"Return of the Living Dead 2" Zombie Barrel Build (UPDATE 11-28-10) w/ VIDEO

Rusty85

A few more...

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darthgordon

Excellent. I think the drum you started with will be perfect. The placement of the bungs and outside wall of the drum is pretty spot on. Hopefully you kept at least one of the lids.

Not sure what that dome top is.

The keypad is interesting. It only has 6 numbers on it and some sort of blue and red triangle... which may correspond the red and blue lights.

The paint-up is really going to be what sells it.

jasonw2112

O.k., I know this may not be much help, but I'm a huge Return of the living Dead Fan! I was able to go to Monsterpalooza in Burbank in April, and I meet the whole cast, but James Karen, and Clu Gulager. I later meet James Karen at Wonderfest. Anyways, When I was at Monsterpalooza, a vender was selling "Tarman" Half head sculpt's for $100.00. I was so consumed with everything going on that I did'nt think to buy one. I have looked far and wide since then to get one, but I have been unable to find out who cast them. I'm still kicking myself in the a## for not getting it when I was there, but I'm going to look through the program from the show. I might be able too find out the vendor who made them. Here's a pick of me with "chuck" holding a sculpt he purchased for himself!

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Rusty85

Yeah true. A guy that did one gave me some tips on the paint, but I'm always listening if anyone's got any good advice on the painting. Colors, technique or anything really. He recommended using Krylon Fushion Hunter Green as a base (after the layers of primer). And then said to use a bunch of nasty colored oil-based paints and mix them together and spray them from a spray bottle at the top, letting it drip down the sides.

It looks like the top sticker says:

ENTER ACCESS MEMBER CODE

ENTER COLOR CODE

ACTIVATE __________ ___________

Rusty85

Nice!!! Never seen one that's the melted version

jasonw2112

Oh, before you go cakeing paint on the barrel, you may want to do some paint preping! First you need to clean the outside with warm soapy ( no aloe! ) water to remove any contaminants from the surface. Than get some red scotch brite pads and scuff it down real good. This will let the paint grab into the plastic better. Then clean the plastic again to remove what you scuffed. When you get it nice and clean, and ready to paint, go to your local auto paint supply shop, and get some plastic adhesion promoter. They have it in spray cans, a good brand is "bulldog adhesion promoter". This helps make paint stick, to all sorts of plastics. You just need to apply 1 good coat to the whole canister,then let it set for about 15 minutes. After that, apply your first overall color! This may sound like a pain, but if you want the paint to stick the best it can stick, follow these rules! As far as the fusion paint goes,I have yet to see it really make a difference in adhesion. The other factor that causes the paint to come off is bending, or flexing the plastic. This is where adhesion promoter comes in. In the end there is still a chance for the paint to scratch, and chip off, but this will really help out in the long run.

Rusty85

Thanks for the tips! I've been sanding for a while now, so that should help the adhesion.

Howlrunner

The melted version was made by the same guy I bought the pre-melt version from. I remember he had the melted version up on eBay a while after I bought the pre-melt version. Both were done from original molds.

Bilious

Omg this was one of the first zombie movies (among a million) I was exposed to to desensitize me to horror films and so holds a very special place in my heart. I can't wait to see how this build goes! And taking notes in case I ever have a need to decorate... >:3

Jet Beetle

They may not discuss the barrels in the commentary but they do talk about how things were done on the cheap. There's a scene they point out where the General who has been searching for the barrels gets on the phone and takes notes - if the look at the phone cord it's coming unglued from the counter. It's pretty funy

mrsmartypants

The top says ACCESS INSTRUCTIONS

I think the first line actually says ENTER ACCESS NUMBER CODE

Also, it looks like the last line says ACTIVATE RELEASE _________
Perhaps HANDLE is the final word?

Thoughts?

mrsmartypants

Hey Rusty, have you seen this? Zombie Barrel Prop

There are some nice photos that might help you in assembling your barrel.

I'm watching this thread with much interest!

Rusty85

Hey, yeah I think you're right. It didn't sound like Member Code made much sense, lol. I'm betting you're right on the third one too. I didn't even notice the top part of the sticker.

I saw that link, that's actually the same guy that gave me the instructions on the painting. He did a great job on it, although I don't care much for the wires coming out the front. We exchanged a few messages but he never really told me why he didn't make the dome top to it. My guess is he made so many it would have been even more time consuming to make the lids for them all, I think he said he made 12 or something along those lines.

He says he sold one to a store in Pittsburgh in the Monroeville Mall over there. I'm assuming that it was Time and Space Toys. He says its still on display there today. Pretty cool!

kdawg1

Man I've wanted to do one of these for years just never had the room! This is looking great......I be watching this one!

mrsmartypants

Yeah, he seems to have made an idealized version rather than a movie accurate version, though his do look very cool! I noticed he didn't have the keypad on his and the phone number to call was an 800 number instead of 311. But, they still are cool nonetheless.

I'm definitely looking forward to how yours turns out!

Knightjar

Well, this thread inspired me to dig out and photograph my sculpt. I really need to get this finished some time.

tk1055

Ok that is just creepy. I mean did you have to use flesh colored clay...... LOL Just kidding!! That looks fantastic, the details on the hands is amazing. The hands are absolutely beautiful. The joints in the fingers, the melting/rotting flesh, the eyelids, hell everything! Great job, You really need to finish that sculpt!

Rusty85

Awesome work! Looks great!

Howlrunner

Looks great Knightjar! If you want more pics of my head cast for detailing, etc then just shoot me a PM. I'd love a cast of the hands you've done to go with my head.

Rusty85

Anyone know where to buy the Scotch Brite Red Pads? Looked at Wal-mart but they didn't have them. Wouldn't sand paper get the job done?

MooCriket

Loved this movie, can't wait to see this completed

mrsmartypants

How about a hardware store or a home improvement store like Home Depot?

darthgordon

I'm pretty sure anything used to score the surface will work.

Rusty85

That's what I was thinking. I've already sanded about 60% of the outside of it. Got some strong sandpaper too, so the surface should be pretty well scuffed up by the time I'm done.

Gonna snap a pic later with the ring on it.

jasonw2112

Just check with an automotive paint supply store, they should have them! For sandpaper try to get around 320 grit. If you get too course like 180, 80 grit, you may endup having sand scratches show through the paint.Then again that could be a good thing!