Heart Broken Repairman automaton by Carlos Zapata

Check out the latest automaton by Carlos Zapata titled Heart Broken Repairman. His job is to fix broken hearts. Sadly, that is an occupation with a lot of job security.

See more automata by Carlos Zapata on his web site.

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”The Widow’s Jar” automaton by Thomas Kuntz

Check out the latest automaton by Thomas Kuntz! A dark humor is featured in this automaton, which is titled The Widow's Jar. This hand-made edition of six is influenced by Gothic Horror and Film Noir. Exceptional work!

See more automata by Thomas Kuntz on his web site.

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Biodiversity -- a motorized automaton by Paul Spooner

Here is the very latest creation from the legendary Paul Spooner. He's never made an automaton I didn't like. Well...not that I know of, anyway.

Check out the cast of characters he's created for this one! The little hand-carved figures look like they are attached a differential gear within the sphere which causes them to rotate in groups as the entire things rotates as a whole. The articulated joints allow the figures to flop into different positions as they are turned around.

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Mekanikos vs. The Minotaur carnival sideshow automaton featured on Boing Boing!

Recently, Mark Frauenfelder asked me to describe the process of making my automaton titled Mekanikos vs. The Minotaur.  My write up was featured on the illustrious Boing Boing site yesterday along with a video of the piece in action and several detailed photographs. I couldn't be more fortunate.

I won't repeat all that I said there because you can read the blog post on BoingBoing.net. I will add that I am very pleased with the final piece and that I'm happy to be offering it for sale to my existing customers and the public as a whole at long last.

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The Mission - a contemporary automaton by Paul Spooner

Check out this wonderful piece by Paul Spooner which may be seen in the special exhibition at the Paul Gugelmann-Museum in Schönenwerd, Switzerland from May 31st to July 6th, 2014.

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Antique automaton depicting bowling game could bring $15,000

Check out this amazing antique automaton depicting people bowling. The piece is being auctioned now and is estimated to bring between $13,000 and $15,000!
From the item description:

Patented in 1907 by Otto Eichenberger of Switzerland with the assistance of Leon Brock of New York, this intricate and large automaton with a vast number of actions centers on a most popular past time of the early 20th Century. The machine consists of two bisque headed gents, one poised to roll one of several steel balls down the alley to an array of nickel-plated skittle pins at the other end while the other enjoying his pipe looks on. A third bisque headed figure appears to reset the pins while returning the balls to the bowler. Beneath the "stage" is a complex motor and a throng of mechanics to power the various motions. Once displayed at the AMF Corp, the leading American Bowling Industry Company. Housed within a glass and carved/etched dome-top wood cabinet with great patina that only adds to the stunning presence of this piece.

Here is where you can see more photos of this Bowling-themed automaton.
[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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Beautiful old style automata by Gale and Andrew Bantock

Check out this automaton by Gale and Andrew Bantock. Gale is a 12th-scale miniaturist and model-maker. Gale's figures are all hand-sculpted one-of-a-kind models, normally clothed using a mixture of decorated paper, leather, and material. Her work has been featured in books and magazines around the world with a numerous cover features.

This piece features a classical scene of musicians playing a duet on piano and cello (or at least I think it is, perhaps its a viola). A number of other things in the scene are animated including a parrot in its cage and a cat hiding in a basket. The level of detail is really impressive.

Here is were you can see more miniatures by Gale Bantock.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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A collection of automata by a artist Steve Armstrong

Check out this beautiful selection of automata by artist Steve Armstrong represented by the Heike Pickett Gallery.

From the artist's statement:

I create kinetic constructions, often referred to as Automata. My themes are poetic and evocative, sometimes narrative, and almost always charged with personal symbolic content. My work is based in the human figure and realism. I simplify my forms. My inner voice dictates that the figures not be in too nonchalant or too candid a pose, and that the figures be posed in a formal manner, maybe contraposto, sometimes with formal hand gestures.

Here is a link to see more automata by Steve Armstrong.

Here is a link to a video profile of Steve Armstrong I posted back in 2009. It's really good.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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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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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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The Kings of England - automaton by Paul Spooner

Here's a great new automaton by Paul Spooner. When the handle is turned the faces of the king changes along with the number designating which king it is. The mechanism is ingenious and delightfully simple, combining a friction drive and a rotary indexing system.

According to Paul Spooner:

In olden times there were serious struggles for the throne of England and being the offspring of royalty was not the guarantee of a life of ease and luxury that it is for today’s genetic lottery winners. To achieve a run of four kings such as this required eternal vigilance and a preparedness to fight dirty. All these monarchs are clearly related to each other as their dental records show. Four kings can only be told apart by the number of teeth they have. On the golden wheel down below is his regnal number (or dental record).

The piece measures 210mm high x 115 mm wide with a depth of 55 mm. This is a 'one off' which means it is the only one available. Here is where you can learn more about and/or buy The Kings of England by Paul Spooner

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Automata hit the big time: Coke uses automata for new commercial

Check out this commercial for Coca-Cola. The idea is to show a time-travelling trip back through one happy man's life that cycles around to another generation. According to the video description, the concept was "to show how movement was key to his happiest moments". Coke commissioned model-makers Anarchy to create a set of moving animatronic puppets that can run, jump and throw babies in real time. The Anarchy Special Effects team is listed as Bob Thorne, Jason Szukalski, Paula Vine, Jonathan Bickerdike, Dave Allum, James Churches, Alex Roseberry, Robin Saunders, and Joe Szukalski. Well done!

