Pee-Wee's Big Adventure Bike

[billy baloney]

I don't know how brittle the plastic is, is it like egg shell fragile or is it durable enough to make a mold?, maybe you could reinforce the back with fiberglass resin and mat and then seal the front with a couple of coats of satin clear to make it sturdier.

there is a few products available for life casting, Smooth-on makes a product called Body Double that is silicone based, that's easy to work with and looks very easy to demold, there are several tutorials on you tube about it.

if it's gentle enough for human skin, it should work for the clown face, I don't know, just throwing the idea out there.

 

[PeeWeeFan]

Areas of it are almost egg shell fragile. There was definitely no UV inhibitor used in the plastic. The plastic that was painted are the strongest areas. I think you're right about reinforcing the inside with fiberglass.

I looked at the Smooth-On Body Double. It seems like a good option.

 

[Ruddigger]

Silicone might very well lift the paint. Just so you know.

 

[billy baloney]

Not if you clear it first

 

[Duckbutt]

Cool a fellow clown owner! I found one of these several years ago, and haven't seen another one since (I have a complex eBay search for these that I check every night). I don't want to modify my original, so I'm also planning to mold the head (and shoes) and make a whole new clown - yes my wife is thrilled about this too! The rest of the body is mostly wood frame, the motor/mechanics aren't too complicated, suit and hat are stapled vinyl. The same polka dot suit with double ruffle collar can still be found today too.

Mine has no identifying marks, but almost every one I've found on the internet looks the same - green/red/yellow suit, new face paint job, less afro-like wig. I suspect the design was changed at some point to be somewhat more modern. The ones made in the 70s looked exactly like the Pee-Wee clown - more detailed face paint, puffy wig, skinnier body, and a salmon/yellow suit. You can also see one of these in 'Night of the Comet'.

I actually keep mine in the foyer, sometimes pushed up to the glass in the door. I call him my security system

 

[Duckbutt]

Double-post - here are some photos of my clown. Luckily he is in almost perfect shape, so his head would be a good candidate to mold (I even considered sculpting a mold - the head is two halves fused together, so I'd hate to destroy mine cutting it open to plaster each half).

If you compare the features with the closeup in the movie, you can see the head is cast from the same mold .. so they just changed the paintjob slightly (same general idea, but looks sloppier; the skin color is more realistic too, the older models had more yellowish skin).

The mechanics are pretty simple, but I don't have a photo. A motor shaft is coupled to the upper body to turn it side-to-side; another coupling moves the arm up and down . The arm is thick metal wire covered in carpet padding, so can be bent to wave nice and high just like in the movie (for some reason most of the clowns I've seen have this arm pointed to the floor, so they don't look like they're waving).

Finally, a photo with the polka dot suit thrown on top (it's a real pain to take the vinyl suit off). Only differences from the movie suit are minor and easily fixed - collar trim is red instead of black, pom-poms are random colors. The hat in the movie is the original hat though (just stuffed with something to keep it pointed up).



One last thing - here's a neat video I found of a TV show where a guy brings an older model clown in to sell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e39CVBVkyrg

Duckbutt

 

[PeeWeeFan]

Wow! That clown is pristine! Looks awesome. Makes my clown look a little pathetic :lol

I hope to reinforce the head enough to make a mold and then vacuum form more heads, then everyone can make their own clown. There are several new animatronic 6-foot figures that have the same motion that could be used.

 

[PeeWeeFan]

I found out who made the clown. It is a company called Marshal Moody. Unfortunately, they no longer make the clown and do not have any spare parts, other than the motor which is still available from Rex Engineering (Part #097).

 

[Duckbutt]

Wow, how did you find that out? Did yours have a badge on it somewhere? If you are emailing them already, any history they can provide on the clown (or its revisions, or appearances in movies) would be interesting.

For the sake of not hijacking this thread, feel free to make a separate thread just about these clowns. I'd love to post all the info and photos I've accumulated over the years (as well as measurements and progress on clown cloning).

 

[PeeWeeFan]

I noticed the motor had the manufacturer's name (Rex Engineering), date, part number, and customer ID. I called Rex, and they said the motor was custom but they still carried it because people always called in every year wanting a replacement motor for their animatronic santas. Rex said the company that made the animatronics was Marshal Moody but it had gone out of business. I called Marshal Moody, but they no longer make the animatronics. The guy at Marshal Moody did say that he wished he still had the molds for the clown head. My clown (or at least its motor) was made in April 1985.

Another thread would be great, but I think only Premium Members can create them. Maybe Ruddigger could assist with that?

 

[Duckbutt]

Apparently I can create thread okay - here's one for the clowns - http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=241256

Duckbutt

 

[DalekMcFly]

After three years of hard work, research, and a boat load of money, I finally got her done!, let me know what you guys think, I think it's as screen correct as you can get!

View attachment 488215 View attachment 488216

Saw that ebay listing today looking for parts and got quite a laugh out of it. For the price of that bike you could get the right Schwinn and still have money left over! Nice find billy!

 

[Ruddigger]

My favorite part is the lack of pedals, so not only is it hideous, it's also unrideable.

 

[DalekMcFly]

Not to mention the flat tires, bike seems to be more of a deathtrap than a replica. Honestly I doubt it's going to sell. Anyone interested in the original would probably prefer to build one with the right parts. Seems like perfect timing to sell it though as it is the 30th anniversary.

 

[PeeWeeFan]

Dropped my parts off to be powder coated today. Feel like I'm moving forward again.

 

[billy baloney]

Right on, that's always a good thing, I'm doing my saddle bag molds and it's so labor intensive, it's like pulling teeth, I feel like I'm going backwards instead forward!

 

[Ruddigger]

Ugh, saddlebags.

 

[kevjh]

 

[turboFrank]

Kevjh your bike looks great!

 

[billy baloney]

Well, we finally got one side saddlebag mold done and popped out the first cast, one down, three to go, seems like this project is in super slow motion, don't it?