Tiny Town diorama - 68 years in the making, entirely from found and recycled materials

Tiny Town was the creation of a man named Frank Moshinskie who worked on it for 68 years. The display depicts various places in America that Moshinskei visited. Over 20 states are represented. The tiny people were hand-carved by Moshinskeie. You get a brief look at the mechanism that powers it all -- also made from recycled objects -- around the 1:25 mark in the video posted above.

From an article on Tiny Town:

Frank wanted his Tiny Town to be busy, so 18 hidden motors power everything from the rivers to the oil pump jacks to the carousel and merry-go-round. Push-buttons at various spots allow visitors to make the tiny people move: people swim, swing, hammer and saw, rock in hammocks, hang up clothes. A family eats the same sandwiches they've been eating since 1963; the bread goes up and down to their mouths many times a minute.

The entire thing is made from found, recycled, and inexpensive objects. Nothing in Tiny Town cost more than $4.00. Items used include cat food cans, rotisserie motors, puzzle pieces, popsicle sticks, sawdust, record player parts, and anything else you can imagine.

You can still visit Tiny Town in Hot Springs, Arkansas where his son Charles has continued to display it as a tribute to his father's creativity.

Here is the full article on Tiny Town from RoadsideAmerica.com.

[ Thanks Tom! ]

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Hand-cranked mini ball track soon to be available in kit form

The folks over at BustedBricks.com offer hobby supplies and laser cutting services. To this useful list, they will soon be adding the nifty little rolling ball sculpture shown in the video as a kit! The video shows a test version of the kit. The final version will have a an easy-to-assemble laser cut plywood track, which does not require soldering skills or equipment. I adore the laser cut gears!

The kits will be available on Friday of this week at www.bustedbricks.com. I'm thinking these would make great holiday gifts. In the meantime, I recommend you check out the Stirling Engine Kits they currently offer!

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Plans to build a model of a flathead 4 motor out of scrap wood

Ken Schweim has come up with a new set of plans. This time around, he has designed and built a Willys L-134 flathead engine model out of wood! The plans are available as a Kindle e-book on Amazon.

From the book description:

The engine rotates with a hand crank mounted on the flywheel end of the crankshaft. The movable parts include the four pistons, connecting rods, eight valves, cam shaft, crankshaft, and timing gears. The head is included with the four spark plugs, plug wires, and a distributor (for looks only). The valves are all timed for a normal four cycle engine and the firing order is the same as a Willys L-134 flathead engine. The head is mounted on two wood hinges to allow a clean view of all the valves and pistons.

Made from small pieces of scrap wood pieces, the motor model can be built using with standard woodworking tools. The model measures approximately 12" long by 8" wide. The book contains over 300 step by step photos and blueprints. Here's a sample page from the book showing the plan drawings and helpful photographs that accompany the text:

Not only does it look like an enjoyable woodworking project, but you will learn about how internal combustion engines work along the way. In fact, it looks like the model would make a great science fair project! For those interested in learning to make wood automata, the project incorporates many commonly used mechanical components including the hand crank, crank shaft, gears, linkages, and cams.

Here's where you can view more sample pages and order your own copy of the book Build a Wood Flathead 4 Motor

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Attack of the Killer Tomato - an automaton by Kieth Newstead

I posted earlier this week about a Keith Newstead automaton that was in progress featuring a man-eating tomato. The piece is called Attack of the Killer Tomato and will serve as a donations box for Occombe Farm, Devon, UK.

Here it is in full color. The painting turned out fantastic! The plant has an interesting reflective green texture and the tomato really shines. I also love the pattern of the man's flannel shirt. Actually, everything looks good including the man's hair, the watering can, the flower pot. My favorite thing would be the plant's spiked yellow teeth.

If you are interested in making your own, here are some books on carving figures in wood and on how to construct marionettes.

See more automata by Keith Newstead on his web site.

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