How to Make
a Dinosaur Scarecrow
Novelty Scarecrows • Traditional Scarecrows • Business Scarecrows
The McKeown-Todd family made a spectacular novelty dinosaur scarecrow that was the Overall Winner of the 2007 Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival. It was nearly 2m high and 3m long and took a day and a half to make.
| Greg, Geordie and Luke McKeown-Todd shared these secrets about how they made their dinosaur scarecrow, 'Tyranno-straw-us Rex'. |
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| Greg, Geordie and Luke started their dinosaur scarecrow by building a sturdy wooden frame for the head, neck, tail and all the legs. The feet were cut out of wooden sheeting with a jigsaw. |
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| Then they shaped pieces of chicken wire mesh around the frame to hold the straw covering the body. Soon they discovered that it was very difficult to get the straw to stay inside the wire mesh. So they placed plastic bags stuffed with straw near the frame and then packed loose straw between the bags and the wire mesh. | |
| Adjoining sections of mesh were joined together using fencing staples. |
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| The best method that they discovered for the straw stuffing was to do it section by section, starting with the narrower parts, like the neck and tail, and working towards the broader torso. Each new section of mesh should be about 75% sealed up using fencing staples, leaving just a narrow opening through which to stuff the straw. Once all the straw is in place, the gaps should be completely closed up.
Another problem they encountered was getting the dinosaur to balance on his hind legs. The wooden frame, that they first made, balanced nicely on its hind legs. However, once the straw stuffing was added, the neck became quite a bit heavier and the dinosaur tended to tip forwards. Greg, Geordie and Luke solved this problem by adding two bricks as counter weights inside the dinosaur's tail and supporting the dinosaur's neck with a star picket. |
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| Geordie made some mean-looking teeth for 'Tyranno-straw-us Rex' by coiling up sheets of white paper. |
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| And big glowing eyes were made from fuzzy orange balls. Green garden gloves were used for the dinosaur's hands. |
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The McKeown-Todds took 'Tryranno-straw-us Rex' to the 2007 Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival in a horse float. He made quite a sight travelling along the road with his head hanging out the back!
'Tryranno-straw-us Rex' was awarded the Margaret Garcia Trophy for the Overall Winner of the Festival as well as first place in the Novelty Scarecrow category and in the People's Choice competition. Congratulations to the McKeown-Todds for this marvellous dinosaur scarecrow display!
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© 2007. scarecrows-in-motion.com.au . All Rights Reserved. A page about the 2007 Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival.