Halloween Project Journal: Building a Bloody Bathtub Skull Display
Description
The idea came from Charlotte and Amelia: a skull sitting in a bathtub full of blood, with water pouring from a cup into its mouth on an endless loop. It felt funny and scary in the exact way a Halloween project should.
This journal is where I’m tracking the build as it comes together. The main pieces are simple enough: a bathtub made from a container, a 3D printed skull, fake blood-coloured water, a 3D printed hand, a 3D printed cup, tubing, and a water pump hidden behind the scene. The trick is making it look messy and haunted while keeping the mechanics clean, safe, and easy to operate.
Our early plan looks like this:
Part | Job in the display |
Bathtub | Holds the fake blood and hides the return area |
Skull | Main scare piece and visual target |
Cup | Pouring point for the circulating liquid |
Prop hand | Adds story and makes the scene feel more staged |
Water pump | Moves the liquid through the loop |
Tubing | Carries water from the pump to the cup |
Fake blood mix | Gives the water its Halloween look |
Oct 4
The bathtub is the focal point of the project, so we began there. We took a container and spray-painted it creamy white.
The skull and hand are already done, which took a total of 30 hours to print.
The water pump circuit was very easy. We built in three weeks ago:
Charlotte discovered a really cool faucet model to add to the bathtub for a more realistic look. It is currently printing, with another 1 hour and 45 minutes remaining. Today, we also completed designing the cup, which includes a hole for the tubing.
It requires 2 hours to print.
At the moment, we need to consider adding weight to the hand and skull to prevent them from floating due to the water.
Additionally, we need to research how to mix water with some ingredients to create fake blood. After that, the project should be complete. Our goal is to finish it within the next two weeks.
2:50PM
The cup is done printing. Fits really well on the skeleton hand:
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