Variations on an automaton theme by Keith Newstead

More automaton goodness from one of the greats, Keith Newstead! If you think you've seen it all with the sheep and the wolf after the first 10 seconds, just wait. You will be treated to a classic variant and then a very new twist on the theme.

You can see more automata by Keith Newstead on his web site.

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Warhol's Cat - a contemporary automaton from Fourteen Balls Toy Co.

Check out the latest automaton designed by Matt Smith over at Fourteen Balls Toy Co.! Look at all the mechanisms inside the box!

From the automaton's description:

This is 'Warhol's Cat' the new edition from the Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Designed and made by Matt Smith. The automaton is 150 mm x 100 mm x 230 mm (6" x 4" x 9"). The box is Douglas fir with the mechanism being made of Stainless steel, brass, birch plywood, maple, phosphor bronze and a small amount of Delrin. The cat himself is carved from lime wood and the eyes made from Delrin balls. The mechanism inside the head is made from brass, phosphor bronze and spring steel.The Campbell’s soup tin is a solid piece of steel with a label printed from a hand painted original by Sarah Smith ). The mechanism comprises two brass ratchets and three camshafts, with a fairly complex sequence .

Here is where you can see more detailed photos of the Warhol's Cat automaton.

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The Wonderful mechanical world of Rowland Emett

A good friend to The Automata Blog, Richard Partington, wrote to inform us that there is a great exhibition of the legendary Rowland Emett's work at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Emett (1906 – 1990) was an English cartoonist and creator of whimsical kinetic sculpture. The current exhibition of his work is the biggest there has ever been in the UK. That's not something to miss! The video above is from a different exhibition held at the Ontario Science Centre back in 2012.

What:
Marvellous Machines: The Wonderful World of Rowland Emett

Where:
The Birmingham Museum

When:
May 10th, 2014 to September 21st, 2014

[ Thanks Richard! ]

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The Meditator - a mechanical cartoon by Tom Borromeo

Check out this very funny automaton by Tom Borromeo titled The Meditator.

See more Mechanical Cartoons by Tom Borromeo on his web site.

[ Thanks Dave! ]

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The Unwelcome Dinner Guest automaton by Dug North has a new price for the holidays!

I've changed the price for The Unwelcome Dinner Guest for the upcoming holiday season. I've also decided to include one of the original pencil sketches I created when designing the piece. Here is a gift you cannot get anywhere else!

The automaton depicts a backyard scene with a picket fence, doghouse, and birdhouse mounted to a pole. Apparently the dog has recently been fed because his bowl is overfull with food. Sadly for the dog, his leash has become wrapped around the birdhouse pole and he cannot reach his food bowl. This situation provides the perfect opportunity for the local bird to enjoy a big meal, free of charge. All the poor dog can do is wag its tail, jump, and bark at the bird.

An article I wrote on how to make the piece was featured in a magazine called 'Gizmos & Gadgets' (shown at right).

Here is the page on my site the shows the video, images, and purchasing details for The Unwelcome Dinner Guest by Dug North.

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Duck Machine - mechanical sculpture by Dave Cranmer

It's Wednesday. Please take a few moments to enjoy the gentle rise and fall of ducks and the mechanism that makes it happen. Also, the holidays are coming, so please use the Amazon links you find on this blog when you do your shopping. Thanks!

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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Valentine's Day automaton of Cupid looking for his lost love

Check out this clever Valentine's Day automaton by Tony Anagnostopoulos. Well done!

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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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A Useless Machine device that is in danger of NOT being useless

I'm sure you've seen some variation on The Most Useless Machine? Perhaps your read about the kit I posted about here on The Automata Blog or maybe you saw my own take on the gadget. Mine uses a miniature trunk in place of the generic box and a hand-carved fist punches the button closed.

The version shown here is in danger of NOT being useless because it is so highly inventive and entertaining. I won't bother to try to describe all that it does, but rest assured, it does more than just turn itself off!

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"Doppelgänger" automaton by Tom Haney depicts an amusing and awkward scene

Here is a brand new motorized automaton by artist Tom Haney. The subtle motions are perfect for this amusing and somewhat awkward situation. The slow, deliberate timing invoked by the cams in the mechanism below the piece create the perfect effect. As with other videos by the artist, there are wonderful "in progress" shots which include details about the construction of the figures and video of the exposed mechanism in action.

You can see more about this an other automata on Tom Haney's web site.

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Christmas: The Pre-Reindeer Era - automaton by Dug North

What better time of year to upload this new video of an automaton I made some years ago?

Titled Christmas: The Pre-Reindeer Era, the automaton depicts Santa making deliveries in that legendary time before he acquired the famous flying reindeer. Poor Father Christmas must do the flying himself -- arms flapping and eyes squinting in the cold wind -- with his bag of toys in tow.

The scene is tinted with a light metallic blue to create the effect of a frosty, moonlit Christmas Eve. The piece features a detailed house and landscape over which Santa flies. The roof of the house was covered with individual miniature wooden shingles. The bag is made of balsa wood to reduce weight. The internal mechanism employs a scotch yoke. Santa is mounted upon a blackened brass piston assembly.

Happy Holidays!

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Free cartoon paper cutout toy patterns from the 1920s

Back in February of 2012, I posted about a bunch of free mechanical paper toy plans from the 1920s. The link previously posted by The Barnacle Press doesn't seem to work any longer. Fortunately, Christine Nelson has posted a set. These mechanical paper toy plans were created by an artist named Dan Rudolph for the LA Times back in 1922 and 1923. The plans show you how to make moving toys by cutting out and articulating the parts of various cartoon characters. Shown here is one example, titled Bimbo the Begging Monkey. There are lots to choose from including cartoon characters, animals, and the occasional celebrity.

Here is the link to the flickr set with Dan Rudolph Newspaper toy designs.

[ Thanks Christine! ]

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The politicians are everywhere...even in this automaton!

In this political time of year, it only seems fitting to feature an automaton depicting a (in)famous politician. Here's the first in a new series from Jim Kransberger titled Homage to Richard . I coudn't locate a video, so created this two-frame animation to give you a feel for what it does.

The automaton measures 7 inches x 9 inches x 3.5 inches. This piece is "exo-mechanical", which he explains is his way of saying that the mechanics are on the outside. Works for me!

The second photograph shows the back side of the piece and all the mechanical parts that make it move. I can't quite make out the exact details, but clearly there is a crank arm attached to the same axle as the hand crank on the front. When it is rotated down, it looks like it may pull on strings that run up to the arms via the U-shaped bracket. Or, perhaps it pulls the entire U-shaped assembly down. In either case, the pulling action causes the arms to raise at the hinges. Meanwhile, the same pulling action acts on a lever behind Richard's head, causing it to turn.

You can see more sculpture and automata by Jim Kransberger on his web site.

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Walter - a tinplate robot automaton by Marc Horovitz

Check out this awesome new automaton by Marc Horovitz of Sidestreet Bannerworks!

The automaton features an aging robot named Walter. When the crank is turned, Walter bends down to pick up the glasses he seems to have dropped. Sadly, he can't accomplish this task. Having knees certainly would help.

The robot figure is made of tinplate, using techniques found on the outstanding Tinplate Girl website. If you haven't checked it out yet, the site has a wealth of information about how to fabricate cool stuff with thin metal sheets.

Like many of us, Horovitz started making automata after being inspired by the work of Paul Spooner and other automaton makers associated with Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. His mechanisms are compact, elegant, and often elaborate -- not unlike Spooner's. The long cycle, subtle motions, compelling character, and witty storyline show that Horovitz has mastered the craft of contemporary automata making.

You can see more automata by Marc Horovitz on the Sidestreet Bannerworks website.

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Wooden robot lost in space - kinetic sculpture by Alan Westby

I posted last month about the wooden robot automata made by Alan Westby. I just received word that he's finished another in the series. This one depicts a poor robot hurling through space just beyond the safety of its rocket ship. Thankfully, most robots don't require air.

Note the clever use of two sets of bevel gears used to create rotation in two directions off of the same drive shaft. Well played!

See more of Alan Westby's robot-themed automata on his web site.

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Six of the most unconventional whirligigs you will EVER see

Here are six unusual whirligigs that were in exhibited in museums in New York, Baltimore and elsewhere. These delightful wind-driven pieces were created by retired surgeon, Ben Thal. Thal has made around 60 complex whirligigs in the last 10 years, devoting four to six weeks for the drafting, carving, painting and assembling of each one.

The Seattle Times did a nice write up of Ben Thal back in 1997. We learn a lot of interesting things about him such as the fact that he does the carving for his whirligigs actual surgical scalpels and that his condo has also been turned into something of a whirligig factory. Read the full article titled Spin Doctor -- Former Surgeon Ben Thal Builds Humor Into His Witty, Whimsical Whirligigs for more details on this fascinating man.

See more amazing whirligigs by Ben Thal on his YouTube Channel.

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Fanciful 'Nervous Owl' paper automaton kit

Here's a new paper automaton design from the folks at cool4cats. The tormentented owl can only look on as the motorcycling mouse rides circles around the tree. The owl's had action is fascinating!

The 'Nervous Owl' automaton kit comes with all necessary materials and full step-by-step instructions. All you will need is some white glue and a craft knife. Nervous owl is currently selling for £12.00 (about $18 USD).

Here is where you can order the Nervous Owl kit paper automaton kit.

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Amusing automaton by Jean Pierre Galopin

Here is an amusing automaton by Jean Pierre Galopin entitled Lulu la Sportive. The automaton features a mouse in a mousetrap. Fortunately, the mouse wasn't caught!/p>

See more automata by Jean Pierre Galopin on his web site.

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Teddy Bear automaton by Kazu Harada

Another clever and funny automaton by Kazu Harada!

Here is where you can learn a bit more about automaton-maker Kazu Harada.

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French automaton monkey playing the cymbals

Here's an antique French automaton monkey furiously playing the cymbals. That's a pretty funny motion, but probably only in small doses! This crazy little guy is currently up for auction on ebay.

Here is a link to many more pictures and a description of this French automaton monkey playing the cymbals.

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