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 For this section of our project you will need one blow-mold skeleton. I
choose the slightly higher quality ones sold by stores such as Target rather
than the infamous ones sold at Big Lots. While they do look alike, the Target
skellies' plastic is thicker and makes a better quality finished product that
will hold up better in
 the rough environment I usually put mine in. You will
also need some ping pong balls, some paint (I used air brush paint and a small
brush for this project) and some Crayola Model Magic. You will also need a night
gown for a young girl around 11. Not shown were some LED EYES from Haunt Masters
are what I used;
hauntmasterproducts.com/7.html
in the shade of green. I will admit that I ordered mine in red and then went
down to the local Radio Shack and bought two green LEDs to replace the actual
light bulb on this assembly that were not the SUPER BRIGHT as offered by Haunt
Masters. I wanted a more of a smoldering eye look rather than the very piercing
brighter light.
 This year I was fortunate enough to run across a website by Merlin at
hauntershangout.com/home/smokeyjoe.asp that showed a bright technique of making
a blow mold skeleton much more poseable by fitting one with an interior frame of
PVC. We will be using that idea here. First you will cut the arm ends out of the
torso large enough to send a 1/2" x 13" pipe through. We will then be
attaching a 90 degree fitting to each end of the shoulder pipe to put the arms
on.
 For arms you will need two sections 16" long. I went to the
trouble of cutting the ends out of the arm bones and heating them up with a heat
gun and sliding them on each end of my arm sections. I am not sure this really
added anything to my puppet since her arms are totally covered by the night
gown, but the little bit of bulking it offers may add something. I bent each arm
into a 30 degree bend in the middle first before putting the bones on.
Next I cut out the end of the hands for the end of the arm pipes to slip into
and fastened them using #8 x 3/4" pan head screws through the hand and into
the pipe for a secure hold.
Next cut off
the pelvic bone and carve an angled
cut out of the bottom of the spine
of the torso just enough for the
angled aluminum to slip into. If
you keep this square to the torso
this angled slot will keep your
puppet facing forward. I used a jig
saw to cut this slot on mine. To
get the aluminum all the way up to
the shoulder pipe you may need to
use the heat gun again to soften
the plastic. Then simply drill
about three holes through the back
and into the aluminum and fasten
with #8 x 3/4" pan head screws.
Keep the aluminum from touching the
shoulder pipe so the arms will
swing freely, as this is part of
the animation for her attack.
 To keep the head facing forward you can put one screw through the back
of the base of Regan's head and into the top of the spine shaft that bumps up
inside the head. I also put another screw from inside her mouth cavity through
the bottom of the mouth area and into the spine shaft. So this head isn't going
anywhere.
 I cleaned the paint off the skull before marking where I needed to cut out
by using lacquer thinner. Then I simply marked and cut out two eyes. I used a
small, sharp pocket knife for this step but you may want to use an exacto knife.
Remember, cutting plastic is a fast way to cut yourself. Be very careful here.
For the open mouth and the detail gaps between the teeth I used a Roto Zip tool
and cleaned up the jagged edges with my knife. At the nose you see here one of
the knobs on the end of an arm bone that I attached with a drywall screw from
inside the head. If you look close you will see that I opened a
"hatch" in the back of the skull to facilitate the placement of her
glowing eyes.
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