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Special Effects - Make a "Jason Lives" Styrofoam Tombstone

I have always wanted to make one of these, and after seeing some tips in a book about how to make Styrofoam tombstones I got the idea to try and make the Jason Lives one. I bought some 4x8 insulation foam and cut it to ze, and I bought all kinds of materials, paints, sealers, pvc pipe, wood burning tool, etc so that I could get it as detailed as posble.

This is my first one and I was just going to use it as a test, and thought maybe it would get ruined practicing, but so far it is turning out great. I practiced some of the techniques on another piece of Styrofoam first as well. The only I hate is that it is REALLY messy and sticks to everything, especially your hands and clothes. I just added the first base-coat to the back and des.

It is about 24x20x4. The movie one is a little thicker yet but I wanted to see how this one turned out before going too thick, and this is thick enough. I also added two pvc pipes in the bottom so that you could insert some wooden dowels or steel rods into the ground to hold up against the wind. Will post more pics when it is complete.

Looks pretty good so far. Working with Styrofoam without a doubt is Balls all the way. Keep us posted when your finished!!

It was really hard ung a woodburner for the fine borders around the name, as if you hold it even for a second too long it will burn a huge hole, and you have to insert it just the right amount, and move it just the right speed too or it will burn too big or does not burn deep enough. Very tricky and nerve-wracking and I am glad I did not mess it up. I tried it once on another piece of foam. Knives work well but are very messy. I still used one for the bulk of it. I burn outde as the fumes are very bad.

Another basecoat, next up stone texture paint and more detailing and weathering. Will take outdoor pics when it is complete. This would look great in front of my life-zed Jason Lives.

:)

It's looking really good. Not bad for your first attempt. Keep the pictures coming bro. I wanna see this when it's all done!

Thanks all. Just finished the stone coat paint all around and will be getting it ready for the fine details and weathering. I love it as it is but I want to make it as accurate as posble. Some people outde thought it was a real stone. :) It looks very real, and I used the wood burning tool to make the des looked carved out instead of just flat. Here are some update pics. Paint is still wet here some.

The stone coat paint is a really nice touch. Tombstone looks really good. Great Job Brother!!

Ever think about becoming an undertaker??

Just painted the letters in with stone paint again and now working on aging and weathering techniques.

Finally got it about complete, looks real in the yard! I added the moss in the crack and it is wet looking, and added the moss staining running down to the bottom. In the movie it looks like just a piece is hanging on it but I decided to make it a crack with moss instead to make things eaer. Was a tough project but the end results were well worth it!

WOW, you really did an amazing job. Is their nobody else here in the forums that thinks so?? C'mon guys..lets give rbrad some props on an outstanding project!!!

Thanks man I appreciate it. Some people just browse and don't post, that is cool. I actually made this as a prototype with the intent on selling it, but it turned out so good that I decided I might keep it not sure. I am not sure when I will ever get to do another one as I am swamped with work, and this one took like 4 weeks off an on. The labor was intense and very messy, so I would have to get a decent amount to conder selling it. I had some decent offers so far, and the cost of materials alone was one hundred dollars. I know I could make up the cost if I did more but they are very time consuming. So as of now this will be the only one and I may list it on eBay not sure yet as I love how it came out. I did not expect it to look that good the first time. But it would have to be well worth my while to sell this labor of love. :)

The lighting was perfect, cloudy towards night. I also would like to get some shots at night next to a lantern. :)

Few more, wind was blowing pretty good so the middle one blurred a little. Still stayed standing though even with just the PVC pipes in it and not attatched to any ground anchors yet.

THAT IS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME BROTHER!

YOU WOULD ROCK A JUDITH MYERS STONE

Looks awesome brother. You should drizzle some blood on the machete and snap another pic.

Yeah I have not got around to weathering it yet but will eventually. I listed this on eBay reluctantly nce I had like 40 people ask me if I sell these lol. I might have to find a way to mass-produce them. I would use clay but that would be pretty expenve and really heavy lol.

Too bad it takes you so long to make them. You should make them on congnment here. Hopefully it sells for you on eBay.

Wow, this is really fantastic!

I may have to attempt this on my own. Just looking at the finished product, it's easy to see how much more realistic it is than the crap they sell around Halloween!

cool.. good job man!

What the ebay link where you have it I typed in Jason Live Tombstone and nothing pop up . Fantastic work looks so real .Too bad it's not Halloween yet I am quit sure you will get tons of orders for these because they look so real and just like the one in the movie .If you do sell these you might want to spray them with some sort of Water coat paint or something.Because I am sure some people may want to put them in there yards for Halloween.

Wow did not know this was made into a headline post. :) Thanks all, and yeah I got quite a few reuests already for Halloween but I am pretty busy making costumes at the moment. I might do 1 or 2 more and throw them on eBay around Sept. And yes I seal them with a matte clear coat. Although I probably would not keep them out in the rain nce this is a lot higher quality than most styrofoam tombstones, and more expenve. But they look cool outdoors though and even indoors as part of a display.