Pee-Wee's Big Adventure Clown

[Duckbutt]

I agree, that green carpet is deceptive in the stores. I thought it was close until I got home and sat it next to the original base. Luckily it is cheap and not much is required (I still need to measure, but I believe 2 feet of a 6 or 12 foot roll would be plenty). Georgia Carpet has some that look better, I'll see when the samples arrive. I thought about Amazon or eBay, but they seem to come in full rugs there, and some definitely aren't cheap.

Here are some photos - head-less bolt into the feet, through the base, secured with washer and nut on the inside of the base. I don't have measurements handy, but I believe the bolt was exposed 1.5" out of the feet.



PS - I finally snuck a camera inside to get a photo of the motor sticker - mine is date code 2488

 

[PeeWeeFan]

If anyone on the RFP is interested in an animatronic Pennywise, just let me know. I can provide them at a lower cost than found anywhere online. My wife and I own a collectibles store and can purchase them directly from the manufacturer.

 

[Duckbutt]

Got carpet samples ordered from Georgia Carpet. They limit to 3 free samples, but luckily there were only 3 that looked close to me:
Value Grass (even has marine backing) - http://www.georgiacarpet.com/products/value-grass-indoor-outdoor-carpet.html
Arbor View (brightest color) - http://www.georgiacarpet.com/produc...300_54624-philadelphia-mainstreet-carpet.html
Sahara - http://www.georgiacarpet.com/products/sahara-indoor-outdoor-carpet.html

Can't tell much from the website photos, we'll see when they arrive. I ordered a motor too, should be here Friday (the sales lady atleast was very pleasant).

 

[PeeWeeFan]

Arbor View looks promising.

 

[billy baloney]

I agree, the other two look dark, like what you already have.

 

[Duckbutt]

Yep, we'll see when they arrive. Those were the most promising from what they had to offer anyway. The Arbor View looks better color-wise, hopefully texture and other appearance looks correct.

I'm also going to order some marine vinyl samples today. On most of the older style clowns, the orange looks like orange .. but in Big Adventure, the orange on the hat looks more red-orange. The green also seems more forest green, same shade as on the Night of the Comet clown. I'll have to figure out how their hats were made too - the 'brim' isn't just round like the newer clowns.

The quest continues ..

 

[BestBike]

The quest continues ..

The quest continues but dang … you are making great and speedy progress, DB. So … is the goal to replicate the original clown as it was manufactured or the clown from PWBA? What about you, PWF?


Q: Are the vinyl sleeves attached at the wrist or can you push them up the arm some? The reason I ask, when you get the first look at the evil clown face in the film, his right hand swipes the screen and you can se a good 5 - 6" of a thin wrist covered in grey or silver fabric. It also looks like there's a lot of folds and sagging in the sleeves and pant legs like not much is underneath. Just curious.


Keep it up, guys. -- BB

 

[Duckbutt]

My goal is to replicate the movie clown as closely as possible, and have both heads available for swapping out. I'm going by my own clown's construction and materials as much as possible, assuming the originals weren't that different.

The sleeves on mine aren't attached, they are just snug (the only pieces stapled down are the ruffled collar and very bottoms of the legs). I noticed the same thing about the evil clown's sleeves a few posts back. I agree it looks like there isn't much under the suit, so I suspect they took most/all of it off. I swear after Pee-Wee chains his bike up, the clown's torso suddenly looks puffier too.

Hopefully the speedy progress continues I think the mechanicals and head are the trickiest parts left. Finding matches for vinyl, grass, and hair may just take awhile too.

 

[PeeWeeFan]

My immediate goal is to replicate the PWBA clown. I would eventually like to restore the original as well, but the only reason I bought the clown in the first place was for display next to my bike.

Like DB's, the sleeves on mine are not attached with only the ruffles stapled. The arms of my clown are covered with a dark gray foam, which I believe is commercial-grade pipe insulation. That may explain the 5 - 6" of gray that you spotted.

