Looking for ideas

[tamarinne]

So the prop designer and I have come to an agreement about the dragon - she'll build the head, I'll cover the head and body with fabric and make it look appropriately dragony.  This way, we both win - I don't have to be sitting on the bathroom floor at 1 AM having a meltdown because Dragon Head Mark 4 has just imploded (c.f. Jabberwocky) and she doesn't have to touch a sewing machine.  Yay!

Here's the thing, though - ideally, what we'd like to do is make the body out of 3 arches connected by fabric, so that the three actors who will be operating the dragon will be able to manipulate the body in some semblance of a snakey fashion.  Brilliant idea #1 was to get two hula hoops and chop them in half to make the arches.  Sadly, it doesn't seem to be hula hoop season, and we have not been able to find any hula hoops in the stores.    Does anyone out there have an idea for a good (and hopefully CHEAP) material that could be used to form the arches?  It should be strong enough to hold up the weight of fabric and still hold an arch shape that has terminal points about shoulder-width apart.

Comments

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

Does anyone out there have an idea for a good (and hopefully CHEAP) material that could be used to form the arches?

I would try Home Depot, and look in both the plumbing and building construction sections. I seem to recall having seen flexible pipe sort of stuff that might do the trick for you. Good luck on explaining it to a floor person though.

[rantmo.livejournal.com]

Lightwieght PVC piping?

[b00jum.livejournal.com]

I'm with the Home Depot idea, but I have doubts about PVC piping. I've used it in large quantities in other projects and its prone to bending easily.

This may not be that hard to fabricate if you've got anyone who can do metal work

[fairestyarrow.livejournal.com]

Oh, Oh! I know this one!!! Hold on... grr.... graphite? It's something to do with building kites....? Or, the rods that are used for wand cat toys... Though, they might not have enough flex, come to think of it.... Sorry, Clever Monkey was not IN, as I had thought. :(

[corwyn-ap.livejournal.com]

I think you want PEX tubing (available at building stores). I made a hula hoop out of a leftover piece today, and it had what seems to me an appropriate level of bend. A three-foot-ish diameter hoop required a little bending. It is fairly flexible within a range, and not so much after that.

[tamarinne.livejournal.com]

Does it hold the shape once you've bent it, or does it spring back?

[jamey1138.livejournal.com]

Still a Home Depot thing to get: consider copper tubing. Maybe a piece of 1/4" copper pipe, or maybe some refridgerator tubing (which comes in smaller diameters, though often only in longer pieces?) The 1/4" pipe will be a pit tricky to bend, but it'll definately hold shape.

Or, it occurs to me, take a few pieces from ME, for FREE. Drop by tonight, and I'll show you what I have to offer.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Free is always the right answer.

That being said, conduit (grey metal in the electrical section) of the Home Depot is what you want. It's cheap and does waht you need. You can also buy a conduit bender, shape the pieces how you like and then return the bender (it's the Home Depot, after all).