Christmas at the Manor

Website Up!!!

2008-08-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

Strike up the band!!

Wake the kids!!

Call the neighbors!!

I finally got my website up. The blog will still be used to updated you on things I have been doing, but for the most part everything is going on the blog. Check it out and let me know what you think!!

Check it out here!!

Update

2008-07-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a really long time since I have posted anything, so I thought I would give a little update.

I pretty much have this year all figured out. I had all new landscaping done back in May, so I was going to limit myself to what I was going to do. After a lot of thought, I figured I could come up with a new way of building my Mega Tree without having to put a hole in the ground. I plan on building a new support structure onto my base and just attaching the center pole to that. I plan on modeling it after Darryl's tree's. Still in the design stages, but I think I can make it work. I also plan on making what I am calling Mini Mega Trees. Basically they will be 6ft tall trees broken into 3 section, and each section will 3 colors (red, green and clear). Those are also going to be an easy build. I will also be making a PVC holder for my MR16 LED lights that will go under the eves of the house.

My biggest project is going to be a trolley that I would like to build. It will be put in the front of the house along the sidewalk and go back and forth along the front. It's not going to be a whole train like a lot of people build, but just a simple trolley that bounces back and forth. I am actually really excited about it. So far I have motors and the wheel assembly. I will be working on the drive train and the body in the next few weeks.

North Pole How-To

2008-01-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

Because I have not had a chance to get my website published, I will be posting my how-to for my North Pole Lights. Heres now I did it....

First is a list of Parts:
- 3' section of 3" PVC
- 3" Toilet Flange
- 3" PVC Coupler
- 3" Plastic Globe
- Single Outlet
- 15' Extension Cord
- Outdoor Socket
- Red Spray Paint

First thing I did was place a small piece of wood in the center of the PVC Coupler. I laid the piece of wood on the coupler and hot glued it into place.

Next thing is to cut off the female end of the extension cord.

Next I took one end of the PVC pipe. I measured up from the bottom, the length of the electrical outlet. I then cut a whole in the PVC with a Dremel the size of the outlet.

Once the wood dries, I attached the outdoor rated socket onto the piece of wood. I little more hot glue holds it into place. I made sure that the wires were still sticking through the bottom of the coupler. Make sure you cu the extension cord. To do this, I cut about 3' of the wire so that I could attach it to the socket. I then sealed it with electrical tape and wire nuts.

Next I attached the 3' section of wire with the male end of the extension cord, to the outlet. Make sure you pull the end through the pipe or else you won't be able to get it through later on.

Next I pushed the outlet through the whole on the bottom of the pipe. I simply screwed the outlet in and hot glued around the edge to prevent water from getting in.

Nothing is glued together on this poles. Simply push on the flange on the bottom and push the coupler onto the top. Next drill 3 holes in the coupler that will hold the globe into place. After you get the screws in, place the bulb in the socket (I used a 35watt appliance bulb) and place the globe on top and tighten the screws.

Finally, all I did was tape off a candy cane pattern on the poles and spray paint them red. The finished product looked like this.

Now my poles have an outlet on them, which is a very nice added feature. At the same time, it adds to the price. It makes it very easy to hook these all together in a daisy chain type of manner. I also plugged into them my "Light Cannons" when they were set up in the display.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!!

Christmas is Up!!

2007-12-02T19:27:00.001-08:00

It has been way to long since I have posted anything about the display. Just to catch you up, everything I wanted to get for this year, by some miracle got finished. The toy factory was completed, all the north pole lights were completed and I finished santa throwing the presents. It took me a week to get all the lights up, 15,375 lights this year. I have completed a bunch of the videos, but not all of them yet. You can find them at the following links. Also, my father took some amazing pictures of the display with the snow that we got today.

Opening

Overture

O Come All Ye Faithful - Twisted Sister Style

Little Saint Nick

Believe

Joy to the World

Stille Nacht

Breath of Heaven

Jingle Bells

Carol of the Bells

Closing Sequence

Here is a photo slide show

Factory Complete

2007-08-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

So things have been moving along very well lately. After about a month of work I finally completed the Toy Factory. Besides the neighbors thinking I am completely insane, I think it came out really really well. I set it up outside so I could get the sequencing right and see how I was going to set it up. Now I have to work on getting the right sound effects to put into the sequence. I am pretty much finished now with all the things I planned on making. I changed my plans a bit for what I was going to do with the North Pole Lights. Originally I was going to put garland and lights in between each pole, but once I saw these stars... http://www.christmaswonders.com/ ... I knew I had to add something to the front. Now the stars are made out of coro, but I don't have enough left, so I changed it around and decided to make it out of 5 gallon buckets. I orderd all the things I need from Action Lighting and am just waiting for them to come it. Once I get them, I'll be sure to show you what the final ones look like.

Here is what the Factory looks like at night...

Things moving along nicely

2007-07-24T14:24:00.001-07:00

Alright, so things are moving along very nicely. The website is finished, however it isn't published yet. Still waiting on on the person who is going to be hosting it to get his butt in gear and get it going...so bare with me. Now, I have finished all my sequencing except for one song. My last controller for this year has shipped and I am just waiting for it to show up. I built my Coro Santa, and he now has a job. He is going to be "throwing" a gift across my driveway and it will land in a bag on the other side. Just something I thought of and I haven't seen it done yet, so I thought it would be a little change from the arches that a lot of people do. Next huge project that is on the list is the toy factory. This is going to be the biggest piece by far that I have ever made, and it is going to be just over 11' long. Pretty impressive. I'll keep you updated.

First post and an update

2007-06-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give everyone an update on the site, and on my progress for this year.

The site currently is designed and ready to be uploaded. I will be using a site that my father hosts, so I am just waiting for all the domain stuff to be set up. The site should go public in about a week. I really like the way the site has turned out. It has a lot of how-to's on it and a lot more to come. The next biggest project is going to be the toy factory. This is going to be the biggest project yet, and is going to be a bit of a challenge for me. That whole process will be posted here as I go along, as well as on the site.

As far as what is already completed for this year, I have finished the 6 north pole lights...and I love them. They came out great and can't wait to put them into play with the display. The will look even better when I string the lighted garland between them. I also have 3 song's sequenced and have another 4 or 5 to do...I haven't decided yet.

As I go along through out the remainder of the year, I will be posting more and showing more pictures. Here is what the complete poles looked like, just so you can get an idea.