I used the basic instructions from Phantasmechanics.com (however the site has been shut down)and the book Animatronics; A guide to animated holiday displaysby Edwin Wise to build the pneumatic cylinder.
I used a 110v solenoid valve triggered by a wireless switch and have found that an in-line air dryer (Harbor Freight) is the best method to reduce the noise from the release of air in the prop.
Once the mechanism was in place, I used scrap wood to put a shelf for Boris to sit on. I then used the chicken wire to form the top part of the tree with the knot hole. Once I had the form, I began to Paper Mache the tree. I used newspaper for the inner layers 12" brown paper "drop cloth" dredged in undilutedwhite glue for the outer layers. It is thin and easily worked.I added a burl and a stump using rolled up paper for extra decoration.
I used the foam pipe insulation for the tree limb arms to keep the weight down. I covered them with Paper Mache too and attached smaller pieces for branches and bulked up the part near the trunk being sure not to restrict movement. Just slide them over the bent aluminum stock. Be sure to allow enough space for the movement of the arms. I hid the joint with Spanish moss when I did the final decoration.
The Tree has been a great hit, I just wish I had video to post. As I said, I have Boris telling the story of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow edited down from a book on CD. Most ToTers would get close to see Boris talking, not aware of the Scary Guy in the Corner waiting to trigger the air cylinder. It is always good for a scare. I have to take a video of the tree in action next year.
After a couple days drying, I painted it with a base coat of medium brown and added black streaks to try to mimic bark (I'm not the artist in the family). When that dried, I hit the tree with several coats of matte finish varnish. I wanted to give it some waterproofing, knowing that I'd still have to cover it if it stormed.
For the final decoration, I glued Spanish moss and silk leaves to the tree to disguise it's true intention. Inside the tree, I placed a small boom box CD player for the story. I wired the Boris to one speaker output using the wire from the microphone, and used the other for the main audio. I was not happy with the quality of Boris's speaker so I taped foam over it so you could barely hear the audio and the mouth servo still worked. Boris can be found on the net and I ran across him at Big Lots in 2007 and bought 6…what a stooge!
