Civil War Field Cannon

[ChrisBartram]

Here's one of my coolest projects to date...
For the '07 haunt - since we're in an area rich with civil war history - we added a civil war themed area. We built a ~3/4 scale wagon with a ghostly driver, and for the centerpiece of the area was Private "Cannon Fodder" Waltrip. The private was our lookout for Yankees, and he was armed and ready.

The whole scene is PROP1 controlled, with the controller and electronics hidden inside the body of the cannon. The Private would light up (his eyes and his torch/stick) on command, then via a pneumatic cylinder would lower his arm (with the torch) to light the cannon. The cannon barrel then filled with smoke (fog machine built inside) and finally BLASTED out via a quick-exhaust valve rigged up to the compressed air feed.

Project details (including video of the cannon in action and circuit diagrams) at http://www.creepynights.org/Projects/2007/Civil-War-Cannon/index.html

Details on Private Waltrip are at http://www.creepynights.org/Projects/2007/Cannon-Fodder/index.html