"The Shark Is Still Working"

A pal of mine, Michael Roddy, is one of the producers of the newly completed documentary,
"The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of JAWS".
It is a fascinating insight into the making of one of the most terrifying movies of the 20th century,
"JAWS".
If you are a fan of JAWS, take a look at the web site for 

"The Shark is Still Working" HERE.

My Universal "Psychoscareapy" Model

I am in the process of buidling all of my paper models for my own collection. Over the past year I have constructed multiple versions of all of the models, but ended up giving them all away, leaving my shelves empty! I am taking this opportunity to modify and enhance the models with custom parts and a little bit of miniature landscaping.

Here is one of the models I designed for Universal, Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights web site. It is the facade of one of the sound-stage haunted houses "Psychoscareapy"

depicting the "Shadybrook" asylum.

I used reindeer moss and flat moss (found in craft and hobby stores) to simulate the overgrown vegetation, and I stuck in a few shrub twigs to simulate dead trees.

I recreated the chainlink gate using some stretched contour mesh (used in clay sculpting) and toothpicks. I gave the whole gate a dry brushing of black and gold acrylic paint, to make it look rusty.

The Psychoscareapy and ScreamHouse models are no longer available for download from the Universal site. If you you want them, you will find them HERE at paper Model Purgatory.

Ignignokt Has Left the Building!

I received great reactions to the "Ignignokt" lite-brite that I placed on my front page mansion last Friday! I have to admit that I was a little nervous about it at first, considering the "stir" the real ones created in a certain North-eastern city. However, in this case everyone seemed to get the joke and enjoyed it!

The Voice of "Master Shake"

"Great site, amazing stuff, I can't wait to go blind putting them all together. thanks! Keep up the amazing work!" 

~Guest book entry from Dana Snyder, the voice of "Master Shake" on "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"~

(one of my favorite shows on Adult Swim)

Thanks Dana! It was a thrill to hear from you! 

Well, It's Gone !

In case you have not heard, the Liberty Square haunted mansion in the Magic Kingdom is about to undergo a major rehab. Rumors are rampant about the possibility of show upgrades, such as those completed at Disneyland, as well as the possibility of mansion themed gift shop (finally!).

What ever the plans may be, changes have already begun.

The cool, little well which was near the entrance to mansion has been removed. You may remember that I was planning to make a little paper model of the well some time and I took many reference photos of the well in the Spring of 2006. It is a good thing I did.

Another piece of rather sad news is that the fabled "Wedding Ring" has been removed from the paving at the mansion's exit queue! I wish they could have saved it or perhaps they might create an "official" ring which could be embedded somewhere else near the mansion. Even if the legend of the ring is unrelated to the mansion's &quo t;story line", it is a fun detail. When I was there last year I saw a family keenly looking at the paving around the exit and it was obvious what they were doing. I was able to direct them to the ring, and they were very happy to find it!
The ring was actually a remnant of a sawed off exit gate rod which looked like a ring.
Here is my photo of the ring taken in 2004.

The ring now looks like this.

Time for Christmas Ghosts!

I managed to get my hands on a rare copy of Richards Williams' Academy Award winning animated short, "A Christmas Carol" from 1971! This 28 minute long animation was first aired on American TV on December 21, 1971, and only aired once or twice afterwards, probably due to the rather horrifying depictions of some of the spirits.

The art and animation of this production is stunning and beautiful, using a hand-drawn pen and ink style that gives a ghostly shimmer to every scene. I saw this program once, when I was 8 years old and I NEVER forgot it! I started to doubt whether my childhood memories were true, and that maybe I made up the whole thing. As it turns out, my memories were amazingly accurate!

Scrooge is voiced by everybody's favorite Ebenezer. Alastair Sim!

This production is universally regarded as the best animated version of the Dickens classic ever, and it is a crime that networks have neglected it all these years!

Who do you have to call to get this thing back on TV?!

If you are as big a fan of "A Christmas Carol" as I am, I recommend getting 

"The "Christmas Carol" Trivia Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Every Version of the Dickens Classic".

Our Living Dead Doll Mordechai Sold !

On Halloween night we went to the Living Dead Doll Art Show in Manhattan and  discovered that our submission, "Mordechai", had sold!

We have no idea who purchased him, but hopefully the new owners will contact me. I would love to know where he is going!  Here is shot of Mordechai on display at the art the art show.

Before the show we spent the early evening sitting at a sidewalk cafe on lower 7th Ave., drinking wine, and watching the New York City trick-or-treater pass.  It was a wonderful site!

Our Living Dead Doll

We managed to get our Living Dead Doll completed and shipped to the "Living Dead Dolls Art Show" in NYC. My wife created the clothes (otherwise he would be wearing nothing but a black felt poncho!), and I sculpted and painted the rest. I even built a nice, little wooden coffin for him. We went to the opening gala on Halloween night, and had a chance to meet some of the awesome artists who participated. It was a lot of fun!

Thanks, Mezco, for inviting me to participate! 

Click images to enlarge

"ScreamHouse" on Tour

Here is the first photo of a completed ScreamHouse model, built by none other than "The Caretaker" himself! Ken (chainsawwolf) is a Universal scareactor who played the part of "The Caretaker" in the actual attraction, and here he is standing in front of the real ScreamHouse, with his model ScreamHouse!

Thanks Chainsaw!

Paper model, or deadly weapon?

The model in front of the real thing!

Halloween Horror Nights Paper : "Psychoscareapy"

My second Universal Halloween Horror Nights paper model "Psychoscareapy" has been released.

"If you think you know insane,

you don't know JACK!" 

GET THE MODEL HERE!

Photo of actual "Psychoscareapy" facade.

My other paper model kits can be found in "Paper Model Purgatory". 

Halloween Horror Nights Paper Model Kits...by me!

I usually try to offer some sort of Halloween goodies at this time of year, but I've been very busy with "other" projects lately, which have taken all of my Halloween project time.

Univeral Studios, Orlando asked me to create a couple of paper model versions of their Halloween Horror Nights haunted house facades, which will be offered on the HHN site.

Well, the first kit has been released! It is "ScreamHouse: Resurrection".

"Through blood, bone and ash, evil has risen again.

Abandoned for years, this gothic mortuary contains the eternally 

tormented souls of the Caretaker’s victims. Aided by a

cultish group of Followers, the Caretaker assures

that you will enter on your own two feet,

but leave sealed in a casket."

Click image to enlarge

This is a relatively simple model to build, and it is only 3 inches deep, so it will fit nicely on a shelf or mantle.

GET IT HERE! 

Photo of actual "ScreamHouse" facade.

My other paper model kits can be found in "Paper Model Purgatory". 

I'm Back Home

What was originally supposed to be a four-week gig at Universal, Orlando turned into a four month gig, and what an amazing four months is was! Truly the best work experience I have ever had! The people I worked with in the art and design department are not only amazingly talented, they are also extremely nice and fun to be around, and what could be cooler than being totally immersed in all things Halloween Horror Nights? 

Not only did I work on HHN web site graphics. I was also involved with many other aspects of the Halloween Horror Nights productions, such as creating an animation for "Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure", creating a variety of HHN park signs and 3D displays, and even making a very short appearance in the "Share the Scare" online video, playing a victim of "The Storyteller"!

Below are a few shots of my 1 second of fame in Universal, Orlando's "Share the Scare"

Halloween Horror Nights video.  The third frame is the flash of my eyes as my tongue is ripped out!

September 26th marked the two-year anniversary of Haunted Dimensions. Thanks for the visits! I could have never imagined the success of this site when I first created it!

Now that I'm back in my Pennsylvania routine, you should expect more frequent updates and projects.