Flying Crank Ghost

The Flying Crank Ghost FCG is the MOST fantastic prop. If you have not made a FCG, I would recommend it. I delayed 4 years from making one, because I always try to do original props. The FCG gets such great response from the public. This year, we stopped about a dozen cars just driving by with the FCG prop and even a police patrol car stopped to ask how it worked.

The FCG comes from the Phantasmechanics. Detailed instructions can be found at their site.
FCG - Flying Crank Ghost Motor The FCG Flying Crank Ghost is a very impressive Halloween marionette.The motor is the heart of the contraption and should be quiet and have the most torque available. 12VDC motors are prefered due to their quite operation. 120VAC motor with C shells make quite a bit of noise. A wall transformer will be needed to provide the 12V. Make sure to purchase one that will provide enought current for your motor.The Dayton 12VDC, 4.5 RPM, 47lbs-in. torque, PN#2L006 at Grainger $37 is the clear favorite on most website for the FCG. I found two other surplus motors for slightly cheaper, although I have not tested them. All Electronics has it for $14 12VDC 8 RPM PN# DCM-158. They don't quote a torque, which makes me nervious. I bought one and its current draw 0.055 Amps measured directly, much less than the 0.7A of the Dayton. In general, torque scales with Power (I*V), but it also depends on the gearhead ratio. Goldmine Electronics has a similar motor for $19.95, 12VDC 8 RPM PN# G4515, with 30 lbs-in. torque. Grainger only sells wholesale, so if you can't swing buying it with your company's name, you may be stuck buying a surplus motor.

For the FCG, you need lever arm on the end of a geared 4-8 RPM motor to drive the marionette. The power supply transformer was rated at 12V 1 Amp, but really was at 15V, so the crank was turning too fast. I tried a 150 Ohm power resistor (2W) which cut it too far down, but a 40 Ohm resistor in series was about right. The motor I used was a little on the weak side, so I planned on using the counter weight system for the head. I used a 4 oz. lead fishing weight as the counter weight for the styrofoam head. My fabric was tule and extremely light. I had to spray the pulleys with WD40 to really get the counter weight to move at the same speed as the crank and head. My cheap pulleys were a little slow for a 8-9 RPM motor. The motor $14 12VDC 8 RPM PN# DCM-158 from All Electronics, would not be my first choice if I had to do it again, but it did run consistently for 4 hours, which was impressive for a cheap salvage motor. At 8-9 RPM for a 12" lever arm, the FCG still looked very life-like. Most people recommend, 4-6 RPM with a 14-16" lever arm.

You need a head for the ghost puppet. I sprayed with black-light hair spray that glowed the same blue color as the tule fabric.

The core of the ghost puppet hands are paper, coat hangers, glue and masking tape.

The expanding sealing foam is sprayed over the hands (going for 3D rotten look)

Coat hanger frame on which ghost is supported.

The ghost looks very plain in normal light

The ghost looks amazing under blacklight. Foam hands give a rotted look.

Positioning the blacklights is quite a challenge when it is hanging off a roof.

I glued glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth into the head

2003 Redux

My two kids (4 & 2 yrs old) painted the head

Click for the Movie showing the ghost and the crank in action

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