Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
I get so many questions about the Gargantuan spider!
*No, I did not make it, but I did do a lot of work improving it and animating it.
It is one of the 2nd generation Gargantuan Spiders that Home Depot sold a few years ago. I replaced all of the legs joints and installed an internal pvc skeleton inside the legs to make them stronger. I also did some touch-up painting, added the hair and installed the animation and new audio.
*Yes, getting it up on the roof and halfway secure is a bit of a chore!
It's meant to be either stood on flat ground, or attached to a surface with screws through the base and leg tips. Since I don't want to put holes in my roof I had to get creative about how to get it up there. Fortunately in my day job I sometimes run across weird and unusual items the ingot of lead I used here so I didn't have to use a bulky sand bag to weigh down the base. My spider has custom animation and audio and when i installed them I also added a nice solid plank of plastic to the base to mount my speaker to and set the lead weight on. The rubber mats I use were also found at my work - they are normally used to keep loads from sliding around in the back of semi trailers. The braided line is perfect for a lot of Halloween uses where you need a very strong line, but want it to be hidden. The 250lb breaking strength line I used is only about the same diameter as 20lb monofilament fishing line and has near zero stretch to it, so once it's pulled tight, it stays put and does not get loose over time. With the angle of our roof and the weight of those long legs they tend to want to lean forwards more and more over time and the lines tied to them ensure that they stay in place and don't over stress the joints.
The spider has been up there this way for 3 seasons now and endured several strong storms with wind gusts up to 40mph, which honestly surprised me when it was still intact in the morning. I doubt it could endure any stronger winds or sustained winds without mre weight on the base, but I do have a heavy block of zinc I found that I could add to the base if I feel it needs more. For people who aren't as lucky as me to have big heavy blocks of metal lying around, I would suggest using black sandbags and maybe disguising them as egg sacs or cocooned victims.
Braided line I used - Opps! It's actually 500lb line, not 250lb! Even better! - amzn.to/3Uo3pKY
I get so many questions about the Gargantuan spider!
*No, I did not make it, but I did do a lot of work improving it and animating it.
It is one of the 2nd generation Gargantuan Spiders that Home Depot sold a few years ago. I replaced all of the legs joints and installed an internal pvc skeleton inside the legs to make them stronger. I also did some touch-up painting, added the hair and installed the animation and new audio.
*Yes, getting it up on the roof and halfway secure is a bit of a chore!
It's meant to be either stood on flat ground, or attached to a surface with screws through the base and leg tips. Since I don't want to put holes in my roof I had to get creative about how to get it up there. Fortunately in my day job I sometimes run across weird and unusual items the ingot of lead I used here so I didn't have to use a bulky sand bag to weigh down the base. My spider has custom animation and audio and when i installed them I also added a nice solid plank of plastic to the base to mount my speaker to and set the lead weight on. The rubber mats I use were also found at my work - they are normally used to keep loads from sliding around in the back of semi trailers. The braided line is perfect for a lot of Halloween uses where you need a very strong line, but want it to be hidden. The 250lb breaking strength line I used is only about the same diameter as 20lb monofilament fishing line and has near zero stretch to it, so once it's pulled tight, it stays put and does not get loose over time. With the angle of our roof and the weight of those long legs they tend to want to lean forwards more and more over time and the lines tied to them ensure that they stay in place and don't over stress the joints.
The spider has been up there this way for 3 seasons now and endured several strong storms with wind gusts up to 40mph, which honestly surprised me when it was still intact in the morning. I doubt it could endure any stronger winds or sustained winds without mre weight on the base, but I do have a heavy block of zinc I found that I could add to the base if I feel it needs more. For people who aren't as lucky as me to have big heavy blocks of metal lying around, I would suggest using black sandbags and maybe disguising them as egg sacs or cocooned victims.
Braided line I used - Opps! It's actually 500lb line, not 250lb! Even better! - amzn.to/3Uo3pKY
