Introduction: Mr. Hyde Halloween Robotic Top Hat
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About: I am a theatre designer and technical director. I work at Merely Players, a small non-profit theatre group in Southwest Colorado. Check us out on Facebook: Merely Players-Durango. You can also see some of …
I was inspired by the Mr. Hyde character in Nightmare Before Christmas to make an animated top hat. I also loved the cable control creature that Dug North detailed in last year's Make Halloween edition. I wanted a creature that could pop up partially or fully and also move its head and open its mouth.
I have been learning the Arduino board and so thought it would be a great controller.
The Scary Terry web site <http://www.scary-terry.com/> details using digital sound recorders. I also wanted to have sound with my animated hat.
I have been learning the Arduino board and so thought it would be a great controller.
The Scary Terry web site <http://www.scary-terry.com/> details using digital sound recorders. I also wanted to have sound with my animated hat.
Step 1: Create the Head Sculpture
My first step was to create a sculpture of the head. I already had a costume hat, so I measured the approximate size that seemed likely to hide completely inside the had.
I used Roma non-drying clay and made a quick sculpture. I had some costume jewelry around, so I selected a large and medium fake pearl for eyes.
Once the clay looked good, I brushed on a layer of liquid latex. To give it some body and yet keep it from getting too heavy, I added layers of toilet paper onto the wet latex and then brushed on another layer to seal it in.
Next I added Liquitex paint into the latex and brushed on a thin color layer.
After it dried, I powdered it thoroughly (baby powder or makeup powder) to keep it from sticking to itself and destroying the little mask.
I used Roma non-drying clay and made a quick sculpture. I had some costume jewelry around, so I selected a large and medium fake pearl for eyes.
Once the clay looked good, I brushed on a layer of liquid latex. To give it some body and yet keep it from getting too heavy, I added layers of toilet paper onto the wet latex and then brushed on another layer to seal it in.
Next I added Liquitex paint into the latex and brushed on a thin color layer.
After it dried, I powdered it thoroughly (baby powder or makeup powder) to keep it from sticking to itself and destroying the little mask.
Step 2: Create an Underskull
The little mask has no real structure, so I made an underskull out of aluminum roof flashing (available at hardware stores). It is very lightweight, and you can cut it with heavy scissors. I added a little brace in the back to act as a pivot so that the head could turn.
I also created a jaw and upper palette (the silver metal) so that the mouth could open and close. Black duct tape acts as a hinge between the two pieces.
A very little bit of hot glue attached to mask to the underskull.
I also created a jaw and upper palette (the silver metal) so that the mouth could open and close. Black duct tape acts as a hinge between the two pieces.
A very little bit of hot glue attached to mask to the underskull.
Step 3: The Lift Mechanism
Dug North used parallel arms to lift his creature's head. I knew that I wanted my hat to be "normal" height so that nothing would give away the effect.
I decided on a scissors lift mechanism to raise it up. After experimenting with cardboard and paper fasteners, I came up with a good size to fit in the hat and yet lift up the head enough to clear the rim of the hat.
I used some vacuumforming styrene plastic I had handy. Anything relatively rigid and yet lightweight will work. I used #6 bolts and nuts along with washers and Loctite to create the pivot points.
The lower part took some working and reworking. I ended up using square brass tubing and creating a channel for the servo arm to slide along. A 1 1/2 inch #6 bolt connected the lower scissor lift arm to the arm attached to the servo. #6 bolts ran through a piece of luan (1/4 inch thick wood) with a spacer so that the long #6 bolt can ride along the length of the brass tubing.
I found a powerful but cheap servo on ebay (133 inch ounces) to run the arm. A standard servo wasn't strong enough to raise it.
I originally used foamcore for the base, but the servo was so powerful that it buckled the foamcore.
I decided on a scissors lift mechanism to raise it up. After experimenting with cardboard and paper fasteners, I came up with a good size to fit in the hat and yet lift up the head enough to clear the rim of the hat.
I used some vacuumforming styrene plastic I had handy. Anything relatively rigid and yet lightweight will work. I used #6 bolts and nuts along with washers and Loctite to create the pivot points.
The lower part took some working and reworking. I ended up using square brass tubing and creating a channel for the servo arm to slide along. A 1 1/2 inch #6 bolt connected the lower scissor lift arm to the arm attached to the servo. #6 bolts ran through a piece of luan (1/4 inch thick wood) with a spacer so that the long #6 bolt can ride along the length of the brass tubing.
I found a powerful but cheap servo on ebay (133 inch ounces) to run the arm. A standard servo wasn't strong enough to raise it.
I originally used foamcore for the base, but the servo was so powerful that it buckled the foamcore.
Step 4: Putting It All Together
I added some very small cable control sheaths and cable and ran them to two micro-servos. One operated the mouth, and the other moved the head back and forth. I used sewing elastic to pull the parts back into place after the servo released tension.
The Arudino was programmed to control the servos. I got the basic code from the main Arduino page <http://arduino.cc>. I connected the Arduino to the EFX sound board. Using the simple Macintosh Sound Studio program I recorded sounds and then edited them for the sound I wanted. The EFX chip has the capability to play several different recorded sounds.
The main servo takes a lot of power, so I attached three 9vdc batteries to run all of the electronics.
Finally, I ran a ribbon cable out to a pad of four buttons and an off/off switch. This would run down my sleeve and into my palm.
The Arduino program read the buttons and activated four different routines.
The Arudino was programmed to control the servos. I got the basic code from the main Arduino page <http://arduino.cc>. I connected the Arduino to the EFX sound board. Using the simple Macintosh Sound Studio program I recorded sounds and then edited them for the sound I wanted. The EFX chip has the capability to play several different recorded sounds.
The main servo takes a lot of power, so I attached three 9vdc batteries to run all of the electronics.
Finally, I ran a ribbon cable out to a pad of four buttons and an off/off switch. This would run down my sleeve and into my palm.
The Arduino program read the buttons and activated four different routines.
Step 5: It's Done
After a lot of troubleshooting, the hat is ready for Halloween. The only real problem was that the servo drained the batteries after a few dozen activations. When the voltage drops below 8volts the processor behaves erratically.
Otherwise, the hat was a Halloween success!
You can find a video of the Hyde Hat in action on YouTube Mr. Hyde Hat
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE9nvD7tDS4>
Otherwise, the hat was a Halloween success!
You can find a video of the Hyde Hat in action on YouTube Mr. Hyde Hat
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE9nvD7tDS4>