Swinging Giant Bat
We made a giant bat to add to our Halloween decorations in the front yard.
Supplies
Cardboard
Chicken Wire
Wire
Tape
Paper Mache
Hot Glue
Rope
Large Washer
Carabiner
9V Led Circuit
Wire Wings With Chicken Wire Webbing
Sorry no pictures of this step. We started with a rectangular box. We ran wires thru the box and folded wires into wing shapes. Using the wing shapes as a guide we cut chicken wire to fit and folded wires together to make solid wire wings. We made sure to have the curve in the chicken wire facing forward to create the webbed wing shape.
Paper Mache Over Wire Webbing
Three rounds of paper mache on each side of the wings. We used a space heater to speed up the drying process.
Paper Mache Head
We used a balloon and two rounds of paper mache to make a head. We then cut ears out of cardboard and hot glued them to the head.
Head Hatch and Circuit
We used a utility knife to make a hatch in the back of bats head. Then we made a 9V LED circuit with two red LEDs and a 470 ohm resistor. We drilled 2 holes in the face and inserted the LEDs from the inside of the head.
Rope Swing Attachment
Using a pencil to find the balance point we put a hole thru the body and ran a rope thru the hole. We put a large fender washer on the end of the rope to prevent the rope from pulling back thru. We then covered the washer with cardboard and hot glue to hide it and hold it in place. We also added wire feet and a guide wire that would force the bat to face forward when you are pulling it on the swing.
Pointy Teeth
Hot glued vampire teeth to his face. His blue teeth are super goofy but he looks great in the dark.
The End
Since Halloween ended our bat has been sleeping in the living room.