OPERATION - The Halloween Costume: TAKE 3

Step 2 THE BOX & THE FLASHING

For the main body I went with a cardboard box. I loved the originals idea of using candy (after all it is Halloween!) for the innards. I actually entertained the idea of using an a plastic fake belly and cutting holes in it. However, I couldnt find anything suitable. So I went with the cardboard box. The box was an 18 X 18 X 27 dishpack picked up at the local U-Store shop. It ended up being just the right size. To house the candy I decided to use simple boxes glued on the interior of the torso. I picked up the boxes at The Container Store. Image 1 shows the interior with the small boxes glued into place. The long Spare Ribs box was two smaller ones cut and glued/taped together.

I created templates to trace onto the torso and then used a utility knife to cut the holes. Using a tin snips, I cut flashing to size ensuring that the opening was ¼ inch smaller all around than the holes were. I then super-glued the flashing over the holes. I left a strip attached to each piece of flashing and tucked that inside the box.

You can kinda see in image 2 (at the top hole) how the strip folds into a small slit in the cardboard. It was to the strip on the inside that I attached the wiring. Note that I used a physical connection for the wires. I learned ahead of time that aluminum cant be soldered properly so I went the route of punching a hole in the strip and securing wires to it with a screw, nut and lock washer. Image 3 is a piece of the flashing used for the 3 by 3 hole.


For the head hole I used a pot lid to trace it out. I centered it a little towards the back in to give me a little more room between the front (with the interior boxes attached) and my body. For the arm holes I used a smaller pot lid. However, for these holes I ended up having to make the holes more oval shaped in order to slide my arms out when removing the body. Once the holes were in I painted the box. I first used some Kilz" primer and then for the red standard interior latex (semi-gloss). The yellow was acrylic paint from the craft store.

Image 4 is a shot from the Top and Back. The wire coming out of the top connects to the mask to supply the LED in the nose. The wire coming out the side connects to metal kitchen tongs the people will use to extract candy from the holes. I used quick disconnects on these wires to make the disassembly easier. The Cavity Sam on the back came right from the game and is there for decoration only.