From skeletons to corpses

As mentioned earlier in a post, Miata Guy and I purchased 2 skeletons to turn into corpses. Oh goodness, do they ever look creepy and realistic! To buy something similar in the store would cost you a fortune! Our homemade corpus can be made for around $33 ish (not including paint, and equipment). Miata Guy and I thoroughly enjoyed turning these friendly skeletons into something which we hope will give some guests nightmares. In addition, Miata Guy and I got the chance to work on a project together, to which I loved (hooray for being on third shift vs second). Miata Guy and I shared many conversations and laughs, something you just can't achieve sitting on the couch watching the boobtube, as Gooberface calls it.  So as promised, here's how we made our corpses.

The idea was taken from a post on halloweenforum.com. We suggest watching the following video (HERE) before making your corpse. And as always we will answer any questions you may have!

1) Purchase a 5 foot skeleton from Walgreens. These skeletons (aka wallies) are the cheapest, lightest, and most realistic looking skeletons on the market. There is another "cheap" skeleton out there, however its pelvis is tucked pretty much right under its rib cage. According to forum reviews, the slightly more expensive skeleton is pretty heavy, and this should be kept in mind if your corpse will be hanging. Also start stalking Walgreens in the beginning of October! They only get a limited supply of these skeletons!

2) Gather all supplies and equipment.

Supplies- Besides the skeletons you will need 7mil painters plastic trap (one roll will cover one skeleton), plastic gloves, dark wood stain, paint for the highlight color (your choice (we used red but the guy in the video used banana yellow WTF)), acetone, and Q-tips

 This one had a broken next in which Miata Giy fixed with a screw

Equipment- heat gun, and paint brushes (medium and small)

3) Lay your skeleton on a flat surface outside or in a well ventilated room since you will be melting plastic. We didn't notice any fumes from shrink wrapping, but you can never be too cautious when it comes to your health! Take the 7 mil painters plastic and measure from under the chin to just pass the pelvis and cut. Un-warp the cut piece and cut it into half lengthwise. Wrap one half around the body of the skeleton.

4) Take the heat gun and shrink the plastic to its self and to the skeleton. Failure to constantly move your heat gun back and forth will result in the actual skeleton melting. Repeat with the second piece of plastic.

5) Once the body is wrapped you can move on to arms and legs. We added a lump of plastic over the thigh/bicep areas for a more realistic appearance. Don't over do it! A few layers for a muscle-ly appearance is more than enough. Wrap the arm/leg in the same fashion as the body. We wrapped up and over the hip bone/shoulder joint to prevent the plastic from sliding down the arm/leg.  Cut off any excess plastic at the end of the hand/foot. Only slightly melt the plastic at the hand/foot and wearing gloves fold/pinch the plastic around the fingers/toes.

We ended up redo-ing the arm closest to you

6) Don't forget to the head!

7) Once the whole body is covered create some "blow holes". I like to think of these areas where animals or bugs devoured the skin to get to the good stuff! 










8) Don't be afraid to go over any areas with the heat gun to create webbing effects with the plastic. This creates a more realistic appearance!

9) Paint your skeleton with a dark wood stain. The video suggest using a wood stain gel, which we missed so we used the liquid stain instead. The liquid was a little messier, dripped, took longer to dry, and flakes off when you touch it. Next year, we're definitely going to try a wood stain gel instead!

10) Add a second coat of stain if you are not happy with the first layer.




 11) Dry brush a highlight color, we were very pleased with the results of the deep red. Dry brushing means to barely drip your paint brush in the paint jar then remove as much paint as you can onto your tray. In quick rapid stokes brush over the skeleton.

 <----- In this photo the skeleton facing forward has two coats of stain and one coat of red dry brushing. The skeleton facing away has one coat of stain.














12) Since we used a liquid stain instead of a gel some of the stain dripped onto the bones. With a little acetone on a Q-tip it came right off.

13) Place your skeleton somewhere to catch your guests off guard :) We don't suggest leaving these guys out in the rain. Ours did great on the patio in sun though.