# Building of the dragon



## dave the dead

Ok, so my son Eric said he wanted to build a dragon a while back. I told him if he was serious, I'd foot the bill for the project and help him out if he needed anything. He has picked at this thing little by little over the past months, and this weekend he went into framing mode for the body. (after taking notes on how I built my Thestral  ) 
So anyway, he just couldn't build a small dragon....oh no! it has to be this enormous friggin king size thing...LOL! I'll keep this updated for him as he gets further into the body.

Here it is folks....my son's first prop in progress. He dreams big!


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## Dreadnight

Well, Dave, I'd say you're on your way to another masterpiece!


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## Revenant

Wow! I'd say he's off to a rippin' start. Is his intent to make this a zombie dragon? That'd be way cool! He could maybe work on a sort of rotted semi-transparent organ with some electronic fire-flicker lights to show through the rib cage, like the fire-organ is still intact. Wow, that'd be a dangerous concept if it were real, if you think about it... those flames would just about go everywhere if the dragon decided to unleash...









Anyhoo, good work! Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that family.


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## Hauntiholik

Very cool! Will it have wings?


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## Spartan005

Wow... looks really cool so far. Great job and good luck...!


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## dave the dead

Yes, his concept is to have it very corpsed, very much rotting look. Rev, I like the fire idea alot! Sine Eric didn't design any sort of flame effect into the head, that really would be a nice touch. I will throw that to him and see if he likes it!

Haunti, hell yeah, it'll have wings. Man I am scared of the size of this thing, but yes, wings are coming. I have created a monster, and I don't mean the dragon.

FYI, Eric is 6'2"....that gives ya an idea of the size of this beast.


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## Hawks Hill Haunter

Holy Cow!!! Great job and props to your youngen...and it's going to have wings? So now how will you store this thing?


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## TwistedDementia

Dave... You are the MAN!


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## dave the dead

TwistedDementia said:


> Dave... You are the MAN!


nope, this one belongs to Eric the Dead....I am just a reporter on this prop


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## TwistedDementia

like father....


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## morgan8586

looking good!


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## the_PROCRASTINATOR

Is storage ever an issue with you Dave?
SHEESE!


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## Lilly

Really Good job (ERIC)... 
I am wondering how you are going to transport these ..you have a semi? haha.
what are you using to adhere the pantyhose with?
will this dragon have smoke or anything coming from mouth?


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## dave the dead

Storage? I don't understand.... who DOESN"T have room to store a 16 foot long, eight foot tall dragon?


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## turtle2778

LOL, [email protected]!!


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## Bauton

Now I know what we can work on at the next MNT!!! If you are using it at the bookstore for HP day, it would be funny to see you pulling a trailer with the dragon mounted on the back down I-71!!!


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## Ghostess

Holy crap... I can't wait to see this one finished! Amazing.


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## slimy

I don't know how I missed this thread..... but anyway....... I hate your family.

Next, you will say that your wife is a chef and your dog mows the yard. 

Is there anything that you CAN'T do?


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## playfx

WOW great job, it would be nice if he could to hinge the head to move side to side alittle


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## Death in the Reaper

*Tell him I think that is the coolest dragon I've ever seen. Awesome job. I've got an idea for a prop...Vlad's supposed to help show me what to do..*


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## dave the dead

slimy said:


> I don't know how I missed this thread..... but anyway....... I hate your family.
> 
> Next, you will say that your wife is a chef and your dog mows the yard.
> 
> Is there anything that you CAN'T do?


close Slimy.....my DOG is the chef, and my wife mows the yard! 
I also have a cat working on it's doctorate in astrophysics, but who doesn't these days?


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## Lagrousome

U * N * B * E * L * I * E * V * A * B * L * E !!!!
What a talent you guys have.
We should all go in together and build a central located storage building!
I'm starting to look at my daughters play house and thinking how I could convert that to storage/work area! ~ I don't think she would be very happy about that though!


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## Lakeside Haunt

How old is your son this dragon is fantastic.


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## maureenpr

Wow, uh, nothing else but Wow! Can't wait to see it finished.


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## Sickie Ickie

How are you going to make sure the wind doesn't damage it?

Wonderful job folks!!!!


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## dave the dead

Thanks folks! 
Eric is 16 yrs old, and this is his first try at prop making....I must say he's doin a fine job! 
Sickie, we will most likely have to tie it down with a few guy wires, and probably will stake it to the ground as well. 

lagrousome....you HAVE to turn that playhouse into a mausoleum! There is just no question about it!


