Giant Lego Skeleton
Alan Perkins
Instructables link: https://www.instructables.com/LEGO-Skeleton-MegaFig/
Alan built this gigantic Lego skeleton replica out of large blocks of EPS foam for his yard haunt as part of a St. Jude fundraiser Halloween event. This massive minifigure comes out to approximately 100x the size of the original figure! Here’s a quick rundown of the build processed outlined in Alan’s Instructables tutorial.
“30 years ago, LEGO released the first skeleton minifigure. Since the initial release, they have populated over 180 different LEGO sets. This was always one of my favorite minifigs and last year right before Halloween I found one 3D printed that was 10x the original. I had to have it for, you know, research. I thought what if I could build him to be 100x the original?
Once I decided on the type or style I was going to build, I had to break down the pieces two ways. First I needed to measure every dimension. When I added it all up, it came out to 13′ 5″ tall. If made out of foam as I had planned, it would crush itself and break apart. So now what? Oh…. a skeleton inside of a skeleton! An Armature which will be made of metal and support the weight.
Now the second way I had to break down the pieces was how would they be broken down individually. I sorted it into 8 pieces: 2 arms, 2 Legs, Pelvis, Rib cage, Small section of spine to cover the bolts at the base of the pelvis, and a head.”
“I had blocks of foam that were 4’x8′ sheets. Once the blocks were broken down into sizes for the individual pieces, I had to shape them a bit further. Once the final shapes were achieved, I sanded everything with a manual drywall round sander and 80 grit sand paper.
I purchased an Industrial Hot Knife from Hot Wire Foam Factory this year and it was invaluable. I have tried the Harbor Freight version in the past and both of the ones I tried lasted less than 10 min before they burned up the internals. The sled attachment on the knife was super helpful.”
“When I purchased the Hot Knife and all the coating, Hot Wire Foam Factory asked what I was building and sent me a Hot Wire tool kit as a bonus to help me finish the project which was awesome. I used a variety of the tools they sent for different unique applications at the end of the build. I will say the 2-Foot Bow is so much easier to use than my DIY solution I had created. I was able to get some very clean cuts from these tools.”
“For this build, I wanted a smooth plastic looking finish. I purchased 5 gallons of Styroplast from Hot Wire Foam Factory.”
“Being that this sculpture is over 13 feet tall, I need to secure it. I tied some rope to the Unistrut anchor points and stretched it out to the ground at an angle, clearing the leg cover piece. This gave me the length I needed to stake down the structure but also not damage the foam with the wire.”
“This was created as part of my Skeletons for St Jude drive for Charity. You can see the nationwide progress Here on their website. 6 years ago when the gentleman started the cause with just his home in N Carolina, he had a goal of $10,000. This year, nationwide we should cumulatively have broken $1 million over the 5 years of fundraising as a group. That is 100X larger than the original goal. It is also why I built the Lego MegaFig 100X the original size.
I hope you like the build. Enjoy your day and Happy Halloween.”
Check out the full Instructables tutorial here: https://www.instructables.com/LEGO-Skeleton-MegaFig/