Design and Construction of Santa's Village
Sleigh
It all starts with a plan. In this case, a complex piece was Judith portraying her concept to Jerry who had to figure out how to build a sleigh. Her method? Build a little cardboard model of what it needed to look like and leave it to Jerry to figure out how to do it.
There were a number of design criteria:
- Had to move from their house to the venue(s) in their pickup.
- Had to be stored in as small of footprint as possible.
- Built with common parts from a box hardware store.
- Two benches (one for Santa and Mrs. Claus and one for the people getting a photo).
- Had to withstand the weight of 5-6 adults.
So, that is how they arrived at this design. The base is made of 2×4’s and 3/4 inch plywood. The benches, also 2×4 and plywood construction, are screwed on to that base, and wooden pins were used to insure they all line up, and easily removable with a screwdriver.
The backs of the benches are made of plywood and are screwed onto the benches. The sides and front are cut out of plywood with a jigsaw, put in place with metal guide pins, and screwed to their appropriate surface.
A problem that was discovered was the original red paint was too reflective to be in a photo environment, and so red felt is placed on all red vertical surfaces (definitely a ‘Judith’ task!).
Finishing it out is gold ribbon for edging, green velvet cushions for both benches that were made by Jerry’s sister, Debbie, and black mats on the floor surfaces to reduce scuffing.
Reindeer Barn and Workshop Construction
The reindeer barn and workshop are constructed of 2×2’s. They are all built of narrow panels, screwed together.
- Barn
- 4 panels across the front.
- One each on each side to both cover that area as well at hold up the structure.
- A bar across each panel to provide the ‘barn door’ look.
- There is a cardboard insert in each bottom openings, painted to look like red barn material. Both ends are fully enclosed with the same painted cardboard.
- Across the top is a decorated cardboard sign, identifying the barn.
- Workshop
- Very similar design as the barn, except for the triangle roof (2×2’s) that is screwed to the panels, and windows.
Reindeer Barn and Workshop Animatronics
The reindeer barn has two moving parts, the far right reindeer’s head moves back and forth, and the reindeer two from the left has eyes that shift back and forth.
The workshop also have two moving parts. In each of the two windows, there is a little elf working away. One has a paintbush that is painting a roof, and the other elf has a hammer pounding on a birdhouse.
Jerry is using servos to move these four parts. An Arduino Uno microcontroller is programmed to provide the movement instructions, and a servo driver board is placed between the Arduino and the servos to provide the necessary power to drive the servos.
The design, build, and programming of the animatronics is Jerry’s work, but the decorating is all Judith.
