Constructing a Hobby Animal
There seems to be an interest in the revival of civic giants, and some type of giant might appeal to a Morris side looking for an attendant character with a difference.
Obviously the huge one-piece figure of the traditional civic giant would be impractical, but consider the point in principle -
Your giant would have to be:
Operated by one man - and therefore, light
Of modest 'usable' size.
Minimum, manageable windage.
Collapsible for packing and storage. If you say 'Nothing longer than 4'6"…', you can still have a giant about 7'-8' to the shoulder.
The following ideas were inspired by, and based on, a giant Dracula figure seen at the Whitby Folk Festival 1984. This had been made by a most expert Constructor of Giants who was attached to Taffy Thomas's team.
Obviously, there will be many ways of achieving a good result, but the following theoretical example will serve to outline some of the problems and to define areas that need thinking about
If 1 were doing it 1 should try very hard to obtain the cast-off frame of an old frame-tent that was made from light alloy.
MAIN FRAME. Trapezoidal. Narrowing end at the waist of the operator where there is a rucksack-type fitting. A cross-member at neck height provides a mounting for the shoulder straps, and another at the top forms the giants shoulders.
A pair of horizontal fore-and-aft struts just clear the operator's shoulders, with another pair at the top corners. The ends of these are joined by diagonal stays which should prevent the frame from twisting and give thickness to the body. A light bar joining the fronts of the lower pair of struts should provide a useful fixing point for controls, while something similar at the top would help with the mounting of the head.
HEAD. The general problems are going to involve getting the maximum visual effect and 'lifelikeness' with minimum weight and windage and the minimum number of controls.
The head is made wide but very shallow. The nose projects forward but there is very little depth behind the face, most being lightweight 'hair'
I suggest that the head be made to turn, but that the pivot be tilted down to the front so that when the giant is looking straight ahead he is also looking down. The head would be returned to this position by its own weight. As the head turns, it will lift until it is about level at 60 degrees of turn. It is operated by pulling on two strings. I would have the string to turn the head to the left coming to the right hand of the operator and vice-versa. This would enable the figure to reach out in the direction that he is looking.
EYES. These should he made to move up and down. (perhaps with built-on eyelids). They are worked automatically from the rotation of the head. When this is in the neutral, forward, looking-down position, the gaze is at about right-angles to the plane of the face. As the head lifts to the side the eyes look down to keep the angle of gaze about constant relative to the horizontal.
MOUTH. An opening mouth would he nice. 1 should give him a droopy 'Asterix' moustache which would define the sides of the mouth. If its ends diverged, and the lower lip worked behind them, the mouth would seem to be getting wider as it opened.
ARMS. Worked by rods attached to the hands, like some puppets (v. Kermit') The rods would need to be as light as possible, and as there is negligible loading, strong canes might do.
The shoulder joint can be 'universal' i.e. two linked rings; but the elbow should have the restriction of the natural joint. The inner ends of the canes should be fastened to a belt by cords so that the operator can let go altogether if he needs to. Wrist-straps might be useful here.
Extra features would be a matter of personal inclination and ingenuity. Possibilities might include:
Rotating the operating cane causes the hand to lift and the fingers to spread and/or curl or uncurl. Alternatively this could be linked to rotation at the elbow.
More head or eye movement
Flashing eyes or a loudspeaker in the mouth
Etc., etc. - weight is probably the limiting factor.
COVER. This is very important The Whitby Dracula minimised windage by having the material above the operator cut into strips about 3' wide. This allows the wind to blow through the figure, and it is this development which makes the idea practical. One problem which has to be faced is that of durability. I think that I would look for some really lightweight material that is made in strip form. This would be better than cutting up larger pieces, with problems of splitting and fraying.