Coffin Breaker Guy!

Hey guys,

So, things got really close to the wire this season, and perhaps you remember the skeleton the wife was building for a new prop this season.

If you don't remember, here's a pic...

Now, this guy was moving along at a pretty fast pace but then we got sidetracked and before we new it, we had run out of time to finish him for the new prop.

As a matter of fact, we almost didn't finish this particular prop.  The wife got really busy with the new exit columns and pumpkin toppers and I got seriously wrapped up in setting up the Hollow.

It wasn't until a couple days before Halloween that we came across Skully up there and began slapping our foreheads trying to figure out how we forgot about him.

The prop we were going to make was a Coffin Breaker, which is basically a skeleton that breaks his way out of his buried coffin.

Well, the wife asked if I could still build the coffin in time and I said I could so the plan was for me to whip up a coffin real quick and she would finish the skeleton.

So, off the garage I went, with 2 days until Halloween, and I built the framework for the coffin.

Again, this was all last minute and I didn't even think to take pictures of the building process.  I'm afraid all I got was this one picture...

The coffin is constructed with 1/4" plywood that I ripped into the various strips of wood that make the sides, the back and the base.  They are connected with pipe strapping and the screws were cut to length after installation.

Later that same day, we came across an opportunity, through a friend, to pick up a really fantastic skeleton for a very, very great price.  This ended up being perfect because we just didn't have the time we needed to complete our home made skeleton.

We decided to try the new skeleton out in this prop and he fit perfectly...

And then the wife cut out the foam pieces that would be the wood planks that make the coffin and she spray painted them brown.  Sadly, we didn't get any pictures of this process either.  It was, after all, Halloween day when she did all of this.

So, I'm afraid all we we have is a picture of the finished project, which you may remember from a previous post.  We threw a couple of shackles on his wrists and added a big chain and threw him in the Hollow, paint still wet.

And there you have him, Coffin Breaker Guy!

It's so funny, because although all this turned out to be last minute, I can honestly say he was my favorite new prop this year. 

Now we just need to come up with a new prop for old Skully up there.  Since this turned out so well, perhaps we'll wait until a couple of days from next Halloween to finish him!