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## Death in the Reaper

*He's only 16!? Omg! I feel so inadequate now!

Tell him I say he's amazing. That prop is awesome. Can't wait to make my own props someday soon. *


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## dave the dead

getting some wings started.....


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## Wildomar

Wow, "The Dead" Family rocks!!!! Nice job Eric!! I cant wait to see it when its done!


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## Death Master

Good Job Eric, very impressive.


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## ZombieLoveme

Awesome. How long before Halloween will it be on display? Neighborhood hooligans are our biggest problem.


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## Ms. Wicked

My, what a big dragon you have, Dave! 

Seriously, that is amazing!


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## Front Yard Fright

That's looking great!
I can't wait to see it complete!
I have a friend who lives an hour or so away and she runs a haunt called The Dragon's Eye...
She'd die if I showed her this!
I'll have to send her a link when you're done!

Keep up the awesome work!
.


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## Ghoulbug

wow!!! That is going to look awesome....What do your neighbors think of all your "toys"? haha...looks like the "rotting apple" doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to Erics talents.. Great Job. Can't wait to see the finished project!!


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## the_PROCRASTINATOR

I bet all the poor people trying to install sprinklers are greeted with empty PVC shelves at the local home store. Grrr!


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## Samhain

God I want to live with you guys!
I'm 2 years older than your son and crapping myself at the thought of building my first, really simple pvc prop!
Hateful is what you are. And talented

Damn inferior genetic history....


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## dave the dead

Samhein said:


> God I want to live with you guys!
> I'm 2 years older than your son and crapping myself at the thought of building my first, really simple pvc prop!
> Hateful is what you are. And talented
> 
> Damn inferior genetic history....


Don't be that way Samhein....just dive in and make it! Once you start and find out how easy it really is, you'll be building Dragons in no time!


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## CreepyCanmore

Awesome. Now you can put your hell hound beside it barking at it. Pesky dragons.....can't wait to see the finished project.


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## Beepem

dear god, its huge!

very nice.


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## UmbrellaPrjct_T002-Tyrant

My god, that thing is purely amazing. It has so much detail - I can't wait to see the finished project! I'd sell my soul for the ability to do that; right now I'll stick with drawing dragons, not creating life sized models of them.

Tell your son that he has a great eye for detail, and a lot of imagination.


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## Dr Morbius

I agree...It is truely amazing!


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## dave the dead

Quick picture of the progress this weekend....dragon is gonna need some tweaking after the skin application, but lookin pretty cool! Eric will 'distress' the skin and paint next, and I'm thinking it needs some adjustment to the legs and wing angles.....coming right along though!


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## the_PROCRASTINATOR

I would like to be the first person to yell out *"HOLY CRAP"* for this weekends progress.
I think you have a real artist on your hands!


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## ededdeddy

Dude, That thing RULES. Keep up the good work.


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## Wildomar

Zombie Dogs, Tombstones, and Dragons... OH MY!!!!


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## Dr Morbius

OOooo....ahhhhhhhh.....niiiiiice.


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## ryanhailey

Sweet!


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## Lagrousome

Ahhh, now come on Dave....I just saw that exact same prop being sold at Wal-Mart for $29.95! LOL

J/K.......again, I am amazed!
Again, I am amazed!
Again, I am amazed!
Again....well, you know.....
Back to my pidly props........


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## spokanejoe

WOW!!!! Fantastic. I hope you have been taking detailed pics of the creation of this prop. I would love to see details of the feet .and tail. Is it all out of PVC pipe and fittings?
Again ....Fantastic job!!!


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## tonguesandwich

Hey Dave, 
Can you adopt me??? Awesome, what did he use for the fingers (bones) in the wings?


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## dave the dead

The wing 'fingers' are made from some lightweight plastic water distribution hose that I picked up at walmart on clearance. it is wired in place, and then the latex holds it all together. Just about done with the beast now.....Friday night is the deadline....will post up some finished pix as soon as I can.


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## Lilly

cool beans Dave...looking forward to seeing the pics


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## Bone Dancer

Thanks for sharing the photos Dave. What material did you use for the skin of the wings?


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## dave the dead

The wings are a sheer black fabric that is like a see-thru curtain. It is completely coated with liquid latex, and ended up a similar feel to umbrella fabric. It is a very,very nice membane-type look.
Dragon will be finished this weekend, and on display for the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in Wilmington, Ohio.


