Wicked Witch Prop
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
I'm working on my biggest Halloween project for the year, a witch stirring a cauldron. Tons of inspiration can be found here and here so I'm not going in to a huge 'how-to' for this.
This project is definitely the most complex and expensive one that I have attempted. When it's completed, it will have sound, head movement, stirring movement, fog and lights for the cauldron. Two wiper motors will provide movement and will be powered by a 450 watt computer power supply. Additionally, I plan on converting a strand of green Christmas lights from AC to DC so that my power supply will also power them.
The frame is modeled after the two examples mentioned above with few modifications. The biggest difference is that I'm using a wiper motor for the head movement. This may be a bit of overkill but it's the only motor that I have available. I still need to wrap the frame in chicken wire, clothe the witch, and attach the head and hands. I'm having trouble locating an affordable mask and hands, so that part is currently on hold.
My cauldron (not pictured), is an old clothes dryer drum. The bottom already has holes, so I shouldn't have problems mounting my wiper motor (for stirring) and feeding fog through the bottom. I've made handles out of styrofoam rings and wooden brackets to mount them. Once it's painted, I'll post a picture.

