Fanciful steam-powered battleship model/sculpture 'Barnum's Dream'

Check this thing out! The piece is four feet tall and 51 inches long. Incredible.

From the video description:

Battleship train ship model with cannons and lasers that fire. It has many handmade moving parts that are driven by a live steam engine. The video is a depiction of it's first trial run, with some animation and effects thrown in. It was made from over 50 found parts and took over 2500 hours to construct. Except for the steam engine, which was modified, it is totally hand built using ordinary home tools.

Here is where you can see and learn more about the Steampunk Machine "Barnum's Dream".

[ Thanks Willem!]

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Horse racing automaton powered by heat from a brewing teapot

Check out this clever automaton by Jo Fairfax in which three horses race around a track. The entire thing is powered by the heat rising from a teapot that has been filed with hot water.

See more work by Jo Fairfax on his web site.

[ Thanks Lorenzo! ]

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Variation II Sun - wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy

Check out the latest beautiful and mesmerizing kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy! The piece provides a variety of kaleidoscopic patterns ranging from sunbursts, to solar flares, pinwheels, and spinning circles.

From the artist's web site:

Variation Sun has gone through lots of iterations. It proved a more challenging design than I had originally imagined. I wanted an asymmetric design where the points of the arc of one wheel followed the back of the arc of the adjacent wheel. I also wanted the clockwise pattern to be different than the counterclockwise pattern. It was easy to do on the computer but hard to find real world shapes that would balance. The double arc design solved the problem and I think enhanced the design.

Learn more about Variation II Sun by David C. Roy on his web site.

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"The Usual Subjects" motorized automaton by Tom Haney

Check out this new handmade figurative, kinetic sculpture by Tom Haney. I love this one!

The piece took over 250 hours to make from start to finish. It features hand-carved bodies, heads sculpted from polymer clay, a scratch-built mechanism, and handmade clothes. 8 cams and levers control all the movements, which is powered by a 4.8 RPM synchronous gearmotor.

See more automata by Tom Haney on his web site.

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Terrifying animatronic baby in stroller scares the living crap out of unsuspecting New Yorkers

Have you seen this video of a Devil Baby scaring New Yorkers half to death? Some are funny, but I just feel bad for most of these folks. This thing looks real and is frightening! An animatronic baby and remote-controlled stroller are a promotional stunt for Devil's Due film to be released this month.

According to The Examiner, the robotic devil baby was created by Creature Effects Inc., the company who has created animatronic effects for movies such asI Am Legend and Star Trek. There were three people operating the horrific device -- one for the stroller and two for the baby.

I doubt I'll see the movie, but I would watch a video on the making of the mechanical baby.

If you aspire to scare the crap out of New Yorkers, then here is list of books on animatronics to get you started. Happy hunting!

[ Thanks Steve and Jere! ]

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Andrew Baron to speak about his restoration of the 18th-century Maillardet drawing automaton

Did you see Hugo? Want to learn about the real historical automaton that inspired the film? Good news: Andrew Baron will be presenting a lecture about his work on the restoration of the famous Maillardet drawing automaton housed at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The lecture -- along with a showing of the film Hugo -- is part of an annual commemoration of Benjamin Franklin’s birthday held at the New Mexicao History Museum.

Here is where you can get detailed information about Baron’s restoration of the Maillardet automaton.

What:
Art and Engineering in the World of Benjamin Franklin

When:
1:00pm on Sunday, January 19, 2014

Where:
New Mexico History Museum
113 Lincoln Avenue
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 476-5200

Additional information may be found at the New Mexico History Museum web site.

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Vintage battery-powered bowler coin bank made in Japan

If you are into vintage mechanical toys, I've got one that I've just posted on eBay.

The motorized bank features a bowler at one end of bowling alley. When a coin is placed on the two plates located on the floor by his side, an electrical contact is made which starts the battery power to the motor. This makes his hand slowly pull back, then snap forward quickly, causing a striker below his hand to hit the coin toward the bowling pins at the opposite end of the alley. If hit well, the coin slides under the pins and into the bank. Immediately after this, the pins all drop as a unit and the "strike" light illuminates above the pins.

Here is where you can see additional photos and bid on the vintage Japanese battery-powered motor bowler coin bank

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Animated woodworker automaton and article by Charles Mak

Check out this new automaton by Charles Mak, which was featured in the November issue of the British magazine The Woodworker & Woodturner.

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The repair and restoration repair of an automaton bear by Brittany Cox

Check out this fascinating blog entry in which we see the various steps that Brittany Cox took to repair and restore a clockwork automaton bear. I would never have expected Tyvek to be involved!

Here is where you can read the post titled Sir Kingslydale the Automaton Bear.

[ Thanks Kim and Brittany! ]

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Moving Paper Crow kit by Bliss Kolb

If you haven't seen the wonderful bird automata created by Bliss Kolb, you've been missing out. The artist has now released a kinetic paper kit, which also features a bird.

Once you purchase the Moving Paper Crow, you will then cut out the pieces and put it together using thumbtacks, white glue, and a pin. That's it! When it has been assembled, push down on the lever to see the crow stand up, raise its head, and opens its beak. The package includes all the necessary patterns and instructions. (You supply the tacks, glue, and pin.)

Here is where you can get the Moving Paper Crow kit by Bliss Kolb

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