(a.k.a., Dr. Terror Eyes)
at the Halloween and
HauntFest show in
Dallas last year (see
Resources). Using an
inexpensive . 5 mil
painting drop cloth, you
can apply it to the skull
and then use a heat gun
to shrink the plastic so it adheres to
the skull. You can then add color to
bring out the texture and make it
pop as shown in Figure 23 and
Figure 24.
Two of my favorite products for
this are the line of gel stains from
Minwax and the Tandy Leather stains
(Figure 25 and Figure 26). If you are
looking for a more ghoulish
appearance, this makes it look much
scarier!
You can take it up another level
by sculpting directly on the head.
Steve devoted an entire article to this
process in the June 2017 issue of
SERVO Magazine in his DIY
animatronics column.
Using this method allows you to
convert that skull into any character
you desire.
Exit Stage Left
Once you have successfully built
a talking skull, you will find plenty of
other uses besides adding them to
your complete characters. You can
place one atop a pile of books on a
shelf or install one in a crystal ball.
This same platform will allow any
creature you desire to gain its talking
voice.
Birds, monkeys, dragons, and
more can now put their vocal chords
to work! The progress made in this
area over the past five years has
been tremendous. I am excited to
see where it will be five years from
now!
Once you start adding this
feature to your characters, you may
find that they do not seem complete
without the ability to talk. Once you
give one a voice, they will all want to
be able to speak! NV
AL L
ELEC TRONI CS
www.allelectronics.com Order Toll Free 1-800-826-5432
DPDT LIGHTED ROCKER
SWITCH, 120VAC
2. 16" NEODYMIUM
BAR MAGNET
Our largest, most
powerful magnet. 55mm x 17mm x 5.3mm
( 2. 16" x 0.66" x 0.20"). N35 grade.
Nickel-plated finish.
CAT# MAG-158
$450 each
D.P.D. T., rocker switch with
neon-lit red rocker. Rated
20A 125Vac. Snap-mounts
in 0.90" x 1.07" cut-out. Can be
wired for on, off or always-on.
0.25" qc/ solder terminals.
CAT# LRS- 43
$135 each
1N4007 RECTIFIER DIODE,
1A 1KV - SPECIAL
Cut tape packaging.
CAT# 1N4007
$100 for 10
100 for $3.50 • 1000 for $25.00
12 VDC GEAR MOTOR
Great little motor for
motion / robotics
projects. 520 RPM
12 Vdc, 250 mA (no load rating).
1” diameter x 2. 25” long. 6mm flatted shaft.
CAT# DCM-475
$475 each 25 for $3.75 each 100 for $3.50 each
LASER / FLASHLIGHT / PEN
Rayovac
GPLSPEN-B.
Good-looking ball point pen with
built-in laser pointer and flashlight. One
button lights a class IIIa red laser pointer,
the other lights a bright white LED flashlight.
Uses three LR44 batteries (included). Pen
writes in black ink. 5 1/2" long.
CAT# LF- 2
$495 each
EXPERIMENTER'S DELIGHT/
CHARGER BOARD
Originally a charger for
a 14.4V 2600 maH
LI-ION/LI-POLYMER
battery. The board has lots
of useful parts including a
100uh, 4.3A inductor, a MOSFET, two voltage regulators and two TO-220 heatsinks.
CAT# EX- 57 $150 each 10 for $1.20 each AC POWER CORD W/ INLINE
ROCKER SWITCH
70" power cord with
on-off rocker switch
mid-way. Black SPT- 2
18 AWG zip cord rated 300V, cULus.
CAT# LCAC-456 $250 each 96 for $2.20 each
24VDC 10A POWER SUPPLY
$3750 each
Mean Well# SP-240-24
Enclosed switching
power supply. 199mm x
93mm x 50mm. Screw
terminal input and output.
Built-in active PFC function,
PF>0.95, protections for short
circuit / overload / over voltage / over temperature, and forced air cooling by a built-in
DC fan. CE, TUV, cULus.
CAT# PS-2401
Talking Skull Kit available from the Nuts & Volts Webstore!
If you’d like to build your own talking skull kit, you’re in luck!
To make it easier and convenient, the Nuts & Volts Webstore has stocked
up with a variety of kits for differing skill levels (and parts bins) so you can
build up your own animatronic!
Go to store.nutsvolts.com for complete details on kit availability!
September 2017 49