Chaney's upper body consists of 1 1/2 inch PVC pieces
connected to the wooden leg-frame with a large U bolt. This is useful when
storing the prop since the entire upper half can be untightened and dismantled.
You can get a variety of fittings to connect the PVC "skeleton" together.
Experiment with different arm lengths and positions. The hands are constructed
with urethane foam-in-a-can sprayed over coat hanger wire (you can see a good
example of how to do this on Mr. Barlow's page.) Don't worry about getting the
hands perfect - you want them to look gnarled and misshapen.
Give the prop some depth by constructing legs out of
chickenwire. Size the wire by cutting it with a pair of wirecutters, wrap it
around the leg, and twist the ends of the wire together, forming a cylinder
shape around the wood. You can mold and shape the rigid, yet flexible wire to
give the leg some dimension. Don't forget to cut some small triangular shapes
for the feet.
Now you can add some stability and texture with
Monster Mud. Start by cutting the landscape burlap into strips. Then mix up a
small batch of Monster Mud by combining 5 parts joint compound to 1 part black
paint. You may want to wear gloves and put a drop cloth down - this part gets
messy. Thoroughly saturate a strip of burlap into the Mud and work it in well
with your hands. Wring out the excess, and wrap the burlap around the
chickenwire as if you were working with paper mache'. Working with one strip at
a time, cover the legs until you reach the top. Allow this to dry for at least
24 hours, then you can apply a coating of spray paint for color. I used black
for the feet, and a dark green for the legs. When the paint is dry, you can
apply a small coat of polyurethane in a spray bottle to weatherproof
it.
Now construct a wire body to give the torso some
dimension. Apply Monster Mud and burlap the same way you did for the legs, only
add a few long pieces in the front that drape down from the neck to simulate a
robe or cloak. Allow time to dry and paint if desired. Most of the upper body
will be covered with black burlap material, so you don't really need to paint
it. When applying the Mud for the body, take care to not let the wet burlap
"attach" to the legs as it dries. This way, the pieces won't fuse together, and
you will be able to disassemble the upper body to store the prop after
Halloween.
The mask fits over a styrofoam wig form, which is
mounted onto a smaller piece of PVC that is slightly longer than the PVC piece
used for the body. You can use liquid nails or another brand of adhesive to fix
the PVC onto the styrofoam head. By doing this, you can place the head with the
smaller PVC piece into the larger body PVC piece, allowing you to turn the head
of your figure any direction you want. This will give you some variety in
displaying the prop.
Chaney's lantern is an inexpensive (around 20 bucks)
lamp that operates on lamp oil, and I was concerned about using an open flame
with this prop, so I made a few modifications to make it light up with an
electric flicker bulb. I removed the lamp wick assembly, and inserted a
standard light socket between the glass chamber and the oil well. I removed the
bottom of the lamp with a can opener, fed the wires through the bottom, and
connected them with wire nuts to a standard extension cord. All you have to do
is cut the female end of the cord off, pull apart the two sections of wire down
about an inch, remove 1/2 inch of the insulation surrounding each of the wires,
and connect them to the wires from the socket. Be sure not to cross the wires
in your connection. If this seems unclear, then don't attempt it. Better to be
safe than sorry.
Finally, purchase some black burlap from a fabric
store, or use old black sheets, and cut some tattered rags to cover the body
and conceal the neckline of the prop. The lantern wire can be hidden within the
fabric, and won't be visible at all in the dark. Add a top hat and you've got a
Mr. Chaney to call your very own! Have fun!
