTV

Try this technique


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## Headless

Even packs of cobwebs will work well for this to give surfaces a snowy effect. You just need to spray them with a little spray adhesive to get them to sit where you want them. I made my daughter a snowman for her Christmas display last year by using chicken wire for the basic shape, covering it in plastic wrap and then sticking the webs all over. One downside to white surfaces you can't wash is dust settling on it throughout the year so keep that in mind while you are creating and storing.


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## Aquayne

Wow! Thanks for all the input. So far I have a plan that uses sheets of plywood, painted to look like a ship. I want to build it on a small 4 x 8 Harbor Freight trailer I have. This is what I have so far.


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## Aquayne

Believe it or not all cuts are straight. No curves except the Ice. Im thinking of cutting the Icecicles out of plywood and painting them then coat with gloss to make em shiney. then attach them to the ship so they will be dimensional. 

How about ideas to make the cannons fire, WITHOUT any fire?


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## RoxyBlue

There's an older thread about pirate cannons you might want to look through here:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=22108&highlight=cannon+fire

This had to do with triggering fog and sound effects. Rather a technical discussion, but it could spark some ideas.


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## Aquayne

Thank you for the link.
I am going to explore a very low tech alternative. I'm going to try a version of the air bazzooka. Something like a punch ball balloon stetched over a drum attached to a smaller diameter pipe. To fire, pull back on the drum head and release. it wont be anywhere near as loud or impressive, but it will be very cheap and safe.


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## Aquayne

I wish I could find more information on the you tube video. It looked perfect. Sound, smoke, and light.


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## debbie5

You can cut convincing icicles out of foam...I used 2 old baby mattresses. You can alos use hard foamcore.


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## Aquayne

Here is my idea for the cannon. The smoke coming out of the end of the barrel will be from a micro mist nozzle used to cool outdoor areas. The nozzle will be plumbed to an electric valve that will open when power is applied. Water will come from a water pump from a camper at 70 psi. The flash will be red LED’s inside the barrel. The sound will be from a self-powered subwoofer. 
To fire the thing all of this will be wired to a color organ. The sound of the cannon fire will trigger the color organ that will light up the lights, power the pump, and open the valve. When the rumble stops the power will stop and the whole thing will reset. I know the smoke will not be as impressive as a fogger but it will much easier to control. It should look good at night. The light from the led’s should light up the water mist and look good.


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## gooffy87

Awesome idea for the cannon! very "pirates of the carribeanesque", ive been thinking about something similar with a fogger, led and picoboo in a cannon set up. Anxiously awaiting pics!


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## gooffy87

Ok now i am in love with this cannon idea but cant rap my head around how to synchronize a fogger with a timer(also has a manual button), led lights and a controller such as a picojr. Anybody have any thoughts other than hitting 2 diff buttons all at once every time(button on the pico and on the fogger)? I am trying to conceptualize pressing a single button and getting a rouine of light in the cannon, and fog to go off at the same time


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## Aquayne

I have been moving forward with the cannon idea. I have now ordered an electric water valve, a 100 psi water pump. I am still trying to figure out which emitter will give me the best smoke.


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## Aquayne

I found some high quality emitters on E-bay. they are 3gph at 80psi. Shoud give a good spray. I have been thinking of using green instead of red led's to go with the whole frozen theme. Blue may be even better.


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## fontgeek

I see you are going to have this "ship" on a trailer. Will the trailer be parked at home for a haunt, in a parade, or...?
I think syncing things to your mister/fog machine may be easier than trying to make the mister match the sound and lights.
How often will the canons fire?
I'd look at modifying some carpet roll tubes for the barrels of the canon, cheap and easy to get is a hard act to beat. If it's for long term use, then I'd look at schedule 80 PVC or ABS pipe sections. Using double layers of pipe with a gap between the two pipes big enough to hold the lights would let you mount them and use them without the exposure to damage from getting banged around during use or storage. You might be able to tow your ship to a local Christmas tree lot and get them to flock it for you.
Just thoughts from the cheap seats.


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## Aquayne

fontgeek,
great ideas. I plan on multi purpose use of this thing. I want to sell shaved Ice out of it, pull it in parades and use it at halloween time as a prop. the cannons will not be very big due to scale. I am experimenting with schedule 40 pvc fittings 4". I have not really started modifying it yet. Thanks for the input. I have an old surround sound system that has a surprising sub woofer. I am planning on installing it. The cannons will fire on a loop. I have steel drum music and pirate music that will play. I am considering building a treasure chest with a vent motor rigged to open and close up on deck. I think I can hide the sub woofer inside.


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## Aquayne

It will actually be simple to get everything to go together. I have a "color organ" it turns a recepticle on and off according to the pulses of sound. I plan to have both the mist and leds on the same cercuit that will be energized when a signal is present. I will create an mp3 with two tracks. One will be the music and eventually the cannon fire. the other treck will be a solid tone that will activate the mist and lights when needed. I got a 60-100 psi demand pump to pressurize the misters and an electric valve to open and spray when activated by the color organ.


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## Aquayne

Things are coming along nicely.


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## Aquayne

I am exploring using clear silicone used as ice and snow. I have found it at taxidermy sites.