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## pyro

dam-that is nice dave ---HEY MRS.W PAY CLOSE ATTENTION


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## Bone Dancer

Thanks again Dave. I had thought of using the light weight black weed stop material for wing skin. Granted its an "up to me" thing, but I was wondering if you had tried that or not. Such things are a constant trade off of cost vs apperance. I figured the weed stop material could get by with out latex and still hold up to weather.


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## dave the dead

Bone Dancer said:


> Thanks again Dave. I had thought of using the light weight black weed stop material for wing skin. Granted its an "up to me" thing, but I was wondering if you had tried that or not. Such things are a constant trade off of cost vs apperance. I figured the weed stop material could get by with out latex and still hold up to weather.


absolutely...without a doubt! There are a zillion ways to domake this prop...I used that particular fabric because I had it available....my motto is "use what ya got" when it comes to building props....think outside the box....this dragon has turned into a very pricey prop by my standards, mostly because of the huge size of it..(lots of pvc and about a gallon and a half of latex)..but I gotta tell ya that Eric has learned a TON of good stuff by building this thing....Don't feel bad about substituting materials or methods...find out what works for you in methods, available materials, price, etc. and just go for it! (steps off soapbox, trips on untied shoestring)


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## ScareShack

WOW!!!!!!!! just crazy looking. what a difference from the first pic i saw of it. great job.


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## Death in the Reaper

*Ack, that dragon is coming out so awesome. And here I am just painting pictures for our haunt.:zombie: *


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## buckaneerbabe

Eric, if this is what you can do at 16 can you imagine what you will be building with a few more years experience. And how will you top this one?Simply awesome!


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## dave the dead

sometimes I hate people....really truly hate them! 

We displayed the dragon this weekend for the release of 'Deathly Hallows' in Wilmington, Ohio. The beast was positioned at a "street closed" sign at the end of an alleyway, where all sorts of activities were taking place....generally, people were extremely well behaved, and appreciated the opportunity to get up close and personal with a huge dragon.....lot's of photos being taken of young (or not so young) witches and wizards posing with the dragon....
well, a group of older teens who were just passing through evidently though it would be a riot to try to ride the dragon, reducing the body frame rear hips to broken pvc and torn skin shreds.....

damn, I hate people sometimes!


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## Lauriebeast

Oh no! What morons...I hope they at least got a good tongue lashing!


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## Bone Dancer

I hope a lot of people got to enjoy seeing the dragon before that happened. And yes, a lashing of some kind would be in order for those persons responsible. It was a wonderful prop and should be rebuilt. It would be nice to see photos of the finished dragon if you have any.


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## Lagrousome

OH DAVE! I AM SO SORRY TO HEAR THAT!
I know how much time and passion you & your son put into your props!
Freakin' idiots!
I hope they get what comes around!


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## BooGirl666

What a bunch of fck heads!!!!!!!!!! I hate stupid people!!! Did ya chain em up??? Tell your son I'm sorry but dont lose spirit!!! Keep on buildin!!!!


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## CreepyCanmore

That's gotta be some mighty bad karma for squashing a dragon.....sorry to hear it. Hope you can rebuild it and that it doesn't discourage you son. I bet it brought a lot of happiness before the jerks got at it.


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## Fright Zone

Sorry to hear that. Teenagers can be such idiots. That's why I had put up my yard haunt display at my Grandma's the last two years in 9 hours on Halloween and tore it down in 3 hours right away. I don't trust teenage boys. They're *A*lpha *H*otels. They think it's their right to do that stuff and they fully expect people to let them get away with it just because of their age. So Bevis & Butthead have no fear. Next year make it an electric fence dragon with nails sticking out of it.


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## slimy

That really sucks. But, I agree that the dragon MUST be rebuilt. That thing is just amazing.


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## dave the dead

"We can rebuild him......we can make him better than he was before......better....faster....stronger."


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## Sickie Ickie

...and more expensive. heh

Sorry to hear your dragon was saddle broken. I wonder if the teens were deliberately trying to hurt it, or if it just turned out to be a bad idea to try to ride it? Either way, it's easy for us to sit back in our homes and say to you rebuild it, while you and your son are actually the rebuilders....but I'm afraid I must join the group that says if you have the money, energy and time, I would love to see that display fixed.


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## Lagrousome

dave the dead said:


> "We can rebuild him......we can make him better than he was before......better....faster....stronger."


*running in slow motion* neer...neer....neer.....neer....neer

We have the technology......
God I love the old shows!

