More fine examples of ramp-walker toys by Roberto Lou Ma

Check out this great variety of ramp-walking wooden toys designed and created by Roberto Lou Ma. If you would like to make one of your own check out the free plans for a walking rhino toy he was kind enough to allow us to offer right here on The Automata Blog a while back. Enjoy!

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Compilation video of a assorted wooden ramp-walker toy designs

We've featured the work of Roberto Lou Ma many times here on The Automata Blog. As you may recall, he designs wooden toys that are able to walk down a slight incline. Some of his designs have free plans, such as the ramp-walking wooden robot and the a ramp-walking wooden rhino toy.

In the video shown here, we get to see the breadth of his creativity within this genre. There are wooden ramp walkers depicting penguins, turkeys, whales, robots, apes, celebrities, elephants, monsters, dinosaurs, and more. A full 5 minutes of gravity-powered wooden toys that show true creativity.

Something that struck me on a few of the figures was the presence of an animated limb -- the troubadour's hand for example. A counterweight on an axis running parallel to the ramp has allowed the figure a secondary motion (strumming the guitar) that adds life and subtlety to the character. It's amazing how so many of them have been designed to capture some essential aspect of how the figure should move -- all within some tight physical constraints. Bravo!

Here is Roberto Lou Ma's YouTube channel, where you can see individual clips of his ramp-walkers and other wooden toys.

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Charming little rotund wooden elephant ramp walker toy

We've seen quite a few wooden ramp walkers, most from the talented and generous Roberto Lou Ma. To change things up a bit, here's one made in Germany. Like other ramp walkers, this one just needs to be placed at the top of a slight incline and given a little push to put it in motion. I love the use of its trunk! The company that sells this little elephant also offers a ramp walking person, hedgehog, and rabbit.

Here is where you can get this wooden elephant ramp walker toy.

[ Thanks Joe! ]

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Walking wooden Frankenstein monster -- IT'S ALIVE!

Here's another fun creation from Roberto Lou Ma -- the man that provided us free plans for a Ramp-walking Wooden Rhino as well as free plans for a Ramp-walking Wooden robot. Oh...yes, he also designed and created plans for a Ramp-walking Bird too!

Measuring 32 centimeters high, the Frankenstein model shown in the video is his largest ramp-walker creation so far. The slow lumbering walk is perfect for Frankenstein! I love the outstretched arms and detail in the figure. Very well done.

I'm not sure if plans will be available for the Frankenstein walker, but you can see all of Roberto Lou Ma's wooden creations on his YouTube channel.

If you happen to love ramp-walkers, you might clike the book Walking Automata: A Collection of Self-Moving Models to Cut Out and Make. The book has seven walker projects in total: Noah's Ark, a pirate ship, three sizes of duck, a kangaroo, and a blue footed booby.

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How to make a wooden rope-climbing monkey toy

Engineer and Toy Designer, Roberto Lou Ma, has done it again! He has come up with a new take on a classic wooden toy. He has created a rope-climbing monkey toy out of wood. As is his custom, he has provided free plans for making the toy. The plans are in Spanish, but with the detailed pictures and measurements provided, most people should be able to figure how make the toy themselves -- even if they don't know Spanish.

Here's what the climbing monkey toy looks like up close:

Here is the link to the free plans for a wooden rope climbing monkey toy.

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Free plans to make a slope walking exotic bird

Our good friend Roberto Lou Ma has done it again! He's the one who brought us the free plans for making various ramp walking wooden toys including the robot and the rhino.

The video shows his latest incline-traveling creation -- and colorful bird that scoots down the ramp in little bursts. Would you like to make a ramp-walking bird like the one shown here? Well you can thanks to his talent and generosity!

Here are free plans to make the ramp walking bird in PDF format.

A big thank you to Roberto Lou Ma for continuing to create these ramp-walkers and sharing the plans with The Automata / Automaton Blog!

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Classic acrobat toy driven by push button-action

Here's a nice version of a classic wooden folk toy. An acrobat figure is mounted by the hands to two twisted strings held between two upright bars. When the button is pushed, the bars are separated, causing the strings to untwist. It's this untwisting motion that makes the acrobat perform speedy somersaults. Unlike the more traditional version where you use your hand to squeeze the bars, the version shown in the video has been converted to operate via a large push-button. This clever adaptation of a classic toy is by Roberto Lou Ma, who was kind enough to share with us the plans for the ramp-walking robot and ramp-walking rhino.

For plans and instructions on how to make the traditional acrobat toy, I urge you check out the book Traditional Wooden Toys: Their History and How to Make Them. The book has sections on animated toys, balancing toys, climbing toys, wheeled toys, wooden dolls, rubber-band powered toys, spinning toys, optical toys, games, and many others.

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Download plans for ramp-walking wooden robot!

Exclusive: The Automata / Automaton Blog is pleased to present this set of free mechanical toy plans for a ramp-walking wooden robot!

Roberto Lou Ma previously shared plans for making a ramp walking rhinoceros. He has once again graciously supplied us with a set of instructions and images, this time showing how to make a ramp-walking wooden robot like the one in the video above.

Click on each of the images below for full-sized plans and patterns. Download these to your computer or print them directly from your browser window (being sure that they are at full size).

Step 1 - Introduction to Walking Robot Project

Step 2 - Parts list for Walking Robot

Step 3 - Exploded Diagram of Walking Robot

Step 4 - Components Photograph

Step 5 - Making the Robot's Feet

Step 6 - Assembly Sequence for Robot

Step 7 - Variations on the Robot Theme

Many thanks to Roberto Lou Ma for this excellent set of mechanical toy plans! Check out more cool creations by Roberto Lou Ma on his YouTube channel.

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