Toxic Waste Spew:
Materials: One 55gl. Drum
One Cheap Skeleton
Spray foam
Wire coat hanger
Halloween mask
Fountain pump
Plastic household tote barrel/wash tub
Hose for the pump
Misc. drill bits
Optional Materials:
Brown, Black and Gray Spray paint
Green latex paint
Airbrush
Waterproof fountain light
This is a prop that I made based off one I saw from The Fright Catalog. In the catalog they had this really cool looking ½ a guy standing in a 55gl drum and he was spewing toxic waste into it, and seeing I didn’t have $3,000 to buy it I made a version that’s a little smaller scale.
First off if your 55gal drum has both ends on it still you will need to cut one of them off. I used a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade for this. The next step will be to make a platform to support the plastic tote. I just used some cement blocks placed in the drum as a support for the tote, or you can cut 2x4’s and make a small table to sit under the tote to hold it up. Now cut the rope handles off of the tote and set it in the drum. Next cut the coat hanger at each end where it would normally support the shoulders of your coat. Now attach the legs of the skeleton to the pelvis leaving out 1 leg section on each side, if you use all 4 sections the skeleton will be to tall. Place the skeleton in the tote and place the hook of the coat hanger around the base of the spine where it hooks to the pelvis. Bend the wires down and stick them in the holes where one of the rope handles were on the tote. Place some duct tape on the wire to hold it there for now. Lift up the arms and duct tape them to the sides of the drum to hold them in place for now. Rotate the head so that it is facing the back where the wire is (away from the tote). Open your can of spray foam and spray where the chest connects to the pelvis and around the back where the wire is connected to the skeleton. Next spray where the arms connect at the shoulders, elbow, and wrists. Let the foam harden. Then remove the duct tape. If you want to make your skeleton look more real you can now blend the brown, black, and gray paint onto the skeleton. Remove the skeleton from the tote and drill a hole in the head under the chin and out the back of the head where the mouth of the mask will be sitting. Run the hose from the bottom of the tote up through the hole in the chin and out the back of the head and slightly through the mouth of the mask. Attach the fountain pump to the hose. Place some rocks on the feet of the skeleton to keep it from floating, and fill the tote with water add some green food color, plug the pump in and watch as the guy starts to spew toxic waste. I also smeared some spray foam on the front of the drum and air brushed it green to give the effect of it spilling down the front of the drum. Keep in mind if you are using your fingers to smear the spray foam you should wear rubber gloves, because BELIEVE ME you will not get that foam off your hands. Please See pics below for more detail to help you with what I described above. (I also drilled a 2" hole in the back of the drum and placed a fog machine there and let the fog flow up through around the tote)
Note: The Red food color is just for an example. You should use Green food color.
