Now that we are done with Halloween and just clean up remains I thought I would post links to additional photos and video from our Harry Potter Halloween.
This link is to our photos at flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7420144@N07/

This link is to a sometimes dark video walk through posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtKG7O_DrDc

The Crazineness Ends, For Now At Least

We had an extremely busy few days completing our outside preparations for Halloween. The feature on the local CBS channel 9&10 News went really well. Kailee and Corey (the reporter and cameraman) were great, very friendly and very professional. The result was a lot more people attending, at times we had people lined up down our driveway and down the block to the school. Exhausting but fun. With the exception of a few angst ridden teenagers, we had a pretty happy crowd. We owe big thanks to Amanda, Eva, Wendy, Ken, Danielle, Mike, Sam, Travis, and Christine for playing characters and doing such a great job. And of course to Amanda for all her hard work on this project!!!
Danielle helped frequently too. Pics are final of the train, and characters as they finished getting into costume. Also young Mr. Potter gets sorted by Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape prepares to hand out potions.

The train is about done now. We have 6 wheels painted and ready to attach in the morning.
It will have steam coming out of the stack, it's own light, and train sound effects.

Later today all the parts were on the train but we need to router the wheels and the front and paint them before attaching them in final form.

We are in the middle of making the train. The fog machine and pvc have already been mounted inside. We are going to add routered foam to the front and foam wheels to the bottom sides and then plastic tarping on the tank and everything left to paint black will get painted black. Then we have to hang the dementor in the cemetery, paint the back of the caboose and finishing hanging curtains in all the doorways...that's it folks. Almost ready.

Amanda is working on a stack of teacups for Professor Trelawney's classroom. She started making these from styrofoam coffee cups last night.

Finally got a refund from Haunted Props this week. Two months after placing the order. At least that's over with.
Last night I started painting the base of the train but ran out of paint so I will have to get back to it tonight (if it doesn't rain - I swear I expect to see Noah around here lately).
I came inside and made the sign for the front of the train. Attached are pics of the sign in its various stages of completion. I painted the gold letters and trim this morning. The sign is made from pink foamboard.

We're putting the finishing touches on things, installing lights on walls, adding decorations, and trying to finish the engine and the caboose. Above are pics of the lolly tree I made (ugly but effective) for the candy cart, and the smoke stack for the train (made from a plastic waste basket). We will be feeding the pvc from the fog machine up through the stack where it will vent out. Breaking news, I may have to remove Dumbledore's eyes as we may have a person to play the part of Dumbledore and a person playing Mad Eye Moody. Will know more within a day or so. Also we are to be featured on the local morning news. Not all of the actors/Hogwarts staff members can be present for this but hopefully a few will be.

Cemetary almost done

Tonight we finished putting up tombstones and cemetery fence. The only thing missing from the cemetery room now is the hanging moving dementor. Pictures are with and without flash to show detail and effect.

Dumbledore sitting in his chair finally.

Time is Running Short

We built Dumbledore's chair tonight and as soon as the paint is dry on it he will be seated there...we compromised on the spires for the outside of the chair and instead used some bedposts that had not gone on the ship last year. Jim built the car front and wired it tonight as well, but until we have it painted and the bumper and tires are attached I'm not taking a photo.

Amanda and I finished the walls in Dolores' office tonight. I added eyes to Dumbledore's mask today as well.
Animation of finished Dolores office without desk.

Amanda and I painted most of the lines for the bricks and Amanda airbrushed using a stencil on the curtains.
They look much better now.

Did some airbrushing on the curtains in Dolores' office tonight. I have one area that you will see on the window curtains that needs to dry and then get a touch up..for some reason I hit a patch of paint that was more watered down at that point.
I still have to put the stencils on the curtains too. Then paint in the lines for the bricks and airbrush in their detail.

I finally got around to putting out a body for Dumbledore and dressing him so that his mask can stretch out a little. I also put Voldemort's mask out to stretch as well as the Sorting Hat. Don't like the table cloth I originally got for the long table so I used a large piece of red fabric.
Pics below.
We are just now getting cold weather after the heat wave last weekend and I think it's time to put the outside summer lights and swings away. Maybe this weekend.

We built the walls for Dolores Umbridge's office and foam boarded them in. It will be brick with pink patterned curtains, a stone archway coming in and a flatter archway leading out.
The outer door will be the doorway coming out of the caboose of the train.
I have some stencils and after all the base paint dries I plan to start painting in the bricks on the walls and the texture and patterns to the curtains. I have another small project to finish that has nothing to do with Halloween and that might hold me up this week.
We also put some of the masks out to stretch on dummy heads...need to get Voldemort's out and stretched as well so will have to dig out a skeleton to place it on.
Last night I found out we lost our Voldemort character, he suddenly realized he was using all his vacation time for a trip to China and therefore could not take a day off to play Voldemort.
More notice would have been greatly appreciated...only 3 weeks or so till Halloween.
Anyway pics attached are of the base coating on the walls of Dolores' office and of the masks sitting out to stretch.

On August 24, 2007 I ordered 2 Howlers from HauntedProps.com with the understanding based on the website listing that they would actually ship out September 1st. It is now October 2nd and they still haven't even shipped to me. I've tried a couple of times to cancel the order with no response from the company. The website just says call or email for status. Now I've had to file a credit card dispute to try to get my funds back. I'll never order from this company again. Everyone else that I have ordered from this year has been GREAT, Alivans, Buycostumes, Amerimark, WarnerBrothers, MonsterMakers, just to name a few. I thought HauntedProps would be ok because they advertise that they've been featured by Jay Leno and Discovery Channel, once again I've been taken in by advertising.

We made some changes to Trelawney's room and the greenhouse last night. Hung the beaded curtain in the doorway which will also have a black curtain behind it, hung some more curtains on the walls and ceiling, also took pics of the newly painted teapot and cups and a view looking back at the Greenhouse now that the huge table is out of the way and some plants are beginning to appear on the shelves of the greenhouse.