1. Using the permanent marker, fix any defects of the factory
paint job that came on the 3-D skeleton. Fully blacken in the eyeholes, draw
black lines around each hand and foot bone, etc.
2. Find a place for the Crusader to guard. You may need to pound
in a metal fencepost, or you can use a tree, post, or gate to support him.
3. Cut a neck hole in the fabric, as shown in the diagram, and cut a slit about ten inches long, to go down the back of the
tabard. This is so you can slip the tabard over his head. Also, cut a slit in
the front just large enough for the sword blade. If you wish, round the corners
of the fabric, as shown, with scissors. Make the edges as ragged and irregular
as you like.
4. Using the red paint (spray or paintbrush), make a large red
cross on the center front and center back of the tabard. You can use a stencil
if you like, but crude is just fine.
5. Stand the skeleton upright next to the support post with his
feet just touching the ground, and using wire or cord, tie him to the support.
Attach him to the post at the neck and at the spine just below the ribcage. Put
his tabard on.
6. Stick the sword through the front slit. The blade should pass
right next to the skelly's spine and the post. Using cord, tie the sword blade
to the skeleton and the post at a point just below the ribcage. The sword blade
should pass out the back of the tabard, so once you have it secured to skelly
and post, make a slit in the back of the tabard for the blade to exit.
7. Tease out a small piece (perhaps an inch square) of gray or
white artificial hair or cobweb material until it is very thin and floaty. With
rubber cement, glue this to the top of the skull. You want most of it to float
free in the breeze. You will be surprised at how this small bit of "extra" will
make your Crusader look real.
Now the Crusader will guard faithfully any treasure or entrance,
and in doing so, will lend spooky atmosphere to any gathering.
The Crusader is a faithful knight, still at
his post, though fleshless from years of patient waiting. You can still see the
red symbol on his tabard, though it is tattered and torn. Still bright, however,
is the sword that killed him. He stands at the Stronghold's lower gate, faithful
to the death-- and after. To make the Crusader, you will need: a
three-dimensional plastic skeleton ($10--$12 at variety stores); wire; cord; a
piece of cloth about half a yard by 1.5 yards--an old sheet is fine; a black
permanent marker; red paint (spray or in a can); gray or white hair or cobweb
material; rubber cement; and a sword, plastic or real. If you have no tree or gatepost, you may need a steel
fencepost to support him. The Crusader takes less than half an hour to make once you have all the materials.
