Whoa, Sandworms! You h̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶'̶e̶m̶ love 'em, right?
Inspiration: Tim Burton's Beetlejuice // Spirit Halloween's Prop Design
Size: ~4' 5" tall and +10' (when all three pieces are touching, larger when spaced apart)
After seeing Spirit Halloween's smaller, ground breaker sandworm design - I figured I could build something bigger for my kids' "Trunk or Treat" at school. The prior year, I decided to build a 10X size human skull, but wanted something even bigger this year (which was foolish... given this was only my second time working with foam).
To prep for the build, I probably watched Tim Martin's Styrofoam Prop Making workshop 3... 4... maybe even 5 times to get the confidence to start.
It all started with a lot of graph paper, planning, and attempting to acquire enough 12"x12"x18" blocks of foam. From there, I blocked out my creature using Great Stuff foam spray and bamboo skewers to hold the blocks together. Once everything was blocked out - I drew some general outlines and got to chopping (hand saw), shaping (hotwire), and carving (rasps and razor blades).
The only non-foam block/board elements were the foam clay used around the eyes and teeth, as well as to make the tongue; and then the epoxy eyes, which I poured because I could not find the exact size I wanted for a reasonable price.
Around the base of the three sections I used more Great Stuff to buildup "dirt" and then artificial grass to cover up the plywood bases.
The sandworm was a HUGE hit at both "Trunk or Treat" and on Halloween!
My favorite thing about it is probably the fact that it is semi-load bearing... as my 10 year-old sat on the mid-section for a family photo op.
Size: ~4' 5" tall and +10' (when all three pieces are touching, larger when spaced apart)
After seeing Spirit Halloween's smaller, ground breaker sandworm design - I figured I could build something bigger for my kids' "Trunk or Treat" at school. The prior year, I decided to build a 10X size human skull, but wanted something even bigger this year (which was foolish... given this was only my second time working with foam).
To prep for the build, I probably watched Tim Martin's Styrofoam Prop Making workshop 3... 4... maybe even 5 times to get the confidence to start.
It all started with a lot of graph paper, planning, and attempting to acquire enough 12"x12"x18" blocks of foam. From there, I blocked out my creature using Great Stuff foam spray and bamboo skewers to hold the blocks together. Once everything was blocked out - I drew some general outlines and got to chopping (hand saw), shaping (hotwire), and carving (rasps and razor blades).
The only non-foam block/board elements were the foam clay used around the eyes and teeth, as well as to make the tongue; and then the epoxy eyes, which I poured because I could not find the exact size I wanted for a reasonable price.
Around the base of the three sections I used more Great Stuff to buildup "dirt" and then artificial grass to cover up the plywood bases.
The sandworm was a HUGE hit at both "Trunk or Treat" and on Halloween!
My favorite thing about it is probably the fact that it is semi-load bearing... as my 10 year-old sat on the mid-section for a family photo op.
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