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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
I would like to build a Pinocchio doll/puppet that I can control his nose growth. Features wanted:
1) Doll will sit on box behind me (I tell whoppers about myself and its nose grows and is seen by the audience). 2) UHF transmitter in my pocket to control nose growth. 3) Nose grows slowly (about a half inch per second). 4) Would like a motor in the doll to be battery powered and very quiet. 5) Can go in reverse (shrink the nose back). The only thing I have is one of the little battery powered display turn tables that shows jewelry (about 4 inch diam and slow moving) but I don't know how to hook it up to a remote control. There may be other solutions, even a manual method, could make a vent dummy which would work but I don't want it to be a vent act so prefer to not have the doll/dummy in my hands. I could magically produce the doll and I could say that "A magic genii said the doll had special powers, but I don't believe it" then set the doll on a box behind me and proceed with my act/bragging. I don't rule anything out. Help! |
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makeupguy Inner circle 1411 Posts |
I would modify a vansihing cane (plastic).. and use a simple push/ pull mechanism.
the hardest part would be to keep it from binding during the pull.. as they're not really made to do that.. also, getting a cable to push/pull as long as you want the nose to grow is hard.. I wonder if you'd be better of using something like the pull stick from one of the old SSP toys... so you can have it on a motor and use a back and forth gear mechanism to do the movement |
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magicjohn2278 Special user Isle of Man UK 544 Posts |
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then set the doll on a box behind me and proceed with my act. Thinking outside the box...... it could have a "backing board" for the puppet to lean against, which could conceal the nose and mechanism. That way the length of the nose isn't restricted by the size of the puppet's head. - Just a case of having a small nose on the puppet when it's produced which you remove as you place/fix it on the box. |
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
To Makeupguy: What is an SSP toy? The cable idea has merit. I saw on a theater forum where they were trying to use a bicycle brake handle (in the actor's pocket) and a cable from their pocket to a telescoping nose on a mask on the actor. Not sure how it worked out. I think that something that only requires a small motion from the human hand producing a large motion and the end of a cable etc. is a good idea.
Any thoughts? |
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
To magicjohn: I like the idea of a mechanism behind a board. What if we combined that idea with makeupguy's telescoping nose on the puppet and your idea of perhaps a rod comming through the board then the nose would not have to be switched. In other words the rod would appear as an unnoticeable dot on the board and the puppet placed over that point. Of course there would be a hole in the back of the head leading to the nose.
Any other thoughts? |
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MickNZ Special user Auckland, New Zealand 576 Posts |
Chicane (Wayne Rogers) has an entire routine called Pinocchio's Nose, using Appearing Pole technology.
http://www.nzmagic.com/magicshop.html#pinocchio |
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chicane Elite user New Zealand 465 Posts |
While Mick is correct, my system is not really suitable for what you have in mind.
Jon Zealando in New Zealand had a vent doll Pinocchio dating back over 45 years and he still uses it. As it was a vent doll, he controlled the nose manually. My first question is how much growth do you need. If the head of the puppet is reasonably round, like the Disney version, and the staring length is around 11/2 to 2" long, the depth of the head should be able to accommodate around 6 inches growth using a straight wooden dowel. Then a simple slow stepping motor and a rubber wheel might be all you need to have the nose grow, then shrink back. A stopper at the back of the dowel will prevent it from falling out of the head. Just my initial thoughts of how I would tackle the effect. Keep it simple. No need to telescope it if the head will house the whole system. |
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remote guy Special user Maryland 534 Posts |
I like the idea of the board too. I would mount a linear actuator behind the board that could be controlled with a 2 channel remote control, which would allow you to grow and shrink the nose with a touch of a button.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fNQYsApN-8 Nick |
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TheRaven Special user 597 Posts |
If you took a shower curtain rod cover and flattened it and rolled it up an a reel with a motor to turn the reel, you could grow and shrink the nose by running the reel forward or backwards. See attached schematic.
