Both Sandworm bodies were made differently.

When I first mulled around the idea of making a Sandworm from the Beetle Juice movie, I knew how I was going to make the double-headed section, but how I was going to achieve his body sections, was another story.

I looked at other ideas – some more pricier than others – but just didn’t feel it. My creations come from my intuition/forces within, rather than any art class. I made two sections that jumped out of the ground two different ways, because the first one I created wasn’t exactly making me happy. Here’s how I made them:

After seeing Sandworm body HVAC Ducting, irrigation tubing, and PVC pipe, I actually thought I’d go with the HVAC ducting. But I had a few concerns. 1) How easy was it going to be to paint or duct tape at least 12 feet of metallic tubing?  2) Everywhere I checked, they either didn’t have the width I needed, or those that did, had some crazy prices. For this Frugal Gal, it was a big NO. We have been on an even tighter budget this last year, paying for our daughter’s college. So I knew there had to be another way.

I found a large puppet artist who made a dragon body with hula hoops. But still didn’t feel it. But seeing the hula hoops reminded me of my daughter’s old play tunnel. We gave it away long ago, but I thought two kids tunnels should do it.

Both Sandworm body parts ended up being created with kids play tunnels, just in different ways. They have the flexibility I was looking for, and best of all – they could be closed up into a 3 or 4 inch case, and packed away. I had made so many props, I have been starting to sell some off. So if you’re looking for a Mind Flayer Monster with 200 feet of legs ($150 for porch pick up) or an entire set of about 13 Nightmare Before Christmas characters (Negotiable), please contact me via my yahoo account or in comments. I’m starting to bring the amount of props I own, under control. Especially since we look forward to moving to a ranch within the next two years. For now, here are two different ways I made the Sandworm body.

Sandworm Body Tutorial 1:

Items Needed:

• A 6-foot Kid’s (foldable) Play Tunnel (can be any color and with screen parts)
• 6  – Dollar Tree Plastic Rectangle Tablecloths (3 black/3 white)
• A craft needle
• 30 pound fishing line
• Black/White duct tape

Directions:

1. Decide the width of each black and white band on the tunnel. When unfolding the table cloth, keep it at least double layered (those bright-colored tunnels really can be seen through the plastic cloths without doubling), and cut it in lengths that go around the tunnel, a few inches longer.  When the tunnel is curved into an upside down ‘U’, it needs the extra inches of give.
2. Thread your craft needle with the fishing line, and sew the first plastic table cloth band along the edge of the tunnel. Once you’ve sewn all the way around, the other side of band can be either sewn and secured onto the tunnel, or duct taped. Recheck to make sure you left enough give for the ‘U’ shape, before going to next color.
3. Repeat steps 1-3, until you reach the other end of the tunnel, which gets sewn. 
4. See the bottom of page directions for both Sandworm sections to be added to ground with sand/coverage. 

Cons for making the tunnel this way: If the tunnel is not exactly bent into the same upside down ‘U’ from the start, the table cloths shifts a little, or pulls tighter in other ways. I had to add a few strips of duct tape to a spot here and there, to keep the bands uniform. Pros: It’s far less messy than Tutorial 2.

Sandworm Tunnel Tutorial 2 :

Items Needed:

• A  6- foot Kid’s (foldable) Play Tunnel (can be any color or with screen area)
• Kilz Interior/Exterior White Primer
• Paint Brushes – From Wide to Small
• An Exterior Latex Paint – tinted in the color Black
• Plastic sheet to protect floors or area

Directions:

1. After putting down protective sheeting, paint the entire top/side areas of the tunnel with the white primer, let dry. Flip the tunnel over, and paint the rest with white primer. Let dry. Repeat about 4 times, to cover the bright colors of the tunnel.
2. Decide how wide the bands will be for the black stripes. Mark them off straight. Caution: Do not follow the sections that seem to simply go around with the wire band inside the tunnel. They inter-connect, so the stripe will end up being painted in a swirl, rather than straight bands, if following the embedded wire lines. 
3. Paint the black stripe sections about 2 or 3 times, or when there is no color showing through. Don’t forget to flip the tunnel and follow your straight band marks.

Pros of painting the tunnel: There is no sewing, and no loose plastic to move or adjust when setting up. Cons: If you begin to follow the wire going around the tunnel, you won’t get a band of color, but a swirl. It also takes time to repeat the painting and the added drying  time. Also, it’s obviously a messier job, than tutorial 1 method. 

Having the Tunnels Stay in Curled Upside ‘U’ for Outside Placement

If you’re not use to bending PVC to a curve, It’s easier with a heat gun, but I’ve also seen people do it with hot water, or hot sand. I found it easier to use a heat gun, while putting pressure on the pvc piece to go into a curve. Use schedule 40 in 1/2″ PVC or 3/4″. I found out the hard way that using a thicker, larger 1″ piece of PVC, tends to kink, rather then curve, if I’m not using a frame of sorts to shape. I still used my kinked ones to help keep the tunnels in place, for added support to the curved ones. No one could see them, so it didn’t matter for this project. 

To put the PVC down as a the frame support for the sections: I put one pipe end down over a stake into the ground, slid the created sandworm tunnel over the PVC, and added the second stake at the other end into the ground, where you want the tunnel positioned. I used 2 PVC pieces for both bodies.

Adding Sand or Additional White or Black Bands to Meet the Ground/Sand

When I placed the tunnels down, they didn’t sit perfectly on the ground. There was a few inches of gap between the ends of the tunnels/ground. It was no biggie, since I had already planned on adding “Sand” at both sides of each tunnel. In order to use less spray foam to make the sand, I added a sleeve of either white or black plastic table cloth I had left over, duct taped them onto the tunnel ends, and they reached the ground completely.

I then added spray foam around the edges of the tunnel ends, let the foam dry at least an hour, and painted them with a tan or brown colored spray paint. I tried not to do it in a solid color of tan/brown, but leave highlights in for realism and visibility.

If you enjoyed my tutorial, and/or you have tried to make the Sandworm yourself, please send me your pics. I’d love to see your creations. If you want my content coming directly to you, don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks!