Halloween hobbies: monster models, knitting, cross stitch, paper cutting and more.

Posted: August 22, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Halloween, Knitting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

CURRENTLY BEING REVISED AND UPDATED FOR THE 2015 SEASON

halloween countdown 10 final

It’s high August. Here in Minnesota, we’re having our dog days of summer. Our temperatures are ranging from the mid-70s at midnight to the high-90s at noon. It’s hot. It’s thick. It’s muggy. Our air conditioners are running overtime. And, mostly, we just want to stay inside and be cool.

It’s the perfect week to pick up a new horror-friendly hobby or start a new creepy craft piece. There’s time to finish the work before Halloween, and the unstable weather of late summer and early autumn can provide lots of opportunities to settle in with a handcraft and a great scary movie. (Maybe an iconic old horror film, or one about Halloween or ghosts?)

A little later in the countdown, I’ll try to gather up some links and suggestions for larger projects to turn a home and yard into an appropriately spooky venue for Halloween. The following list is for smaller things, for hobbies that can be indulged year-round, and that can fit into the idle edges of the busy back-to-school, end-of-summer days.

NOTE: All photographs and images below are used for the sole purpose of referring readers to the original website that offers the pictured merchandise or content, At posting, all links are current and active. If a link fails to direct properly, it is due to a change by the vendor which is out of my control. I have NOT made the following projects, so I cannot guarantee that patterns are correct.

MONSTER MODELS:

I do NOT need a new hobby. That said, I am lusting after a monster model kit or two.  Michael Thomas-Knight, over at Parlor of Horror, hooked me on this idea a while back, with his post: Aurora Monster Models and Prehistoric Scenes Kits. Ever since, I’ve been resisting the pull of these beauties. What saves me is the fact that I really just want to HAVE the models, not so much spend the time MAKING them. (I did ask Ogre last night if he missed model making. Perhaps there is a trip to a hobby store in my near future.)

NOTE: It appears that any given model might be available from any number of sources. I’ve linked to the ones I found, but if the suggested site goes out of stock, just google the proper name of the creature and see what comes up. Click around a little to find your favorite monster – many different designs are available. Be careful, though. Some listings are for reproduction boxes only. Others are for more expensive models in vinyl or resin. Some models might be available at your local hobby store. I’ve gathered a selection that shows a cross-section of the available plastic (styrene)  model kits.

Creature from the Black Lagoon w/Female
1/8 Scale | Moebius |Skill Level 2. |Ages 15 and up. |Approx. Price: $36.89
See more details about the kit at The Modeling News

Bela Lugosi as Dracula Deluxe Kit with Woman
1/8 | Moebius| Skill Level 2. |Ages 10 and up. |Approx. Price: $40.99
See more details about the kit at IPMS / USA Reviews

Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde
1/8 | Moebius | Skill Level 3. | Ages 15 and up. |Approx Price: $21.99
See more details about the kit at IPMS / USA Reviews

Bride of Frankenstein
1/8 | Moebius | Skill level 3. | Ages 15 and up. | Approx. Price: $39.99
See more details about the kit at IPMS / USA Reviews

Psycho Bates Mansion
1/87 | Polar Lights | Skill Level 2. | Ages 10 and up. | Approx. Price:  $26.99
See more details about the kit at IPMS / USA Reviews

Munsters House 1313 Mockingbird Lane
1/87 | Moebius | Skill level 2. |Approx. Price: $36.89
See more details about the kit at IPMS / USA Review

MONSTER SCENES SNAP-TOGETHER MODELS

If even the level 2 kits I’ve spotlighted above are a little too intimidating, there is another option. Monster Scenes models are snap-together, rather than glue-dependent. The scale of these models is 1/13, and each kit is intended to work with all the other kits in the collection.

SEX & SADISM IN A KIT

Yes. That does mean “The Victim”  fits inside “The Hanging Cage” … and in every other torture and restraint device in the dungeon diorama pieces.

The Monster Scenes line was created by Aurora, who had enjoyed massive success in the 60s, with classic Universal Monsters models. In the early 70s, they introduced this set, which quickly attracted the ire of religious and feminist groups. (And probably most parents.) Remember, the suggested age on these “toys” was 10 and up.

There is a great articles about the backlash at RetroCrush. There is also an elaborate website dedicated to the Monster Scenes models and their scandalous history at monsterscenes.net.

You can see how the pieces can be used to create multiple scenes in the following video, and get a glimpse of some additional pieces that may be available if you’re good with a search engine.

Get The Victim, The Hanging Cage & Gruesome Goodies at Moebius Models. ($25 – $30 each.) Try MegaHobby for: The Feral Cat, Sabre Tooth Rabbit, The Skeleton. Amazon is another resource which currently stocks  The Pendulum, and Dr. Deadly himself.

GETTING STARTED

Having never been a model builder, I had to do some poking around to even begin to understand what to do.

I found this:
A beginner’s guide to making plastic models. (This is a general site, that talks about model vehicles,)
and this:
How to Make (Plastic) Monster Models by Dex Robinson. Where Dex shows various stages in the process resulting in this masterpiece:
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
And this:
 — just to get an idea of how expensive (outside of the cost of the models themselves) this hobby is.
Megahobby Modelers Pack Set 4
“Great for getting started in Modeling”
You get the Testors Hobby Knife, Liquid cement with applicator, Special Value paint set and Testors sandpaper.
Approximate Price: $19.79

Or:
Megahobby Tool Pack
This set includes Testors liquid cement, a three-pack of fine sable paint brushes, a Model Expo sprue cutter, a Testors assorted sand paper pack with three different grits, and a Testors standard hobby knife.
Approximate price: $22.99 0r, if you want a Mega Hobby tee, $29.99.

I know, of course, that the actual supplies to complete a model would be far higher.

Especially because, of course, I want to do this:

model munsters living room

FOUR figures! Plus a bat, a rat and a rabbit(?)

Munsters Living Room
1/16 | Polar Lights | Skill Level 2. | Ages 10 and up. | Approx. Price:  $24.99
See more details about this kit at IPMS / USA Reviews

 

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FREE HALLOWEEN KNITTING PATTERNS:

Knitting patterns:

New in 2015:

From years past, but checked for availability:

I never learned to crochet, but there are some great free patterns out there. Google away 😀

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FREE GENERAL CRAFTS INSTRUCTIONS:

Here’s a particularly cool site for gothic, creepy, pagan, horror-based crafts from all disciplines. I’ve picked out three, but click around, especially if you don’t do any of the crafts I’ve spotlighted in this post.

anticraft_header

The Anti-Craft Blog … Seasonal Digital Magazine … Archive Page

Bad Juju
Day of the Dead Suitcase Altar
Dollar Store Death

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FREE CROSS STITCH PATTERNS:

freepatterns.com
kreinik.com
kreinik.com
hobbyloco.com
kreinik.com

 

 

 

Haunted House by FreePatterns.com (You may have to register at this site – I already was.)
Halloween Friends by Kreinik
Happy Halloween by Kreinik
Halloween Cats by Krienik
11 little embellishment patterns from HobbyLoco.com

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FREE PAPER CUTTING / SCHERENSCHNITTE  INSTRUCTIONS & PATTERNS:

First, I’d love to introduce you to Tong, who has a bunch of patterns and instructional videos available a www.tongs-paper-cutting.com Links to her Halloween-specific work can be found here: Halloween Cutting Patterns. I love watching and listening to her videos – they are just deeply relaxing. Here’s an example, in which she cuts a pumpkin:

Here are a couple of downloadable templates, by Scherenschnitte: Cindy Ferguson, for these designs:

Halloween Witch
Halloween Werewolf

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This week is a great time to enjoy the heat of summer in the days, and anticipate the cool of autumn in the nights. In the day, when it’s not too blazing, spend time on or in the water if you can. In the evening, grill, or enjoy a bonfire.

We’ve just passed the Green Corn (Sturgeon, Grain) full moon, but it’s still hanging large in the sky. Due to atmospheric conditions common to August nights, it often appears reddish. When it wanes and waxes twice more, we’ll be getting very close to Halloween.

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FOR MORE HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN ARTICLES VISIT THE MAIN INDEX

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