We are close to the end of our
project by this point. The only
thing left now is to set up our
chopping ax and then get him all
dressed for the party. By now you
have triggered your executioner
about 75 times to the great joy of
your kids and the family dog.
 You
might have also found out that if
he was standing under a light
fixture that he really does go up
to 8' high even without his 1' tall
mask! Be careful that you have the
room to trigger this guy! The above
photo shows the way your killer
will look once fully dressed and
armed. The ax you see is a standard
issue rigid foam ax that came with
a hard paper handle that I quickly
tossed and replaced with 3/4" PVC
pipe. You will need to cut this to
60" long and make your bottom cut
at a 45 degree angle. You will then
attach the pipe to the ax (the post
in the ax was wood, so I could
attach solidly to it) with drywall
screws. Notice the mount to the
right hand is a 1/4" bolt through
the PVC pipe and the ABS hand. I
cut a slit in the latex glove so I
could spin a nut on to the end of
the bolt underneath the latex hand
to cover it up. After putting the
bolt through the pipe, use a washer
and then a nut to allow a slight
play for the movement of the pipe
on the bolt. Then send the rest of
the bolt through and nut solid to
the hand.
Here is the mount to the ax. As you
can see, the PVC pipe is 45 degrees
mated at the bend. The two pieces
are attached with a small gate
hinge with machine screws and lock
nuts through the pipe for a very
secure attachment at the outside of
the joint. The other end of the
short 5” to 6” section is attached
to the wood platform with another
hinge.
 Notice
that this hinge is only attached to
the board with one screw and even
that one is not tight. This
attachment is loose on purpose.
When the right hand triggers and
sends the top of the ax out 8”, the
joint that normally rests on the
floor will be lifted into the air
about an inch, and there is a
chance that the ax handle will need
to have a small amount of side to
side play due to the air cylinder
rod turning an 8th turn upon
extension. Notice in the photo on
the right above the pipe is lifted.
You will also notice there is a
switch mounted here on a modified L
bracket that is mounted to the
horizontal pipe section. This is
the trigger that closes the circuit
for the executioner’s voice. The
switch we used here is from OSH and
is a normally
closed circuit. When the ax
has reset to its normal position,
it opens the circuit once again,
disengaging the sound. I have this
wire going to a voice recorder /
playback device that is triggered
by two points being closed. The
trigger I use for the air rams
to actuate is a motion detector
flood light modified with a 110
solenoid to fire an Event Control
Timer (created by Jim Kadel of
Haunt Masters) that limits the
amount of time the animatronic
receives power and then will delay
resetting for the next trigger to
the desired time. This gives your
TOT enough time to get tired of
trying to trip your animatronic 25
times to watch him work, and move
on to the next phase of your haunt.
  
See
him in action
Well
here is the moment of truth creeps,
the finished product. Now when
triggered, you will see his ax chop
out for your head, his other hand
reaching out and even twisting as
it moves, while his already
intimidating head shoots to over 8
feet in the air! I run my Aerial
Executioner at 95 lbs air pressure
with the settings that I use with
my event. Your air pressure may
vary if you set your trim valves at
different settings, including the
valves that allow the head and
hands to reset. The speed at which
the air bleeds out of the system
has a great deal to do with the
amount of air pressure you will
use. I have mine set so the head
comes back down rather quickly, to
reset faster. The screaming voice
and trigger system I use for him
can be found
here.
I hope you have great
success with your project. Send me
pictures of your completed project!
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