Anyone made their own spring animal? IE kicker rabbit.

[KingTentacleAU]

I am having a hard time finding one thats not crazy overpriced.

I figured maybe i could get a plush toy, gut it and put some kind of spring in it, but im unsure what i may be missing or what kind of spring i would even want, it would need to be able to hold shape for puppetry but not be too stiff that it wants to shoot out of where its hidden.

My initial thought was a metal slinky cut down, but would that be enough? maybe with a weight in the bottom to help force it down?

Hoping someone might have some experience in making one.

Also on a side note, whats the best way to put a false bottom into a hat so i can hide a prop.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

I've never made one but...

Better than a slinky, just buy a spring. You can find them at hardware stores, or online if you really can't. Get one that can fit (you probably want one that isn't too hard to pull apart, but is still reasonably strong).

Not sure how you would go about making one. I would suggest something like this:
1 beam running up to the head of the rabbit.
The spring is attached at the bottom (horizontally the way one works on a flip-top DVD player). The spring then attaches to a beam running into the legs. You would have some sort of pull mechanism coming out of the stomach of the rabbit that pulls on the legs, and you quickly pull and release to make it go up and down. Probably a better way of doing it though.

Just note that you do get what you paid for, so you might wanna buy the marketed version.

 

[KingTentacleAU]

i cant use solid beams or anything like that it needs to collapse really small.

The spring can be manipulated really well i really just need to find the right kind of spring.

I would rather not drop $80 on a rabbit i should be able to make cheaper, the store bought ones are not that attractive either.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

I doubt you ca get it much smaller than the plush toy itself. Try squishing one of them, you won't get to bend it up too much.
You might want to use something like a pipe cleaner (the wire thing) instead. You wont collapse it too much, but it'll be looser than the beams (though I think a piece of wood or a dowel rod would work better).


This is the type of spring you want to be looking at:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Zinc-Plated-Compression-Spring-6-Pack-16087/202045468
Probably wanna buy a couple of eye hooks to attach at the ends. That way, when something twists it one way, the other end won't twist, and it'll compress and want to push back into position.

80 bucks? For real? I saw this for 30 bucks:
https://www.martinsmagic.com/allmagic/childrens/spring-rabbit-by-magic-inc/

 

[KingTentacleAU]

Same rabbit, i'm in Australia. so its about $80 plus shipping.

I was hoping there where some more affordable ones but hardly anyone makes them.

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That's the sort of springs i want, but i need one wider, buggered if i can find any tho they are all super small.

Might need to make a trip down to the local hardware stores.

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I did find one person somewhere say they made one using the spring from one of those jumping prank snakes in a can.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

same rabbit, i'm in Australia. so its about $80 plus shipping.

I was hoping there where some more affordable ones but hardly anyone makes them.

Oh wow. That's crazy expensive.

I'll let you know if I think of anything else!

 

[KingTentacleAU]

No worries thank you,

Because the rabbit is a cliche' i would have thought they where everywhere.
I found foxes and ferrets and skunks but no rabbits.

 

[RealityOne]

I have a two legged spring rabbit (it got into a tussle with my sheepdog puppet but the good part is that it no longer tries to run away - Just kidding) that I'd be willing sell for $29 (same price as: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S6805).

Send me a PM if interested. I can also include other stuff you may want to order from US magic shops in the package. US Priority Mail is the least expensive way of shipping to Australia and it is a fixed price for whatever you can fit in the box. So the more stuff you stick in the less the shipping cost per item.

 

[KingTentacleAU]

Thats really generous of you, but its not something i will be able to afford any time soon.