 

[PeeWeeFan]

I believe that I may have found the wheels for the base. Lowe's (at least online) carries one that is 1" wide with 5" diameter.

 

[Duckbutt]

Cool, that does look like mine .. I'll stop by Lowe's tonight and compare. I looked for these previously, but I suspect they're in the mower section (most 5" wheels seem to be for either mowers or hand trucks). I was really trying to find one with a metal/reflective 'hub cap', like in the movies. I haven't found anything close to that yet .. doesn't help that you can't make out the details either (the Volo museum clown on page 1 has this same base, but the wheels are different). I considered getting wheels like mine and just fashioning aluminum hub caps on later.

 

[Duckbutt]

The arms of my clown are covered with a dark gray foam, which I believe is commercial-grade pipe insulation. That may explain the 5 - 6" of gray that you spotted.

Do you have any photos of your clown with the suit off? I'd like to compare the padding - mine has carpet padding taped around the arms, a red soft fabric stapled around the legs, and a white soft fabric stapled on the shoulders. Strange assortment! Perhaps they just used whatever scraps they had around at the time ..

 

[PeeWeeFan]

The only padding that mine has is on the arms. There is a little of white stuffing in the legs, but it is not attached in any way. See pic below for insulation around the arms.

 

[Duckbutt]

Interesting - is that also stuffed into the gloves/fingers?

I found that same wheel at Lowe's, but alas it's much thicker. I suspect the 1" is the inner hub thickness - the outer wheel is more like 1.5" (which doesn't seem like much, but it sure looks huge compared to the original). The quest continues ..

 

[PeeWeeFan]

The fluffy white stuffing is in the gloves and fingers as well.

Bummer about the wheel.

 

[billy baloney]

This is the closest I could find for the wheels:

RWM Casters 5" x 1-1/4" Polyolefin Wheel with Ball Bearing for 3/8" Axle, 300 Lbs. Capacity[/h]Sold By: globalindustrial.com
Availability: Usually ships in 7 to 10 days
Stock #: T97B1102608
Price: $3.57
Qty

Product Specifications

• • WIDTH INCHES1-1/4
  • CAPACITY LBS300
  • COLOR FINISHBlack
  • AXLE SIZE INCHES3/8
  • BEARING TYPEBall
  • BRANDRWM
  • HUB LENGTH INCHES1-1/2
  • LIMITED WARRANTY1 Year
  • MANUFACTURERS PART NUMBERPOB-0512-06
  • PACKAGE QUANTITY1

See more details about this product[/h]

 

[PeeWeeFan]

That's 1/4 inch closer. I went to a local farm supply store today, and they carried 1-3/8" wheels. Personally, 1/4" difference wouldn't bother me too much.

 

[Duckbutt]

The Arbor View sample arrived today, and luckily looks spot on - color, material, grass density are all pretty darn close. It comes in 12' width, so I am going to order a 3' long roll. That should leave plenty for a second base if someone (PeeWeeFan) wants to buy the scraps off me when I'm done.

Here are some comparison photos (the last is a little unfair since the sample was tilted)

 

[billy baloney]

PeeWeeFan said:

That's 1/4 inch closer. I went to a local farm supply store today, and they carried 1-3/8" wheels. Personally, 1/4" difference wouldn't bother me too much.

Me neither, I don't think anyone would be able to point that out, except maybe guys who have one, even then I doubt it!, Ha, Ha, they're close enough for the girls I go with, and the price is right.

 

[Duckbutt]

I finally took enough staples out to get the front half of my clown's torso off. Here's a photo of him and a closeup of the mechanism (pardon the duct tape - quick fix for crumbling carpet padding when I first got him!).



Motor also arrived, pretty much spot on replacement. Obviously lots of work left to do to create the mechanism and large plate that holds everything together.


I ordered some 3" pom poms for the clown suit also. Trying to find the stretchy trim fabric for the ruffle collar so I can replace with black. I'll have plenty of these pom poms leftover if anyone needs some. Here's a photo comparing against the movie suit ..