Halloween 2008 - Prehistory

Pictures

Jumping Pterodactyl

This is a mechanism that's been floating around in my head for a few years now. I've been contemplating how to pull off the jump, spreading of the wings and the lifting of the head at the same time.

Watch the video

Normally, I don't use these pages as how-to's. But, I'm proud enough of some mechanisms that I'll make a small exception. This is one of those.

I was going for the simplest mechanism possible to make this all work with a single small diameter air cylinder. There's a PVC water pipe frame that holds everything together and wings are made of more pipes with a hinge in the middle. They're mounted in PVC tees that swivel on the frame itself.

Then there's the magic that is the wing:

Basically, how it works is that pulling the wire rope taught brings the "lower arm" portion out and simultaneously pulls the "upper arm" portion down. This creates the basic wing opening effect. The wire rope from the two wings is attached to the stationary portion of the effect, as well as the bungy attached to the swinging head. So, when the air cylinder pushes the entire pterodactyl up it automatically pulls the wire rope to create the wing spreading effect.

Jumping Huge Spider

This is just a rehash of the same 4-bar jumper mechanism I've used a few times before. It makes for quick setups.

Watch the video