Dollar Store Cheepies into HALLOWEEN CREEPIES! (COME JOIN THE FUN)

[ultraman]

hello childrens...

as many of you know the halloween season is upon us once again.... and as i was wondering around the dollar store the other day i starting realizing that the halloween props get cheaper and cheaper and more cheaply made every year. on top of that it's becoming so super kid friendly that they are starting to take the "CREEPY" out of halloween and replacing it with goofyness and bright colors of sillyness.
BLAH I SAY!
I WANT MY CREEPY HALLOWEEN BACK DANG NABBIT!

so i thought it would be fun to start a thread where the "DIY crowd" could come together and see what spooky shenanigans we could come up with using cheap bad halloween props and stuff from the dallor stores!!!

join on in i'd love to see what you come up with!

i grabed a couple cheapy skeletons that were day glow colors (YUCK!) and decided to do repaints to use them in 3 different projects.
1) put bat wings on ones back and leds in the eyes then hook it up to fishing line and attach it to a quadcopter to chase little kids with on halloween
2) turn one into a ghost pilot for an old bomber rc plane i'm building for a client
3) make a diorama of the skeleton fighting scene in a ray harryhausen flick



i started off with these silly little guys.


sprayed black

then started dry brushing

now working on washes to make little changes so each skeleton is different.



they are coming along nicely it will take a little more work...but its fun work.
feel free to jump on in and show off some of your cheapy upgrades:devil

 

[foldart]

Dollar Tree tiki cup:

 

[The Schlitzie]

Haha, Ultraman I almost spit my coffee on my computer! You really need to run with the quadcopter idea...and then post a video, lol.

I for one can attest to the usefulness of some of the Dollar Stores' Halloween decorations. Anytime little skeletons pop up they can be turned into mummified goblin, fairy corpses etc.


Also, most people don't realize it but right before Halloween and right after even (kinda risky, because it might be gone by then) everything is insanely cheap at other stores. Like right now everything is %50 off, and right before and right after it all goes down to around %75-%80 off! I always pick up cheesy plastic skulls that are normally $7 for around a dollar right after Halloween that be made to look cool pretty easily:

 

[ultraman]

Dollar Tree tiki cup:

View attachment 391690

i bet this would be sweet with the eyes and mouth cut out then age it a little more and put a candle inside! great find none the less.

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Haha, Ultraman I almost spit my coffee on my computer! You really need to run with the quadcopter idea...and then post a video, lol.

I for one can attest to the usefulness of some of the Dollar Stores' Halloween decorations. Anytime little skeletons pop up they can be turned into mummified goblin, fairy corpses etc.
http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t443/schlitzie/interdimentionalcreature2_zps47c491c9.jpg

Also, most people don't realize it but right before Halloween and right after even (kinda risky, because it might be gone by then) everything is insanely cheap at other stores. Like right now everything is %50 off, and right before and right after it all goes down to around %75-%80 off! I always pick up cheesy plastic skulls that are normally $7 for around a dollar right after Halloween that be made to look cool pretty easily:
http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t443/schlitzie/IMG_1958_zps3c3da7f7.jpg

i'd buy that head in a second....freaking awesome man!

 

[foldart]

i bet this would be sweet with the eyes and mouth cut out . . .

Good idea! This is its original condition:



Just leave eyes and mouth unpainted. (Wish I thought of that!)

 

[Sinned]

Also, most people don't realize it but right before Halloween and right after even (kinda risky, because it might be gone by then) everything is insanely cheap at other stores. Like right now everything is %50 off, and right before and right after it all goes down to around %75-%80 off! I always pick up cheesy plastic skulls that are normally $7 for around a dollar right after Halloween that be made to look cool pretty easily:

No doubt! I do a ton of Halloween shopping 364 days early. That skull looks awesome, what did you coat it with?

 

[The Schlitzie]

It's plastic wrap and gel stain and dust layers with a bit of acrylic highlights.

No doubt! I do a ton of Halloween shopping 364 days early. That skull looks awesome, what did you coat it with?

 

[Sinned]

It's plastic wrap and gel stain and dust layers with a bit of acrylic highlights.

Cool! It looks really awesome; a very good effect.

 

[ultraman]

Haha, Ultraman I almost spit my coffee on my computer! You really need to run with the quadcopter idea...and then post a video, lol.

operation quadcopter under way!


started wire frame for the bat wings using 16 gauge galvanized cable and wire wrap for jewlery.

drilled the holes for the red led lights to put in his eyes...they fit perfect!
hopefully start fleshing out the wings soon. by the way Schlitzie could you post a few more pics of different camera angles on that head you made...i'm thinking of making him a character in my graphic novel:cool

 

[The Schlitzie]

Hehe, cool. I made the wings on my critter by using a wire frame and then just sandwiching it between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and heating it up. Nice and lightweight.


Here's the only pic I could find:



And a tutorial on how to make the teeth if anyone's interested:

http://www.therpf.com/f62/tutorial-quick-dirty-claws-teeth-dummies-like-me-186386/

 

[Luke0312]

Haha, Ultraman I almost spit my coffee on my computer! You really need to run with the quadcopter idea...and then post a video, lol.

I for one can attest to the usefulness of some of the Dollar Stores' Halloween decorations. Anytime little skeletons pop up they can be turned into mummified goblin, fairy corpses etc.
http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t443/schlitzie/interdimentionalcreature2_zps47c491c9.jpg

Also, most people don't realize it but right before Halloween and right after even (kinda risky, because it might be gone by then) everything is insanely cheap at other stores. Like right now everything is %50 off, and right before and right after it all goes down to around %75-%80 off! I always pick up cheesy plastic skulls that are normally $7 for around a dollar right after Halloween that be made to look cool pretty easily:
http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t443/schlitzie/IMG_1958_zps3c3da7f7.jpg

Very cool and extremely gruesome.

