Hi all. I'm a physics student with an interest in props (obviously), especially ones with animatronics. I am a relative beginner, and am in the middle of working on my first real project: an Audrey 2 Plant, from the Little Shop of Horrors. I'm about to make a post about it in the relevant forum, partly because I am looking for a little bit of advice/reassurance in some areas, and partly because I like to show off. Hope to see you there! In the future, I would really like to build a full-size K9 from Doctor Who - but that's a long way off, I think.
Doesn't anyone post here in discussion? It's really fun to read posts here, and try to imagine where each person is. Clearly we all enjoy a participation (vicariously) in movies or times. I do own some Star Trek props, LOTR props, etcetera.
Gyro :wave: , the physics-thing makes for more realistic props, doesn't it? I've always wanted a "light saber" (have three of the Hasbro toys), but haven't figured out how to do a "projected mirror". (Laser power INSIDE of a resonant cavity is many times higher than emitted.) I do have a laser pointer in the 1000mW range, easily lights matches and burns paper (and really messes up houseflies' wings!). Would love to figure out how to make a non-contact "stun device" like the SG1's "zat gun". Perhaps an actual antigravity device. Do you know about the Alcubierre drive?
RE "animatronics" to you and everyone else, as I said in a previous post, there is an approaching season that lends itself to "experimentation" -- Halloween comes with many animated displays, motorized, talking, lighted. These things go half-price November 1st, and often 75% off if they've not sold. You could easily "repurpose" an animatronic framework, all of the hard work of creating a structure and placing motors is done. There's not much you can do with the voice modules, they're always "COBS" (chip-on-board dedicated circuits with digitized sound). But one could always get a sound module from Radio Shack or Amazon, and record anything he/she wants. If you're good at programming PICS or ARDUINO boards, you can activate various sounds in response to specific sensors and make your character interactive; you can also do that with simple gates (4000 series CMOS works on any voltage from 3 to 15). The Halloween devices usually have a CDS cell "motion detector".
I replaced the COB board in a "Cookie Hut" jar, it played a knockoff version of "The Ballad of Gilligan", but only 10 seconds; now it plays the whole 20-second opening (the ORIGINAL, not a poor knockoff), the 30-second closing, and (eventually) will have ten seconds of an episode ("Skipper! Skiiiiipeeerrrrr!" "GILLIGAN!") That sound chip comes in at least 30-second and 60-second versions, and will play recordings in SEQUENCE (every time I open the cookie-jar a different clip plays).
Keep us posted!