This hack features a homemade prop that is constructed using a lightweight motor from an animated yard display animal and PVC. With its neck craned over the top of a tombstone, it swings his head back and forth or side to side. The finished product can be seen in the image below.

A 2×4 is screwed on a spare piece of plywood. The tombstone to be used is the basis of the height of the 2×4. It should be shorter than the tombstone in order to be hidden and for the head to peer over. A couple of eye screws with a diameter large enough for the PVC to fit through is placed into the 2×4. It should not be tight so that it can easily rotate but should be tight enough to avoid wiggling. A shorter length of 2×4 is screwed in front to give the 2×4 a little more supprt as shwon below.

The materials that will be used will include a flat metal arm, 11” yellow PVC, 17” green PVC, 13” red PVC, short blue PVC for wig head, two 45 deg. elbow PVC connectors, “T” PVC conenctor, rounded PVC cap, and one more purple PVC for mounting the motor. As shown in the image below, all the PVC will be connected together. To reduce the friction during the turning, the PVC cap goes on the bottom and the green piece will go up in the 2×4 through the eye screws. Depending on the tombstone and mask to be used, the vertical and diagonal PVC lengths can be adjusted.

Working on the motor is the next step where a length of PVC is zip tied to the crank arm and the extra wiggle was taken out using hot glue. The wide movement for the prop will depend on the length of the crank arm it is attached to. A hole is drilled in the PVC crank arm to conenct it to the metal arm. Using another bolt and nut, the other end of the metal arm is attached to the horizontal piece with a washer in between as shown below.

The motorcan be elevated a little by screwing another 2×4. The yellow PVC should not be too high or low in relation to the crank arm on the motor to have the entire rotating motion on one plane. The green and red pieces of PVC can have their desired look by making some adjustments. Any mask or wig found can be used along with the tombstone.