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Build your own
Old Laughing Bucky
by Chuck Rice
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(Note: Click on any picture to enlarge it)
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The Anatomical Chart
Company sells skeletal models to the Scientific and Medical
communities. They have very nice skeletons and skulls, but they
tend to be very expensive. Fortunately for Hauntists, it is difficult
to make quality skeletons and there are many that come out of
the molds that are not medical or even teaching quality. ACC calls these Forth Quality
or Fourths. They generally have some flaw or flaws that make
them unusable for teaching, but perfect for Halloween. ACC sells
these for greatly reduced prices to the Haunted House market.
To order, call Marilyn Lack at 1-800-621-7500 ext 235. (The Halloween
Desk )
I purchased some of the rejected Budget Bucky Skulls ($5)
and came up with this simple modification for making the skull
animate. I moved the jaw forward, attaching it to the cheekbone
instead of at the normal place. This results in giving Bucky
a severe under byte and making it look like he is smiling all
the time. I attached the jaw with string, allowing it to swing
free. When Bucky moves, his jaw will swing back and forth as
if he is laughing. Finally, I added a bracket and attached him
to the front door. Anytime the door is moved, Buckys jaw starts
swinging making him laugh at the visitor!
Note that the flash of the cameras washed out the yellow of
the teeth and made the green in the eyes different.
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| The Bracket |
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I went to
the hardware store and purchased an Over Door Hanger. It is designed
to hang over a closet door so that you can hang clothing on it.
It provides a strong holder for the skull without requiring the
House Door to be damaged. |
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I then cut
it off, drilled a hole through it, and inserted a length of 1/4
inch threaded rod. I used a wing nut on the bottom of the hanger
because of the way it was made. Finally I covered it with heat
shrink tubing. |
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The Heat
shrink tube gives it a finished look. I also put some shrink
tube on the threaded rod. |
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Next I drilled
a hole through Buckys skull from top to bottom and inserted the
other end of the threaded rod. Because of the angle of the skull
at that point I bent the rod so I could bolt it on better. |
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This picture
shows the attachment of the jaw. Note that it would normally
be attached about 2 inches back at the depression near the base
of the skull, but I attached it by drilling a hole through the
cheekbone into the eye socket. Then I ran a piece of string through
it and tied it off, leaving a gap of about a quarter of an inch
so the jaw can swing free. |
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This shows
the jaw from the front. Once you have it positioned correctly,
you can drip a bit of thick super glue into the string holes
and when dry, cut the knots off. |
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Here you
can see how extensive the under byte is! |
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| The Finishing Touches |
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To finish
Laughing Bucky off, I used shoe polish to darken him, then I
sprayed fluorescent green in his eyes and painted his teeth fluorescent
yellow. My wife had a fall wreath on the door, and OLB just seemed
to fit it perfectly! I added a black light to the porch and he
is guarding the house! |
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Please note:
I can make no warranties on the methods and procedures presented
here. I have built this device, but your tools and skills are
unknown to me. Proceed at your own risk.
I also do not endorse any of the products here. They are just
the products I chose to use for this project. You may find that
they work better or worse for you. Experiment for yourself. That
is half the fun!
On the other hand, if there is a step or procedure here that
you do not understand, let me know using the Comments
button and I will see what I can do to explain it better. -Chuck-
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