One Way to Make a Zombie Prop

Hi.  This is my first instructable.  This year I decided to decorate my yard for Halloween, and of course I gotta have a zombie.  I love Instructables.com and have always wanted to contribute.  I didn't think about it until I had already started, so I don't have pictures for every step.  What I Used:  Duct tape, old pair of shoes, several cans of expanding foam (used to fill in cracks), 12 ft long pvc pipe or two 6ft poles, Styrofoam head (can be found at craft stores, I got mine on ebay), old pair of pants and shirt, rubber dishwashing gloves, 2 round objects for eyes (I used wooden craft balls), latex paint, soldering iron, fish hook, hot glue gun, and a few wooden dowel rods.

Step 1: First Step: the Body

I took a 12 ft PVC pipe and cut it in half.  I drilled a hole in each pipe in the middle and connected them together with a nut and bolt. I then filled both shoes with the spray foam, stood the ends of the pvc pipes into the shoes.  Next I took a piece of cardstock, rolled it into a cylinder and put it into the shoes and filled them with the spray foam.  Once it hardens it will give you a strong base.  Mine stood on its own, but later I laid it at an angle and it shifted and no longer stays up by itself.  Next I just took whatever I could find and duct taped it to the frame to fill in the body. I started with plastic bags, then used an old blanket. Anything to fill in the body.  I taped a dowel rod to the top to make the shoulders and one angled up to spike the head on.  I taped two dowel rods on for the arms and filled them in just like the body.  I then put on the clothes. 

Step 2: The Hands

For the hands I filled in the dishwashing gloves with the spray foam.  Make sure the fingers get filled in and it's not air in them.  Mine looked full but it was just air.  When it dried I peeled off the gloves and painted the finger stubs like they were chewed off, so it wasn't too bad.  I filled one of the hands too much, but it justs looks the zombie is bloating.  To paint them I used latex  house paint.  I had some that was several years old and was a light tan color, so it was thick, put easy to tint.  I mixed in acrylic paint to change the colors.  I mixed black with the tan to give it a pale dead skin color.  Once dry, shove them onto the dowel rods.

Step 3: The Head

WARNING: MELTING STYROFOAM CAN BE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH.  DO NOT BREATH IN ANY OF THE FUMES. WEAR A RESPIRATOR.  For the head I took the Styrofoam head and melted in the eye sockets with the soldering iron.  I also made nostrils and ear holes and made a slit for the mouth.  I wanted to do something grotesque, so I removed half the jaw.  I stopped there because I was afraid I was going to mess it up, but do as much as you want to.  I painted in the eye sockets and jaw with a pink and red color, and the rest of the head with the same color as the hand.  For the eyes, I took the wooden balls and painted them white.  I then used a sharpie and made the pupil, and took a red pen and made the eyes look bloodshot.  I pushed one eye into the socket . For the other eye I took the fish hook and straightened it. Then I glued the fish hook to the back of the eye (I am using the barb to hold the eye to the head).  I used the hot glue gun to make the eye nerves that hold the eye in the head. Once dry, I painted it red and stuck it to the head.  Then I put the head onto the dowel rod.   

Step 4: The End

So that's it.  It's nothing special, but I had fun doing it.  I'll probably go back and add more details to the head.  Let me know what you think.