Hi all. My name is James from South-West UK. I've joined the community to get a little advice/help and hopefully be able to put something back in future.
I'm a bit of a costuming geek and have recently build a Xenomorph costume. Those that know the xenomorph (from the 'Alien' franchise) will be aware of the details of the head and probably have an idea of what im after. At present the head is a block of foam-filled latex. So it's static, it doesn't 'do' anything. I'd like to change that by adding a basic level of animatronics in three areas :
1 - The lips. At present there aren't any. However i'm going to build some (from latex) and have them attached to a series of servos to push/pull wires inserted in them. To be able to give the alien facial expressions and expose the teeth
2 - The outer jaw. I plan to use either servos or solenoids to open/close the outer jaw
3 - The inner jaw. Those familiar with the xeno will know it has an inner mouth that shoots out. For killing and eating. I'm not sure how i plan to drive this one yet. Possible a solenoid, motor/cam or possibly a pneumatic
I've never used arduino before but im pretty handy with electronics so im hoping it's be as painless as possible. So i guess the question first of all is - What would be the best set-up for me to start with ? Basically something to drive servos/solenoids/motors
Here's a couple pictures of the existing costume -
