DIY Mutant Cyborg Pumpkin Halloween Costume

pumpkin cyborg 1

Pumpkins aren’t just for carving. You can turn foam pumpkins into masks and make them into characters – pirate pumpkin, ninja pumpkin, etc. – or do what Instructables user mikhalchuk did and create a mutant cyborg pumpkin costume! He incorporated electronics and embellishments to become a walking, glowing, gun-toting, scary pumpkin. And it all started with a pumpkin lamp from Target. Mikhalchuk cut out the lamp’s bulb and used a rotary tool to cut out random pieces of the pumpkin. He used aluminum sheeting to make the teeth and got really resourceful with the cyber additions:

From previous Halloween experience I know there is not much air behind this mask, so I also added a fan underneath its nose. It wasn’t necessary this time, but I think I’ll turn it on later.

From the same box of burned computer parts I took the CD Drive head assembly. It has these cool gears and moving laser head. Fortunately a DC motor powered both, so I figured I could use that as a cover for the right eye and even move it with short pulses to the DC motor in the future mods. I mounted this piece on standoffs right over the eye (the pumpkin eye, not human).

For the other pumpkin eye I chose ancient not-working webcamera. It’s spherical design is still used in many modern cameras, so it doesn’t make much difference what model it is as far as it resembled eye. I also glued in a flashlight instead of actual camera, painter it black with red arteries all the way around it. That camera is mounted on servo with the same idea to animate it in the future versions.

Since the head has so many features to control and power a thick cable is required for powering it. It enters the helmet from the bottom-right part of it and I used a bottle cap to make it enter the helmet cool way. This time I actually glued in not just the cap, but also the portion of the bottle it is screwed on. This way I can get better access to the place where all wires are soldered, plug have another cool costume feature. I also noticed for the future projects that this connection makes an excellent waterproof solution for places where you need removable cables to enter dry compartment.

He worked in several LEDs to illuminate the cyborg features and added EL wire throughout the costume.

pumpkin cyborg 2

pumpkin wip 1

pumpkin wip 2

Learn more about the build at Instructables.


Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 38,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — JP’s Product Pick of the Week @adafruit @johnedgarpark #adafruit #newproductpick

Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: MicroPython v1.24.0 is here, a Halloween Wrap-up and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

Adafruit IoT Monthly — Halloween, WiLo, and more!

Maker Business – Adafruit Daily — First Solar’s $1.1 billion development of vertically integrated factory in the U.S.

Electronics – Adafruit Daily — Oscilloscope Jumble

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !



No Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.