Click here to view attached image. |
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
Thanks, guys, all very good ideas. They all need a low rpm motor of some kind and 2 channel UHF remote in my pocket.
The length of the nose should allow it to grow 3 times (comedy rule of threes) to a length the audience will notice each time. I'm guessing about 2.5 to 3 inches each time so 3X3 = 9 inches plus another 6 inches in the head gives 15 inches (could be shorter). The flattened shower curtain idea by TheRaven is basically an unlimited nose length. I can see that the starting point is to get the motor and remote stuff first and then worry about the nose itself. Does anyone know a good place to buy the motor/receiver linked to a small transmitter that will fit in my pocket? If it's not too big I could insert the transmitter into an empty paper towel cardboard cylinder (painted black with white tips) and be taking about how Davd Copperstone used my magic wand in many of his tricks as I secretly press the "grow" or "shrink" buttons. What is the difference between a linear motor and a stepper motor? Thanks, guys. |
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magicjohn2278 Special user Isle of Man UK 544 Posts |
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What is the difference between a linear motor and a stepper motor? Oh dear! Linear motor, probably easiest for your application, but usually heavy and pretty expensive. Stepper motor, reasonably priced, not much torque, if you have to ask a question such as this, you won't be able to control it! (It needs a bit of circuitry to make it work.) |
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
A remote control rising card trick might be just the thing? Anyone know about the pros and cons of re-working such a device?
Thanks. http://www.kapmagic.com/index.php?productID=387 http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Remote-Co......212.html |
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hugmagic Inner circle 7655 Posts |
Appearing candle with Snake basket technology.
Richard
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com email-hugmagic@raex.com Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's. |
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thomhaha Regular user northfield IL 162 Posts |
I would try a hobby store that caters to rc aircraft.
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TSW Regular user Ohio, USA 108 Posts |
How about a round hole for the nose with a piece of flesh colored nylon/panty hose-type material glued behind and a remote controlled, small, linear actuator with a bead glued to the tip pushing the nose out?
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
I bought one of those battery powered tape measures, but it's too noisy (or is it "nose e" pun intended).
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Anverdi-museum Inner circle 1195 Posts |
The least expensive and most practical way to go is similar to raven's idea. I would not however use a shower curtain rod rolled up, you can literally cut a metal standard retractable measuring tape in half lenghtwise. Insert this into a skin of a thin cloths line rope, now you wrap this loosely around a spool attached to a low rpm gear motor, then to a r/c receiver. When button is pushed the nose will slowly grow and stop to whatever size you wish. You cannot go too far or the tape measure will eventually bend but you should be able to get a good distance out of it.
Chuck Caputo |
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TheRaven Special user 597 Posts |
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On 2013-04-02 13:51, glowball wrote: Ebay will probably be your best source for remote controls and gear motors at a very low price. Expect to come from china, no support and take several weeks. You need to think about how you will reverse the action. Linear motor is a device with a spinning motor that turns that energy into a linear motion. Usually by having the motor turn a threaded rod and having a carriage of some type with a nut that rides up and down the threaded rod as it spins. Probably not a great choice for your application. A stepper motor is a specialized motor whos position can be precisely controlled. Used for things like controlling the position of a read head on a hard drive. Probably not applicable to your problem. One key piece of info missing is dimensions. How big is the puppet? How big is the head? How big should the nose be? Diameter, shortest length, longest length. |
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
Thanks for the explanations. The head would be about 5 to 8 inches in diameter and the nose diameter about a half inch to maybe 1 inch. Shortest nose length about 2 inches and will extend three times at 2 to 3 inches a time. Therefore maximum of about 11 inches though 8 inch maximum would be OK. Then allow for some length behind the face.
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
Check this miniature remote and receiver.
http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/3......rol.aspx But they are out of stock right now. Would still have to find a proper slow speed 12V DC motor to hook up to the receiver. |
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