The answer is yes, all of the above.

How much money and skill do you have to invest?

GWJax and RetroPlayer have modified their Elvis noggins to be customized for sound and motion.

I plan on using the WowWee Chimp in a mostly stock configuration as part of a Halloween display this year.

I cobbled together this Terminator statue over the last few years. Lights, fog, and panning wireless cam, but no joint motion.

A modified Elvis head on its shoulders would be great, but I don't have the time or money to invest in a one night show right now.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

That is awesome MrScott. I want one.

Own RS, Robopet, Roboraptor, RSV2, Roboreptile, RSM, Roboquad, Roboboa, Tribot, Rovio, Wrex, Femisapien, Roboremote, all Bugbots, all the minis - roboboa and elvis.

robofan08. Don't let yourself get discouraged. The hardest part of any project is just "getting started" If you have $200, here's some suggestions to build up some skills and get familiar with the technology:

1. Get a servo controller. Either a lynxmotion (my fave) or a Mini-SSC.
2. Get some RC servos in different sizes. Make sure you get at least one big one and one nano, so you can get a feel for size and power.
3. Get a cheap microcontroller kit. Different people will recommend different ones, but I wouldn't worry too much about what to start with. The goal is to just start with something. A basic stamp or an arduino is probably a good place to start if you haven't used microcontrollers before.

For sound, I would just start out with using your computer as the sound source. After you get more familiar with microcontrollers, you will be able to switch to dedicated MP3 players and speech synthesizers(depends on if you want autonomy or just playback.)

And buy some stuffed animals. My first "animatronic" was a stuffed dog hand puppet that I bought for $6 at a toy store. I gutted out all the stuffing, carved some bed foam and used servos and scrap metal to animate the mouth and eyes.

The best advice I could give? Don't start out with too large of a project that requires you to learn too many different skills at once. It makes it much more difficult to figure out where to start. Something like a hand puppet could start out with just a moving jaw (just a servo with a metal bracket) and then allow you to add some eyes next, then maybe neck movements, etc... Once you get something working, like the jaw, your confidence will build and it just gets easier and easier as you start to understand what questions to ask, what jargon to use, etc...

Most projects fail to start simply because that is always the hardest part.

I wholly agree with the simple steps approach to getting "something" started.

My terminator started as just the shoulders, head, and arms duct taped to a six foot aluminum flagpole and base. It stood inside the house. I put a pair of bib ski pants hanging off the shoulders to give the illusion of more substance.

The next year I came up with a torso frame and had the legless terminator reaching up from behind the bushes near the door.

Last year I cobbled together a two legged frame that the shoulders are strapped to, and put PVC pipe over the frame supports to look like legs. The support frame was made from the vertical rails of a junked aluminum screen door frame.

One step at a time. Prototyping. Iterative improvement. Spiral development. Pick your favorite title for the technique of getting something "up", and then improving it.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

Nocturnal said: Your terminator still reminds me more of M.A.R.K 13

If last year was any indication, my robot reminds many kids that they had homework left to do. That must be so, because they take a look from the driveway, and then I see them scurry back home.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

His head wasn't motorized, but the "targeting camera" on it was.

It's an X10 wireless mounted on their Ninja Mount.

The observant ones that came to the door could see a monitor image of the back of their head as they stood in the doorway looking at the monitor showing the back of their head......

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

I, unfortunately, live in a pretty bad area of town and parents don't take their kids trick or treating around here. If I put up a display, it would get vandalized or stolen (you pretty much have to nail everything down around here.)

So, the most I ever celebrate it is if I go to a costume party or something.

So, I share in your sentiments, Nocturnal. :)

Ya that is pretty cool Retro and just to make a statement your right about robotics. Start with an easy project and then build on that knowledge to add to or creat a bigger project. But one should always start off simple when learning and take notes on what works and what does not so you don't make the same mistake twice.
Jax

GWJax, To Hack and make mods on robots is a life style and comes natural and not by choice. If a robot has a screw to open it then it must be opened!