Blucky's Barbecue is actually a variation on an idea we got from The Brewster Yard Haunt. We added a few special differences in our version, and rigged together a few last minute things too, but here's how our Barbecued Blucky Skeleton Turned out!
The pieces needed to build our tasty friend are few and easy to find. So lets get right to the materials.
For the rotisserie:
3 2"x2"x8' pieces of lumber
1 long broomstick, closet rod, or shower curtain rod
1 coat hanger
a moderate amount of self-tapping drywall screws
Burn Victim Blucky
jute twine
brown wood stain or paint
1 rotisserie motor (we used a 12volt windshield wiper motor the first year)
1 2"x4"x8' piece of lumber
1 2"x2"x4' piece of lumber
3 sheets of cardboard
1 window fan (or a box fan could be used)
1 small string of c7 Christmas lights (all red and yellow)
white (or red or orange) plastic tablecloth or runner
window screen
staple gun and hot glue gun
black paint
First, I must note that I did not do any of this for much structural integrity, I sort of sawed the 2x2s to a shape that allowed me to get an "x" shape but making it bottom heavy. I then added a shorter piece of 2x2 at the bottom to keep the "x" shapes from falling over. As long as you cut properly and angle your "x" shapes outward slightly,keeping the crux of the x shapes even, you shouldn't have a problem. I held the whole thing together with about 10 screws each. It is rather rickety but it's not really to be touched and it doesn't weigh a lot either.
We stained the entire wood structure using a dry brush technique to make the wood look aged and charred. You could attack it with a blowtorch in certain areas to age it further, but I don't believe that is necessary.
Pictured above is the 2007 version of the Blucky's Barbecue prop with the windshield wiper motor instead of rotisserie motor attached.
Attach your burn victim blucky to your rod using wood screws. The more the better, try to even out the weight as much as possible. Cover the screws you drove in using jute twine tied creatively.
Attach the rotisserie motor to one side of the x brace assembly (I used coat hangers for easy removal) and rest the spit on the x braces. Fire it up and see if it turns. You may have to put a few sheets of wax paper at the crux of the x braces to act as a lubricant for the spit.
Your finished Blucky's Barbecue prop should look something like this:
The fire box is a wooden frame made from 2x4s and 2x2s. I made our box 20" tall and placed the window fan about 8 inches off of the ground, facing upward to allow air to blow into the box.
Using a hot glue gun attach the c7 lights around the outer edge of the fan, we used all red and yellow lights to simulate fire.
Grab your thin material (the thinner the better) and cut some fire-like shapes about 2-4 inches long and about 5-6 inches high. (about 5-9 would be a good amount). Hot glue these randomly to the output grilles of the fan. (silk or other lightweight fabrics could also be used)
Slide the fan into the box structure and secure into place using wood screws as shelf pins so that the fan can be removed later if need be.
Attach cardboard to the sides of the box, covering up the fan and light assembly and paint the outside black. Attach the cardboard to the box using staples or screws.
Attach a piece of window screen to the top of the box using staples.
If the box works properly, it should flicker with your simulated fire (if you used plastic it makes a crackly sound).
To add to the effect, we placed a fog machine below the fan about 1 foot away and turned the fan on high. This allowed the fog to pour through the fan mechanism and out on top of our barbecued blucky.
I don't know about the durability or long term effects of using artificial fog through the fan mechanism, but since we only use this prop once a year for about 2-3 hours total, it hasn't shown any problems. I can assume though most people will have enough common sense to know this isn't something to be used daily. I do however make no warranties or claims for its safety or durability.
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