I am really excited about trying my first attempt at doing a “life sized” Michael Myers mannequin this upcoming Halloween. I got inspired from seeing a few videos of others putting together a Myers mannequin on youtube. I wanted mine to prop up on my porch for Halloween, or I might even keep him inside and display him through the window. My question has to do with the hands of the mannequin. With the exception of a few of the mannequins I have seen, the hands can make the entire mannequin look unauthentic.
You get this really awesome life-size mannequin that looks amazing, but then the hands are spotless clean, and unrealistic looking. I am sure I can add some paint and dirt to them to make them appear dirty and bloody, but I also wish there was a way to make the hands appear as if they are gripping the knife. Some hands I have seen appear to be open, and then the knife is just literally placed in the open hand. Has anyone in here overhauled the hands of a mannequin to make them appear more realistic, and if so what did you do to pull off the look? Thanks in advance.
MASKENSTEIN (Nick Mulpagano) is your man for this inquiry. You can get one of those badass lifesize Myers mannequins which actually has movement for stabbing and such and he made his look unbelievable last Halloween!
Sorry I don’t have a closeup photo of the hands. They are put away somewhere but this is a shot from last Halloween with my Myers mannequin display outside so you get an idea
I am known as the “king of life-sized displays” as I have done many thousands over the years lol. But I have used many hands over the years and I also started using Nicks hands way back in the mid 2000’s. They work great for Myers and even other human characters, and I used the knife wielder hands for Jason as well although they are a tad small, and I always requested that he make bigger ones which he said he would but still has not. But they are just about right for Myers, especially H1 and H2, but I used them for all the others as well as seen in all my pics and YouTube videos. I also repainted my own many times to match certain looks, and weathering for different parts. I need to get several more sets so I do not have to repaint them as much. Bigger ones would be even better, like my CFX silicone gloves I used to use which are perfect, but I had to make them poseable to hold a weapon which was not easy, and also they are about $600. But I use them a lot in a lot of my YouTube videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r1CdQNJtf0
awesome man! Quick question for you. I went to Nick’s web-page and came across the badass hands he sells. I am almost certain I am going to end up ordering them soon. My question is, how do you put them on the mannequin? I am not that great at do it yourself projects. Is it pretty difficult to attach them to the mannequin? I thought I could saw the mannequin’s wrist area, and then duct tape the hands? I saw a guy online using duct tape on his Myers Mannequin. What do you think? Best way to attach the hands?
Actually it is fairly easy, they come hollow inside and you just take the hand off and put them on the mannequin wrist. The hand screw off easily. But for a better fit you and to use duct tape like I do, you may need to cut a slit up the wrist like I do so that you can put them on higher and make them stay on better, and will also hold the cheap plastic, wood, scalpel, or foam knife. If not the hands will not go up very far unless you have a very skinny mannequin forearm. But the slit allows you to tape it on tight and higher to be more durable. You can also get them foam filled, some put them on permanently as well. But all of mine are temporary just to show my costume and coveralls commissions so I just use tape. but if left on too long they will fall off as I only use one piece and as high up as possible to not damage the paint shown, only on the hidden part up the sleeve. You can also see tons of pics on my FB under Brad Miller www.facebook.com/sirbradfx
for sure the duct tape will hold and does the job. I wonder if nicks hands are latex? I only mentioned another way because I have had some latex masks start to dry out the latex and dry rot. I dont know if it was the adhesive from the duct tape or what
Would wide plastic zipties work? walmart has these 1/2" wide zipties
Yes they are latex, and I have had them for about 10 years now and no dry rot. In fact I had an 85 Don Post I used a ton up until 2010 before I sold it, and no dry rot. But I also cleaned it well and kept it in a container in a dark closet. Rotting depends on a lot of things, quality of the latex, how much it is worn, cleaned, climate, etc. I also live in a non-smoking, non-pet, non-child home that is climate controlled with central air. So personally I never had any issues. I also keep my masks out of the sun, the only sun they see are for my 2 minute videos outdoors and most of the time it is cloudy lol. So tape it fine, and even if it did get damages it is just the unfinished edge anyway that is hidden under the sleeve, and can be repainted easily as I have done.
I did one last year. I used batting (stuffing) to contour and proportion the mannequin a little better. Luckily the hands on the mannequin I bought were pretty life like just needed a repaint. I only have one photo for some reason handy. I’ll try to find the others.
