For some people, Halloween still seems a long way off. Summer doesn’t even officially start until June 20th! But for others (myself included), Halloween isn’t just one day a year. There’s plenty of planning and prepping that goes on year-round in order to make sure that October is a magical month.
For several years, Lowe’s has been one of the major providers of consumer Halloween props and animatronics. Knowing their audience well, they’ve not only teased many of their holiday releases but have already put one of their Halloween centerpieces up for sale on their website: The 12-ft Animated Scarecrow. Lowe’s recently sent me one of these enormous props to put through its paces for GeekDad.
What Is the Lowe’s 12-Ft Animated Scarecrow?
The 12-ft Animated Scarecrow is an outdoor animatronic Halloween prop that lights up and speaks. It requires assembly and is powered with a . The Scarecrow retails for $399 and is currently available to order from Lowe’s website for delivery to either the store or to your home.
Assembling the Lowe’s 12-Ft Animated Scarecrow
FedEx dropped off a pretty large box at my house befitting a twelve-foot Scarecrow. Inside the box, there was very little wasted space to be found:
Everything was packed well inside, with cardboard and bubble wrap protecting edges and sensitive pieces.
The Animated Scarecrow is largely made up of an easy-to-assemble hollow metal framework. Labeled end pieces attach to each other, secured by retractable metal buttons. Lowe’s even includes a plastic tool to use for depressing the buttons during assembly, so you don’t risk injuring your fingers.
Lowe’s recommends that two people work together to assemble the Scarecrow. I found that I was able to carry out the bulk of the assembly myself, really only needing a second person towards the end of the process.
Unsurprisingly, you’ll build the 12-ft Animated Scarecrow from the ground up. The metal base is fully assembled, and during the first phase of construction you’ll build the lower torso:
During this phase of the construction, you’ll add the pants onto the legs. Also, one of the upper leg pieces includes the control box for the animatronics:
After attaching the waist frame and LED to the frame, it’s suggested to lean the assembly against the shipping box to continue assembly. At this point, you attach the wire waist bracket, which will add bulk to the scarecrow.
From there, the spine, rib cage, back, and shoulders are attached.
There are four included tether lines that clip onto the shoulder frame. When the assembly is complete, these will be used for additional support to keep your scarecrow from falling over in the wind.
Next, you’ll dress the shirt over the framework, attaching the ripped pieces to the rib cage using velcro. At that point, it’s time to put on the animatronic head. The hat has bendable wire throughout so that you can mold it any way that you wish.
Once the head is in place, you’ll attach the arms, sliding them up through the sleeves and clicking them into their matching slots. You’ll also attach the electronic wires from the head, chest piece, and movement sensor to the control box on the leg. It was around this point that it was about time for some additional help in finishing up the Scarecrow.
The last bit of assembly for the Scarecrow itself is the scythe. The scythe is plastic and consists of four interlocking pieces, which, in turn, lock into the arms of the scarecrow’s frame. To give you an idea of just how big that scythe is, I had my helper pose with the prop.
Once the scythe is attached to the arms, it’s time to stand up the scarecrow… definitely a 2-person job! We then clicked the four metal supports into the base and used four of the included stakes to secure the frame onto the lawn.
At this point, you would normally unfurl the attached tethers and stake those into the ground as well for added stability. However, as I was only going to be leaving the scarecrow up overnight, I decided to tempt fate and leave off that step. Don’t worry, I won’t bury the lede: the scarecrow survived to the morning just fine, despite the fact that it was one of the windiest nights in several months. However, when I put the Scarecrow back up this October, I will definitely be using those tethers!
Here’s a look at the finished product:
Operating the Lowe’s 12-Ft Animated Scarecrow
You can access the control panel via a velcroed pocket in the back of the pants, where you’ll connect the power supply and operate the scarecrow:
Once night came, I was ready to put the 12-ft Scarecrow through its paces. The Scarecrow can be triggered by an optional attached footpad or from sound or proximity via a sensor attached to its pants. As you can see, it looks quite menacing at night.
Here’s a video of the Scarecrow speaking both of its two phrases:
You may have noticed one thing missing from the above photo and video of the Scarecrow. Yes, the ribcage wasn’t lighting up. Thankfully, I contacted Lowe’s about the issue, and manufacturer Tekky was swift to send some replacement parts:
Thankfully Tekky had sent both a replacement light and a replacement control box. Having both parts was great because, as it turned out from testing everything, the fault was actually in the original control box, not the LED light.
Sadly, I had to disassemble the Scarecrow before the replacement parts showed up… darn you, HOA! But I did shoot a video of the working light itself, to show off its animated feature:
So in the end, all I had to do was unscrew the old control box from the upper leg piece and screw on the new one. And now, come October, I’ve got a fully functional 12-ft Animated Scarecrow. It’s worth noting that there’s a 1-year warranty on the Scarecrow should rare issues like this arise, and Lowe’s is very good about getting replacement parts into your hands. But if you buy any Halloween props early, it’s definitely a good idea to open them up to make sure everything works, so you’re all ready to go when it’s time to decorate. Just for reference, here’s what the Scarecrow will look like fully lit:
The Lowe’s 12-Ft Animated Scarecrow – Final Thoughts
Walking around the neighborhood last October, I was definitely envious of the houses that had giant props out front, like the ubiquitous Skelly. I’m most certainly, or perhaps certifiably, a fan of Halloween, and a prop like this really makes a statement.
While the Scarecrow looks good during the day, it definitely comes into its own at night. The eyes shine a bright sinister red, and the voice acting for its lines is appropriately creepy. I love the fact that the jaw is animated, though I do wish the head turned as well, like with Lowe’s upcoming 12-ft Grim Reaper animatronic. You can also run an external speaker from the control panel too if you want, but the included speaker gives off an impressive amount of volume.
One of the things I appreciated was just how easy it was to assemble this massive prop. Matching alphabetized parts makes it effortless to put the Scarecrow together, and Tekky even provides an online video to aid you with assembly, should you need it:
Similarly, when it’s time to (sadly) put away your Halloween decorations, the 12-ft Animated Scarecrow quickly disassembles to be put away for the next spooky season.
I have heard from some other owners of the Animated Scarecrow that the fabric of the clothes can fade if you leave your prop out in the sun for weeks on end. If this is something you’re concerned about, you may want to treat the fabric with something like Scotchgard Sun and Water Shield.
As my first oversized prop, I’m delighted with the 12-ft Animated Scarecrow. It’s a great-looking, spooky piece, and I look forward to it returning to my lawn this October. Lowe’s has a lot more animatronic props to come later this year, both oversized and life-sized, and, hopefully, I’ll get to review many of them here on GeekDad.
For more information on the 12-ft Animated Scarecrow, visit Lowe’s website.
Lowe’s provided a Scarecrow for evaluation but had no input into this review.
