Thursday, May 16, 2013
I'm still alive...
...really. Sorry for the absentee-ness. Life has a way of changing your plans every now and then. I'll be back soon... J
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
New toy
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Waxybottom expedition
In 1918 a British expedition led by the intrepid Nigel Q. Waxybottom set out for a small island east of Bimini in search of the tomb of the tyrannical King Whatalottahooie. They were never heard from again. Some say they were lost to the sea, while others claim they fell prey to the curse of the candy king...
This was how I greeted my TOT's...
(sorry about the dark vid - more on that below)
All in all things went well this year, in spite of the few hiccups I had. The kids really loved it.
Lessons learned:
When you find something you want to use in your haunt, buy it then.
I found some really awesome green nylon camo netting at a local surplus store that I'd planned to use as a backdrop for the entire display, but didn't buy it when I first saw it. Then when I went back for it last weekend, they were sold out. D'oh!
When you build custom parts or effects, don't use oddball parts you can't easily replace.
I built some LED flood lights using some really high power LED's. I didn't have a 12V power supply with enough current capacity to power them (wanted something more weather tight than a PC power supply) so I used a 19V supply from an old printer I had laying around. The power supply died & I didn't have another one to replace it, nor did I have time to change out the resistors in the lights so I could use a different voltage. Wasn't a huge deal, but the yard was quite a bit darker than I wanted.
On another note, I've come to the conclusion that the skull I used for the idol is cursed itself & I shouldn't use it again. I've repurposed it for different props 4 times now, & every time it's broken on Halloween night. I think from now on it will be a static prop...
Happy Halloween all!
This was how I greeted my TOT's...
(sorry about the dark vid - more on that below)
All in all things went well this year, in spite of the few hiccups I had. The kids really loved it.
Lessons learned:
When you find something you want to use in your haunt, buy it then.
I found some really awesome green nylon camo netting at a local surplus store that I'd planned to use as a backdrop for the entire display, but didn't buy it when I first saw it. Then when I went back for it last weekend, they were sold out. D'oh!
When you build custom parts or effects, don't use oddball parts you can't easily replace.
I built some LED flood lights using some really high power LED's. I didn't have a 12V power supply with enough current capacity to power them (wanted something more weather tight than a PC power supply) so I used a 19V supply from an old printer I had laying around. The power supply died & I didn't have another one to replace it, nor did I have time to change out the resistors in the lights so I could use a different voltage. Wasn't a huge deal, but the yard was quite a bit darker than I wanted.
On another note, I've come to the conclusion that the skull I used for the idol is cursed itself & I shouldn't use it again. I've repurposed it for different props 4 times now, & every time it's broken on Halloween night. I think from now on it will be a static prop...
Happy Halloween all!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
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