My niece spent the weekend with us and I wanted to try to do these with her since she usually doesn't get the opportunity to do things like this (yea, a 10 year old girl and I'm trying to help her make rotting skulls, haha). She liked the idea and had fun though.

Can you expound on the process some more? When you say plastic wrap, do you mean like saran wrap or something thicker? Also, how big are the pieces you're putting on there? Randomly tore pieces around 3"x3" or wrapping the entire skull with big pieces? We got the skull painted, but didn't get to put the plastic on before she left, so next time she stops by we'll work on them some more.

 

[The Schlitzie]

Hey Luke, sure thing. I used saran wrap. You can use large pieces for a smoother look or smaller pieces (make sure there no straight cuts, more ragged the better) for a more wrinkly look. Wrap the skull and then use a heat gun to get it to shrink and cling nicely (use hot glue for pesky corners that don't want to stay down). I put a moss green colored acrylic coat over the saran wrap and then lightly dabbed at it with a tissue to get a speckled finish then I brushed a coat of dark hickory gel stain and sloppily dabbed it off with a tissue (leaving it in the folds etc.)

If you want some worm holes in the skin, poke a small hole in the saran wrap and then take the heat gun to the holes. at this point you can take a light brown color and dry brush over spots you want to stand out.

The teeth are translucent sculpey with a gloss nail polish over them and a burnt umber wash over the roots of them to make them nice and icky looking. Then you can grind up a stick of dark brown pastel or chalk and add layers of dust on it if you want.

If you want a nice video tutorial showing the process and similar professional haunt house techniques look up anything by StiltbeastStudios like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69p2EyS-5qk

Hope that helps. :cool (sounds like an awesome niece!)

Very cool and extremely gruesome.

My niece spent the weekend with us and I wanted to try to do these with her since she usually doesn't get the opportunity to do things like this (yea, a 10 year old girl and I'm trying to help her make rotting skulls, haha). She liked the idea and had fun though.

Can you expound on the process some more? When you say plastic wrap, do you mean like saran wrap or something thicker? Also, how big are the pieces you're putting on there? Randomly tore pieces around 3"x3" or wrapping the entire skull with big pieces? We got the skull painted, but didn't get to put the plastic on before she left, so next time she stops by we'll work on them some more.

 

[Luke0312]

Hey Luke, sure thing. I used saran wrap. You can use large pieces for a smoother look or smaller pieces (make sure there no straight cuts, more ragged the better) for a more wrinkly look. Wrap the skull and then use a heat gun to get it to shrink and cling nicely (use hot glue for pesky corners that don't want to stay down). I put a moss green colored acrylic coat over the saran wrap and then lightly dabbed at it with a tissue to get a speckled finish then I brushed a coat of dark hickory gel stain and sloppily dabbed it off with a tissue (leaving it in the folds etc.)

If you want some worm holes in the skin, poke a small hole in the saran wrap and then take the heat gun to the holes. at this point you can take a light brown color and dry brush over spots you want to stand out.

The teeth are translucent sculpey with a gloss nail polish over them and a burnt umber wash over the roots of them to make them nice and icky looking. Then you can grind up a stick of dark brown pastel or chalk and add layers of dust on it if you want.

If you want a nice video tutorial showing the process and similar professional haunt house techniques look up anything by StiltbeastStudios like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69p2EyS-5qk

Hope that helps. :cool (sounds like an awesome niece!)

Great, thank you.

I'll have to practice one some scrap items by myself before we do the skulls. She thinks I'm the smartest, most talented person in the world, don't want to let her think any different, lol.

 

[Chaank]

Ultraman, I hear ya. The skeletons, especially the larger ones are so chunky now. The pound store here had one a few years back that was so spot on. Just needed a paint. A decent 3 foot skeleton would be great right now.

Schliz, that goblin skull rocks man.


I forgot to add, I use saran wrap too but I super glue it together. Works great and the wrinkles come free. :lol

 

[ultraman]

well the skeletons are coming along nicely.
i finally got the led eyes figured out and used cardboard duck tape and tin foil to make the workings in the head


got the wings fleshed out and did a few base coats and a couple dry brushings in


tomorrow working on a few highlights then attach the wings. after that i hope to add hair to the back of the wings kind of like a bat and some on his head to look a little creepier.

 

[ultraman]

finished putting the flying skeleton together......
he is now known as "the hades imp of death"


i put hair on his head and the back of his wings but the camera batteries died before i could get a shot....tomorrow we fly..or try to any ways lol:devil

 

[ultraman]

HADES THE IMP OF DEATH TAKES HIS FIRST FLIGHT OF TERROR......BEHOLD!!!!

 

[The Schlitzie]

Hehe, awesome.

 

[robn1]

Very cool! It looks like a harpy. Get the camera angle right and it can look larger.

 

[ultraman]

Hehe, awesome.

thanks schlitzie
this was during the "Monster march" on our main street...it happened around 5:00pm....i think his eyes would work better at night and you wouldn't see the quadcopter as easily.

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Very cool! It looks like a harpy. Get the camera angle right and it can look larger.

yeah i got some good shots...at one point his eyes were messed up and only one was working until i fixed him but it still looked good lol