Santa's Workshop - Revision history

ErnieHorning: Refined the project introduction, noted that modern controllers can be substituted for the original Renzilla hardware, added context that the construction techniques apply to many outdoor display projects, and preserved the original project narrative, engineering decisions, and extensive photographic documentation.

2026-07-21T16:39:05Z

Refined the project introduction, noted that modern controllers can be substituted for the original Renzilla hardware, added context that the construction techniques apply to many outdoor display projects, and preserved the original project narrative, engineering decisions, and extensive photographic documentation.

Dirknerkle at 19:46, 17 September 2016

2016-09-17T19:46:39Z

Dirknerkle at 19:46, 17 September 2016

2016-09-17T19:46:22Z

Dirknerkle at 19:45, 17 September 2016

2016-09-17T19:45:42Z

Dirknerkle at 19:44, 17 September 2016

2016-09-17T19:44:36Z

Dirknerkle at 19:42, 17 September 2016

2016-09-17T19:42:50Z

Admin at 03:21, 11 September 2016

2016-09-11T03:21:22Z

Admin at 03:17, 11 September 2016

2016-09-11T03:17:21Z

Admin at 03:14, 11 September 2016

2016-09-11T03:14:38Z

Admin at 03:08, 11 September 2016

2016-09-11T03:08:36Z

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-The goal of this project was to construct 4-walled, roofed buildings with windows to be set outside and protect animatronic figures from inclement weather. This was a huge project but in the end, a very enjoyable one that visitors truly enjoyed.
+The goal of this project was to build weather-resistant buildings to house animatronic figures during the Christmas display. This was a huge project but in the end, a very enjoyable one that visitors truly enjoyed.
 '''Materials:'''
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 * Contact cement, silicone glue, paint, colored duct tape, rolls of self-adhesive vinyl
 * Clear plastic sheeting, zip ties, garland, strings of LED lights
-* Renzilla controller set up to control incandescent and LED strings, LED spotlights, servos.
+* Renzilla controller (or similar lighting controller) set up to control incandescent and LED strings, LED spotlights, servos.
 '''Assembly:'''
 There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. This WIKI page is a summary of the steps; here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more running information and commentary than is printed here:  [http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254  '''SANTA WORKSHOP THREAD''']
 [[File:DSCI1746.JPG|center|500px]]
 Realizing the size of such a structure might become problematic to erect indoors, the idea morphed into three separate structures with Santa's Workshop being two of the three and the third a self-standing A-frame Elf House. EMT conduit was chosen as the framing material with the thought that it would be more durable, easier to store and afford plenty of strength from the elements. This later proved to be true as the buildings encountered 40-50mph winds soon after setting them outside. We discovered that coroplast sheets zip-tied in multiple places to the EMT frames were ''incredibly'' strong and durable. With screws and wing nuts, the EMT frames could be rather quickly dismantled or erected, too. A drawing was made to determine frame trusses and rough angles -- we wanted it to have some character.
 [[File:Santa workshop-8.png|center|500px]]
 We constructed the houses in the basement with not a lot of room to spare. These things were pretty big...
 [[File:Final frame.jpg|400px]]  [[File:Test fit.JPG|400px]]
 A completed Elf House leans against the wall, including its frame -- they don't take a lot of depth to store but let's face it, 4x8' pieces of coro still take up some space...
 [[File:Elf house folded up.JPG|center|600px]]
 Taping the coro panels together for a test-fit of Santa's Workshop gave us a good idea of what it might look like. After the test-fit it was time for paint, cutting windows and doors and the application of self-adhesive vinyl -- all of which was great fun! We wanted it to be colorful and different. The project required almost 4 months to complete.
 [[File:Final test fit.JPG|center|600px]]
 When it came time to set up the show, we assembled the houses in the garage first. They weren't very heavy -- each was probably about 10-15 pounds or so, and we simply carried them out and pinned the frames to the ground with multiple ground stakes.
 [[File:WP 20141117 001.jpg|center|600px]]
-Then we put the animatronic figures inside, wired the interior spot lights, applied garland and strings of LEDs to outline everything (and hide the seams), and install the wireless Renzilla controller. We chose the Renzilla because it can control almost any kind of light you can imagine as well as servos for the animatronic figures -- and with 96 channels available, all at the same time from a single box!
 [[File:WP 20150103 012.jpg|400px]]    [[File:WP 20150103 010.jpg|400px]]
 We were pleased with the end result and we know visitors liked it, too!
 [[File:WP 20141122 001.jpg|center|750px]]
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 [[File:WP 20141122 007.jpg|center|750px]]

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 '''Assembly:'''
-There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. This WIKI page is a summary of the steps; here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more running information and commentary than is printed here:  [http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254  '''SANTA WORKSHOP THREAD'']
+There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. This WIKI page is a summary of the steps; here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more running information and commentary than is printed here:  [http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254  '''SANTA WORKSHOP THREAD''']
 [[File:DSCI1746.JPG|center|500px]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 '''Assembly:'''
-There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. This WIKI page is a summary of the steps; here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more running information and commentary than is printed here: '''http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254'''
+There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. This WIKI page is a summary of the steps; here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more running information and commentary than is printed here:  [http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254  '''SANTA WORKSHOP THREAD'']
 [[File:DSCI1746.JPG|center|500px]]

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 '''Assembly:'''
 There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. This WIKI page is a summary of the steps; here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more running information and commentary than is printed here: '''http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254'''
 [[File:DSCI1746.JPG|center|500px]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 '''Assembly:'''
-There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. Here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more information than is printed here: http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254
+There is no "kit" for this kind of project. Much of it is by the seat-of-one's pants along with a healthy dose of by guess and by golly. It started with the creation of a tabletop concept mock-up out of, appropriately, scraps of coroplast. This WIKI page is a summary of the steps; here's a link to the thread in the diychristmas.org forum that contains more running information and commentary than is printed here: '''http://diychristmas.org/vb1/showthread.php?1463-Santa-s-Workshop-Elf-House-2014&p=13254&viewfull=1#post13254'''
 [[File:DSCI1746.JPG|center|500px]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:21, 11 September 2016
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