I suppose you'll have to rope it off like a display at a museum! 
Or put a cash machine out front advertising rides for $100.00.....probably won't get any takers that way!


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## Darkside

I thought I was reading my words when I read "I hate people". Teens are the absolute worst. I constantly woory about my props. I put most of my big props on wheels and roll them in at the end of the evening, and halloween night (no matter what time the last person leaves) I do a complete break down.


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## MarrocBoneMage

So cool...I love dragons anyway...do you have any more pics of current progress?


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## Evil Eyes

Yes, how's it coming? I sure hope it's fixable. I was so excited when I read about the making of this beast and the pictures - true talent! You were so nice to put this on display for everyone to see and my heart just sank as I was reading what happened. I feel so bad for you and your son. At least all teenagers aren't terrible. My children have always respected other people and their property and would never think to do something like this and would never let their friends do something like this either. I do hope it is repaired in time for Halloween. If so, definitely keep it close to the house and put some type of fencing around it - barbed wire preferably! Just kidding!


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## Dr Morbius

Wow! sorry to hear about the loss...That just sucks! Freakin' morons.


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## Bodybagging

Dave, Give my regards to your son, GREAT WORK! and as everyone else has stated sorry for the malicious destruction of the dragon, Hope that you guys get it back together....GREAT FIRST PROP!


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## dave the dead

Thanks everyone for your interest. Eric will most definitely have this back together for Halloween, and I have already scoped out a nice place up on my roof where the Sh%^heads of the world can't get to it.....now the rest of my stuff, on the other hand.......


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## dionicia

I hate teenage boys too. Last year I was lucky, they only tried to take out my garbage can. They ran away when I came running though. Something about the grim reaper coming after them with a scythe...I guess it would scare the yell out of me too.


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## Sickie Ickie

I would have LOVED to have seen that!


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## widowsbluff

So sorry to hear what happened. How is the rebuild going?


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## AzKittie74

Sorry to hear that you had to rebuild, your son has talent! hope he isn't discouraged. how in the world are you going to get that on the roof?? I bet the ToTers will be to scared to go to the door with that guy up there hahaha


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## Darkside

Hey Dave. What ever happened? Did you complete the rebuild? How have you stored it?


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## dave the dead

Darkside said:


> Hey Dave. What ever happened? Did you complete the rebuild? How have you stored it?


Since this was my son's prop, I left it his option to rebuild or not...he didn't have the desire to do anything with it this year. It is stored with the rest of my stuff, and will make a return next year with or without his help...LOL.
I actually have a few thoughts on how to improve the beast, both structurally and in appearance. The damage caused by those thoughtless morons actually wasn't all that bad since it was designed to be taken apart anyway.

Look for a new Dragon in 2008!


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## Revenant

dave the dead said:


> Look for a new Dragon in 2008!


_*whispers into ear*
_
With a flickering fire organ in his chest...!


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## dave the dead

thought this deserved a bump...Eric always dreamed big.


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## highbury

I couldn't agree with you more, Dave...


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## Lord Homicide

I'm always impressed (understatement) with props of this scale. Dave, the dragon is bad ass... I mean I can't even really say anything that probably hasn't been said already. I admire your work - a lot.


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## RoxyBlue

Thanks for bumping this thread, Dave, and I agree - a fitting tribute to your son.


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## Bone Dancer

Glad to hear that the dragon will be back in some form or another. Keep us posted and as always lots of pictures of the build. I been trying to get the courage up to build my dragon. I have been collecting ideas for almost three years now. I know it would be the only project for the year. With luck it will happen next year.


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## Spooky1

Thanks for the bump, Dave. Since I joined in 2008 I never saw Eric's dragon. It's a beautiful creation, that any haunter would be proud to have in their haunt.


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## Lunatic

I too am glad to see this thread. I never saw it the first time. That is a massive prop. What a nice tribute to your son, Dave. Thanks for the bump. I'm glad I didn't miss it this time.


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## scarrycher

lunatic said:


> i too am glad to see this thread. I never saw it the first time. That is a massive prop. What a nice tribute to your son, dave. Thanks for the bump. I'm glad i didn't miss it this time.


ditto!!


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## DaMightyOak

how did you make the skin ?


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## CrazedHaunter

Awesome Prop. Good job! Did this ever get rebuilt? Pics? Did it end up on the roof? ever think of Animating the head and wings? blowing fake flames ?


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## beelce

Good to see this again...Eric had his dad's talent .....


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## dudeamis

This thing was so amazing, its a shame what happened to it.


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