Toxic Waste Skeleton

$60 - $70 (based on 2020 prices)

Makes one skeleton

 

The skeleton is the most expensive item in this build, so, for the cash-strapped haunter, try to recycle an old friend to reduce the price of this prop. In fact, I used a skeleton that had been sitting broken at the bottom of the storage closet for years (both of his hands had snapped off in 2014 and his pelvis had separated from his body in 2018).

• One life-size plastic skeleton
• One bag of cheap, plastic bones (about a dozen pieces)
• One 2’ x 2’ board of foam insulation
• One twelve-cup plastic container
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in glossy apple
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in glossy hunter green
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in glossy eden
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in metallic silver
• One piece of 8” x 11.5” copy paper with a biohazard label printed on it
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 12 oz. can of insulating foam
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in grasshopper*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in hunter green*

1. Use a hacksaw to cut the femurs and humeri from the bag of bones in half. Although this step is optional, it will double the bone count and make the toxic pit appear deeper than it actually is.

2. Separate the legs and pelvis from the torso of the skeleton. This can be done in a number of ways: cutting the the vertebrae connected to the sacrum with a hacksaw, disassembling the pelvis with a screwdriver, or, in my case, having an old skeleton that already broke apart at this juncture.

3. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, build up layers of black and metallic silver spray paint to give the container the look of steel. I found it works best to apply a base coat of black to the entire prop and then add the sliver, working in quick bursts to allow parts of the black to remain visible. You can also touch up portions with additional blasts of black if the silver becomes too heavy.

4. Boil enough water to completely submerge the copy paper and pour it into the pan. Add the coffee. The longer you allow the coffee to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of coffee will produce a richer stain. Submerge the paper in the coffee mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for eight hours and scattered the coffee grounds over the top of the paper to add spots. Remove the paper from the water and allow it to dry. After the paper dries, cut out the label, leaving a small border around its edges, and roughen its surface with sandpaper.

5. Once you have achieved your desired level of distress, glue the label to the front of the container. You can also use olive or vegetable oil to add further stains to the label. Likewise, a dusting of brown spray paint can be applied at the end of this step to give the container a layer of dirt.

6. Position the bones, container, and skeleton on the foam board and, once you have achieved your desired placement, glue them down. You want to provide enough space between each item to allow the foam to expand, so do not cluster them together too much.

7. Give the board a blob-like form by trimming its edges, creating curves and protrusions. Do not worry too much if your cuts are not clean. You want the base to look like spilled toxic waste.

8. Repurpose the trimmings from step seven and employ them to give extra height to portions of the base and to fabricate an incline from the opening of the container to the board. This procedure will prevent the foam from being too level when you apply it in step eleven.

9. Pose the skeleton’s skull into a position that you like and hot glue it in place. I elected for a screaming expression, so I tilted the head upwards toward the right and glued the mouth agape. Your final positioning, in turn, will depend on the story you are trying to tell with the prop.

10. Randomly drip globs of glue along the surfaces of the bones and skeleton. This will give everything a melted appearance that will reinforce the idea the victim is being disintegrated in the toxic solution.

11. Spray the insulating foam into the open spaces of the board to create the waste. Try not to overthink your application. A random pattern produces the best results. Also, keep in mind that the foam will expand as it dries, so do not apply excessive amounts which will overtake and consume the bones, container, and skeleton.

12. After the foam has thoroughly dried, cover the container in a plastic bag and tape off any gaps with painter’s tape. Then, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give everything a base coat of hunter green spray paint before building up layers of apple, black, and eden. Akin to step three, you can always apply bursts of hunter green to the prop if the other colors become too overpowering.

13. After the paint had dried, remove the painter’s tape and plastic bag from the container and use grasshopper and hunter green acrylic paint to blend the unpainted foam, stipple the surface, and accent the label. If the tape removed part of the silver paint, you can cover that up with the green paints.

14. Depending on your level of gore, the prop can be enhanced further with severed ears, eyes, and fingers glued to the waste to make it look like they are floating in the liquid.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.