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## Aquayne

Introducing a new media to work with. "Crusty Crud" It is made of a tube of the cheapest caulking from lowes, and the secret miracle increadiant..... Diatomaceous earth. I got 40lbs for $20.oo at a local feed store. It is the remnants of ancient diatoms that formed massive deposits on ancient seas. It is inert and very powdery. It is used as a natural bug killer. The shape of the diatoms is jagged and gets into the exoskeleton of insects and eventually kills them. It is even consumed by some people for multiple reasons. 
I used a glass 14oz jar and squeezed a tube of the caulking mentioned above. I then added the powdery "DE" to fill up the jar. I then added a few tablespoons of water and stirred it up. I kept stirring and adding a small amount of water untill it formed a paste. I let it set over night and stirred it again. It forms a mixture similar in texture to cheeze cake. It can be worked with a popcicle stick or your fingers. It sticks when dry and makes a rubber texture when dry.


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## Aquayne




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## Aquayne




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## Aquayne




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## Aquayne

This is what use do lay out the LED's. I centered it on the cap, then held a felt tip marker on the points untill the ink soaked through and marked the cap for drilling. The LED's fit perfectly with a little pressure. Then everything was sealed with hot glue to protect against water.


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## Aquayne

I'm still plugging along at this. Today I found that i have lost the Title to the trailer. I spent the daY finding out how to fix it. I did and it will be done tomorrow. I still need a sound track of cannons firing on one track and the trigger tone for the color organ. I got the LED's in each cannon done. Boy are they bright when you look straight in. Each cannon has 16 5mm LED'S with a projection field of only 27degrees. I've decided to give god bead necklaces out. I have 58 pounds of beads coming tomorrow. Hey, I got a good deal. I have to rewire the trailer lights due to damage while removing rust. I made icicles out of hot glue on no stick reynalds wrap. They look good.


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## Aquayne

Floor and three walls up. Door cut out. I wish the weekends were longer.


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## Headless

I think we can all sympathize with that feeling Aquayne. Its looking great by the way. Can't wait to see the finished product.


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## fick209

Wow! What a project! Looking excellent so, keep up the great work!


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## Aquayne

Thanks for the encouragement. It is very difficult to get things done in the rain, with little kids to watch, full time job, constant family crisis. I wish I could have it done by memorial day but I guess it will at least be a long weekend to work on it. 

Wayne


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## Hairazor

Absolutely amazing!!


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## Aquayne




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## gooffy87

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AQUAYNE! I have been watching this thread to see how everything comes out so keep up the good work! we all know things can get frustrating sometimes (the build itself, troubleshooting, AND THE FAM!) lol. but keep it up, this is a great thread!


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## Aquayne

The bow was a problem due to the odd angles. I solved the problem by using 2" hings to attach the sides and swung them together and installed another hinge at the very front edge of the bow. I used wood putty to fill in the joints then painted.


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## Cat_Bones

Those cannons look very good can't wait to see the finished product!


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## scarrycher

i love the rusty cannons, DE was a great idea, where were you when I was trying to figure out how to make rusty cannonballs? lol


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## Aquayne




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## Aquayne

The outer paint job is almost done. It took much longer than I imagined and used far less paint. Priming first is realy the way to go.


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## RoxyBlue

Ooooh, colorful!


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## gooffy87

Oooo paint, i just recently painted a 4'x4' jack in the box n realized the same thing, paint takes forever to put on n detail but interestingly, u never need as much as you think, i have 3/4 of a gallon of red paint left over sittin in my garage hahahaha. Lukily blood is the same color! Lol. Its lookin great! Keep up the good work!


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## Aquayne

Thanks!
I've primed the hatch that goes over the serving window and outlined the stained glass pattern. I'll start filling in the blanks tomorrow afternoon.


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## Aquayne

Finished one hatch, now for the other.


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## Aquayne

It will not be so bright once it is drybrushed with black. I need to make it look more like the castle part of a ship. Maybe a column or I could just continue the plank lines. The hinges will not be visible when installed. The hatch swings up to become a canopy to keep out sun and rain.


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## ELH Erin Loves Halloween

I love this! I am so jealous you have a ship in your yard right now. I want one


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## Aquayne

I have it almost done. It now has three masts and windows on both sides. I need to mount the cannon and do the plumbing tomorrow. I have enjoyed building this but WOW it has taken so much more time than i expected.


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## Aquayne

Pirate Ice

I have a bolt of cheesecloth that I will use to make the tattered sails.
Inside is almost done. Still need to set up cannons.


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## Aquayne

All done. Complete with A/C. I did not do the snow and ice overlay. Ran out of money and time.


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## Aquayne

The cannons work. I wanted more mist but the emmiters are too small.


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## BioHazardCustoms

If you're still wanting to do a frozen pirate scene, I saw on ebay that spray snow junk. you could mist that on for a nice ice/ frost effect.


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## camsauce

Cheap idea for icicles/stalagmites - use a paper or plastic cone and fill it with great foam. Then spray them white and then a second light coat with a light blue color.


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## Aquayne

Sounds like some great ice. It would be a great look.


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## Horror Roots Productions

CoolDJTV said:


> Try this technique Ice gore snot.wmv - YouTube


^^^ THANK YOU so much for turning me on to this guy! Such a wealth of knowledge and skill there! One of the first youtubers that i share a sense of humor with ... and i watched about 2 hours worth of his videos today. So much cool stuff to build very cheaply!


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## Lilly

are you still working on this? was wondering how you did the sails ..cheap sheets from good will or someplace , maybe tea stained for dirt effect then tattered would work great. you could always cut couch cushion foam for your snow / icicles then paint them.


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