[ Thanks Alex!]

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Keith Newstead and Rob Higgs create two life-size clockwork men for the film 'The Best Offer'

What happens when you bring a well-known autoamton-artist like Keith Newstead together with a mechanical genius like artist Rob Higgs? Something like what you see in the video above happens, namely mechanical magic. Newstead has been featured here on The Automata Blog more times than I can count. Higgs has made a sensation of late with his giant wine bottle opening machine.

[ Thanks Phil! ]

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Tinkerer's Clock by artist Tim Hunkin at the Exploratorium in San Francisco

Here is a video featuring British artist Tim Hunkin installing his latest creation for the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The piece is a huge kinetic sculpture clock featuring small tinkerers at work.

Learn more about the amazing Tim Hunkin on his web site.

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Hand-cranked automaton plays 'When the Saints Go Marching In' on the xylophone

Check out this automaton which plays When the Saints Go Marching In on the xylophone...or is that a glockenspiel because they are metal plates? In any case, the machine design and fabrication are outstanding!

OK...I did some quick research. It is a glockenspiel. Here is the word from Wikipedia:

A glockenspiel (German pronunciation: [ˈɡlɔkənˌʃpiːl], glocken:bells and spiel:play) is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, thus making it a metallophone. The glockenspiel, moreover, is usually smaller and higher in pitch. In German, a carillon is also called a Glockenspiel, while in French, the glockenspiel is often called a carillon.

Show above is the GP Percussion Bell Kit. It looks like a good deal because it comes with the 30 note glockenspiel as well as a heavy duty stand, practice pad, beaters, sticks, and nylon carrying case.

It's nearly back-to-school time. If you order any instruments from Amazon, consider doing via the link you see here for Musical Instruments. Thanks!

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Video of flying saucer window display by Baranger Company of South Pasedena

Check out this rare set of Baranger window display from 1953 featuring a newlywed couple in a flying saucer. Baranger Motion machines were animated mechanical store window displays made from 1925 to 1959^* by the Baranger Company of South Pasadena, California. They were typically rented to jewelers and were changed on a monthly rotation.

Here is a link to a rare book on the subject: Baranger: Window displays in motion: dramatizing the jewel

Here is a link to an eBay listing for a DVD featuring many Baranger displays in motion: Baranger Studios Jewelry store Window Display in Motion DVD.

Key Dates:
1920 - (approx.) Baranger Studios commenced operations.
1925 - A new building in South Pasadena was completed. The company supplied static window display material to Jewellery stores.
1936 - A disastrous fire ended production of static displays.
1937 - Motion displays were introduced (M-1 Bridal Ensemble).
1957 - The final motion is M-247 Sultan’s Wedding March. A total of 167 different motions were produced not 247 - 250 as is often reported.
1959 - Founder Arch. E. Baranger died in December. Mrs. Baranger continued to operate the business after her husband’s death but no new motions were created.
1960 - Robert Gerlach, who was the designer of the motions retired in January following the death of A. E. Baranger.
1977 - In March the company notified its customers that the motion display department was closing. Customers were offered the opportunity to purchase motions in their possession for $350 each.
1978 - The building and stock were bought by Burton A. Burton. John A. Daniel was put in charge of repairing motions and selling duplicates. He became a collector of them. 1986 Daniel sold his collection of 90 motions to Teruhisa Kitahara.
Kitahara incorrectly states that more than 250 motions were produced but could only claim to have 101 different motions in his collection in 1988. John Daniel subsequently bought the remaining stock of motions from Burton A. Burton.
1993 - Daniel published a 60 minute VHS video showing 122 motions.
2001 - Daniel published a book showing images of all the motions plus a history of the business.

[ Thanks Thomas! ]

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Eye-changing mechanism makes this automaton very expressive

Here is another amazing automaton that came by way of master automaton maker, Thomas Kuntz. The last three posts were some of his recent contributions to The Automata / Automaton Group on Facebook. Check out the eye action on this automaton. Simply amazing! It adds so much to the expressiveness of the character.

[ Thanks to Thomas Kuntz! ]

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Video profile of automaton sculptor Jacques Monestier

Check out this wonderful film which profiles automaton sculptor Jacques Monestier. I'm sorry I can't say more about it; my French just isn't that good. Trust me, you will enjoy the film! His demonstration with the mechanical hand is truly amazing.

[ Thanks Thomas! ]

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Even the Grim Reaper is entitled to a break for lunch

Here is an automaton by Tim Donald titled Lunch Break. The piece depicts two characters sitting on a bench in the park. Even the Grim Reaper is entitled to a break for lunch! As usual, I love Tim Donald's rich carving style. I've never tried a skeleton, but it seems that most of the well-known automaton makers have done one at some point. Time to add it to the list.

You can see more automata by Tim Donald on his web site.

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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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