Halloween Groundbreaker - Made From Scratch!

Please consider voting for me and giving this project a love if you like it :) Hello and welcome to my step-by-step tutorial on how to make a Groundbreaker Halloween decoration! I am a young engineer and woodworker, as this is what I love to do. It has a circular motion, powered by a window wiper motor! You can find these and purchase them for a lot more, or build this one to keep a budget-friendly awesome decoration that moves! To start this spooky project, you must first gather the resources needed. Most of these items can be found around the house that you already own :) This project is sure to spice up youe halloween setup! The materials below explains a detailed cut-up list on everything you need, instead of saying where you have to cut and what to do with the materials. The pictures illustrated show some parts already assembled, to give you a rough idea on what this project will be like.

Materials required:

PVC Pipes + fittings required below: All available from your local hardware store

- 2 x 22cm long PVC cuttings for shoulders (2cm diameter)

- 2 x 31cm long PVC cuttings for upper arms (2cm diameter)

- 2 x 45 degree angle PVC fittings (Designed to hold 2cm diameter pipes)

- 2 x 90 degree angle PVC fittings (Designed to hold 3cm diameter pipes)

- 1 x T-shaped PVC fitting (Designed to hold 3cm diameter pipes)

- 1 x T-shaped PVC fitting (Designed to hold 2cm diameter pipes)

- 2 x PVC flange (Designed to hold 3cm diameter pipes) - you can get these at your local hardware store

- 2 x 28cm long PVC cuttings for the stand (3cm diameter)

- 1 x 76cm long PVC cutting for lower body (3cm diameter)

- 2 x 26cm long PVC cuttings for forearms (2cm diameter)

- 1 x 15cm long PVC cutting for rotation of the base (2cm diameter)

- 1 x 26cm long PVC cutting for upper body (3cm diameter)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are the miscellaneous items you need + the tools:

- 1 x Window wiper motor

- Power source for motor

- Motor clamp

- 2 x black Gloves

- Hot glue gun + hot glue

- A drill

- Some screws

- Some rubber bands

- Some zip ties

- 1 x Medium sized spring

- Zombie mask + shirt (costume)

- 2 x (25cm long x 18.5cm wide x 3cm thick) wood planks for stand (and weighted down)

- 2 x (18.5cm long x 13cm wide x 2cm thick) wood planks for stability for the base

- 2 x 25cm long pool noodle cuttings (For thickening of the upper arms)

- 2 x 19cm long pool noodle cuttings (For thickening the lower arms)

- A foam head

- Some green cheesecloth

Firstly, the design obviously has to stand - that is where the stability of the stand is useful. Grab the 2 (18.5cm x 13cm x 2cm) wood blocks and place them next to each other. Then, grab the other two (25cm x 18.5cm x 3cm) wood blocks and place them on top of the bottom wood facing the other direction. Insert the flanges by screwing them into the base as shown in the picture. There should be a gap of 2cm on the left side between the edge of the flange and the edge of the wood, and on the right side there should be a 1.5cm gap. Ignore the PVC pipes coming out of the flanges for now. Secondly, grab the 2 x 28cm PVC cuttings and fit them into both flanges. Then screw them in to make them sturdy. Add the motor clamp as shown in picture 1 to hold the motor in place by screwing it in.

This Halloween Decoration has to move somehow, and what better way to do it than to make it turn! For this step, you would need to grab out the 2 x 90 degree PVC fittings (3cm diameter) and place them facing each other to fit the circular motion - then glue them tight using hot glue to the PVC pipes. Then, grab the 15cm long PVC cutting (2cm diameter) and place it in between the two fittings as shown in the picture. Now, the pole wedged between the fittings should be able to freely rotate on the X-axis. Place the motor into the clamp as shown in the picture, and make sure to hot glue it down exactly where it is (shown in the picture) as that really matters! Grab a screw as shown in the picture, and hot glue it into the ditch of the wiper motor for stability...you will find out what that is for later. Great, you have now done the rotation mechanism!

The zombie will be the main build, as this is what makes it Halloween-Themed! First, grab the 1 x 76cm long PVC cutting (3cm diameter) and drill a 0.5cm hole right through it 24.5cm from the bottom. Then, drill a hole right through the rotation PVC pipe that you placed between the fittings earlier to attach it. Once drilled, put a long screw through both of the holes that you drilled to finally attach the lower body. Hot glue the end of the screw as shown in the picture for stability. Feed the bottom of the pipe you just installed over the top of the screw in the wiper motor as shown in the picture. Attach both T-shaped PVC fittings to the top of the lower body pipe - the one designed to fit 2cm pipes goes on the bottom (the smaller one), and the other one - designed to fit 3cm - goes on top as shown in the picture. Attach both T-fittings with hot glue for stability. Grab the 1 x 26cm long PVC cutting for the upper body (3cm diameter) then attach it to the top T fitting you have just glued together, as shown in the picture. Attach 5-10 rubber bands around the design in a triangular form like the last picture shows - up and around the screw, to keep it altogether. Congratulations! The zombie's spine has now been constructed.

Now, as we have already created the spine, we can build off of it to give the project a little bit of depth and detail. Get the 2 x 22cm cuttings of PVC (2cm in diameter) for the shoulders, and insert them in each side of the T-shaped PVC fitting (designed for 2cm diameter pipes) on the bottom to form the shoulders as shown in the picture. Make sure to put some hot glue around every joint you add for stability. Secondly, grab the 2 x 32cm cuttings (2cm diameter) to construct the arms. Drill a hole at the end of each shoulder part and at the start of each upper arm part as shown in the picture to then put a zip-tie through each side to provide room to move - this will be aiding arm movement. Thirdly, attach both the 45 degree PVC fittings to the ends of the upper arms to act as the elbow joint as illustrated in the picture. Attach the 2 x 26cm long PVC pipes (2cm in diameter) to the 45 degree fittings, but do not add hot glue just yet. Grab both of the gloves and fill them with whatever you have lying around, like pompoms or paper towels to thicken them up. Attach the ends of the gloves via hot glue to the lower arms - put the lower arms on the ground for now. Now, the chest and shoulders are done!

Now...here comes the fun part! Firstly, grab the 2 x 25cm long pool noodle cuttings to thicken up the arms of your zombie. Cut a slim chunk out of each pool noodle as illustrated in the picture to then add zip ties around them to secure them to the upper arm pipe by making them smaller - make sure they go on the upper arm. Grab the 2 x 19cm pool noodle cuttings and repeat what was done to the two previous pool noodle cuttings, make them fit nicely around the LOWER arms. Remember - do not attach the lower arms to the upper arms yet. Now that the arms have been thickened, get your zombie shirt and put it over your creation so far - that is why the lower arms should be out - you cannot get the shirt over without bending or shortening the limbs. Then, grab the lower arms and attach them to the dressed zombie's upper arms via hot glue. Great, your zombie is finally coming together!

You could end this project right here if you want, but just to add to the awesomeness scale of this project, it would be beneficial to add a head. Grab your foam head and spring and drill a hole in the bottom of the foam head. Insert the spring through the hole as the picture illustrates, and secure it in with hot glue. Secondly, drill a hole that corresponds to the length of your spring and place a screw through, locking the head in place which will attach the head. Put the zombie mask over the head and attach it to the body using some staples, plus add any necessary weights to make the head thrash back and forth. The spring is useful to make the head circle around in a thrashing motion. Finally, drape the green cheesecloth from the bottom of the shirt to the ground as if the ground has been separated. Plug in the power supply to the motor, and watch as you zombie thrashes out of the underworld, struggling to get through! Well done! ***add picture of cheesecloth drape