Arches
Arches, or leaping Light Arches are a great first prop or addition to any display. There are a number of construction methods used by members of the community. Some use pixels and some use AC lights. Some use inexpensive plumbing parts available at most home improvement stores and some use more expensive HDPE pipe for a more professional look.
PVC Arches with AC Lights
To achieve a chase effect across an arch multiple strings of lights are wound around the PVC arch in sections and wired to a multi-channel controller.
The Davis Family Christmas Light Show has great documentation on how they made their arches: http://www.davislights.org/leaping-arches/
HDPE Arches with Pixels
Matt Johnson created the seminal video for HDPE arches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pjHDMx92TI The HDPE tubing costs about $2 per foot and the shipping costs from McMaster are not cheap.
Matt's Bill of materials: 1. EMT tubing (1/2" from Home Depot) (70") 2. 2"OD, 1-3/4" ID HDPE Tubing (http://www.mcmaster.com/#50375K64) (cut to 9-1/2') 3. Pixel strips. These are the ones I use (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1921783413.html). Cut each 5m strip in half and make two arches with it.
PEX Arches with Pixels
A less expensive alternative to the HDPE tubing is using white PEX tubing available at most home improvement stores. Home Depot sells 1" white PEX that works great. The PEX is less translucent than the HDPE and will require the pixels to be set to a higher brightness than the other pixel props in the display.
Techplex found that the 1" white PEX from Home Depot (https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBite-1-in-x-10-ft-Straight-White-PEX-Pipe-U880W10/202033021) works great. Rubbing Alcohol (70% IPA) removes the printing on the outside of the pipe.
One can build either a PVC base or use EMT conduit to form the arches' base.
Jeff from the Canispader Christmas youtube channel used pvc to make the base of the arch with two pieces of wood to keep the arch upright.
He talks briefly about the arch in this video: https://youtu.be/C6Ay_4sOCOg?t=187