”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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Interview with automaton-maker Matt Smith of Fourteen Balls Toy Company

The Woodworking Projects & Plans site features an interview with British automaton-maker Matt Smith of Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Smith started in the 1980s working in collaboration with one of the other great names in contemporary automata, Paul Spooner. Working on his own now, Smith continues to make ingenious, humorous automata. He accepts many large commissions for public spaces such as the one shown here. In the photo above, the artist poses next to a piece titled The Gun Factory at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which features five different scenes and numerous figures in motion.

According to Smith, his pieced titled The Boneshakers (above) may be his favorite. The automaton depicts three skeleton cyclists being chased by a dog. In turn, each skeleton spins its heads to see if the dog is still in pursuit.

See more automata by Matt Smith on the Fourteen Balls Toy Company web site.

[ Thanks Charles! ]

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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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A leather-clad devil rides a skeletonized two-wheeled hell hound!

Check out this recent automaton by Keith Newstead which features the devil in his biker persona. He comes complete with leather outfit, goggles, and the coolest vehicle imaginable -- a hell hound skeleton on wheels.

Here is where you can see more images of Keith Newstead's Hell's Angle automaton.

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Wood skeleton hand project with controls for each finger

Check out this amazing wooden skeleton hand project by Ronald Waters. According to the video description, the hand was made using a pattern found online. The hand parts themselves were created with a scroll saw and Dremel rotary tool.

From the video description:

This video is a test of the pull-pull cords for the fingers and the spring tensioned center cords. There is still quite a bit of work to be done before this is complete.

A hole was drilled through the center of each bone in the hand. Center cords run through each finger. These are attached to springs which hold the joints together by compressing them. Cords outside the fingers on the top and bottom act as tendons and control strings.

I'm not sure what the final product will be, but I can already tell that I'm going to like it a lot! I am looking forward to the promised updates.

[ Thanks Warren! ]

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Spooky Love: A Danse Macabre - automaton book by Thomas Kuntz

Check out this recent work by sculptor and automaton maker, Thomas Kuntz.The beautiful leather-bound book when opened, features a pair of well-dress skeletons dancing under the moonlit sky. The music box movement, made by the renowned Reuge company, was adapted to power the scratch-built cam and lever system that makes the skeletons dance and the moon change size. Some interesting still shots towards the end of the video show some of the artist's in-process shots.

See more automata by Thomas Kuntz on his web site.

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Exeter Museum donations box: museum exhibits come to life!

Keith Newstead was comissioned by Exeter Museum to create an automaton to serve as a donations box. The patron donates some money into the machine and in return, it runs for a set period of time. It's a great system if you ask me.

The theme of this piece is 'The Museum Store Room'. The idea is that some of the museum's exhibits come to life when no one is watching. Here's one of Newstead's original sketches for the automaton:

As you can see, the final automaton stayed true to the original idea and brought the characters to life. He managed to incorporate a lot of different elements into one piece. I love the skeleton at the end!

See more sketches and in progress photos of the Exeter Museum donations box on Keith Newstead's blog. Some of the objects that inspired the piece are also shown. It's fun to see how he incorporated these elements.

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Kinetic sculpture by Ben Trautman

Take a look at this amazing large-scale kinetic sculptures by Ben Trautman.

From the artist's web site:

My work combines the languages of industrial architecture and organic forms using intuitive engineering and experimentation. Inspired by cities, bones, mechanics and the movement of living organisms, I build sculptures suggesting creatures that inhabit the crevices of industrial decay. I work with dual languages, mass and delicacy or solidity and agility. Architecture inspires and hosts my work, provides context and scale, mass to inhabit or solidity to erode.

With a studio located in Oakland, California, he has made mechanical sculptures for The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and The Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, California.

See more kinetic sculptures by Ben Trautman on his web site.

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Half Ounce - Kinetic sculpture by Nick Rayburn

Here's a new piece by artist Nick Rayburn title Half Ounce. This hand-cranked kinetic sculpture incorporates a variety of fascinating components including an antique letter balance, wood, brass, feathers, a magnifying glass, and a bird's skull, which weighs...you guessed it...one half ounce. The artist has created something very intriguing -- an artifact of questionable age and mysterious purpose. Fantastic!

Half Ounce sculpture by Nick Rayburn

Detail of Half Ounce by Nick Rayburn

This piece will soon to be available through Etsy and the Goldbug in Pasadena.

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"The Great Kundalini" - levitation automaton

Here's a real treat: the inner workings of a magic-themed automaton machined, engineered, sculpted, and painted by the amazing Thomas Kuntz. The works of the automaton are constructed of brass, which includes the cams that control the motions of the figures via a complex system of levers wires and pulleys. The scene depicts the levitation of a woman, performed by a macabre magician.

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400 year old gold skull automaton and clock

This incredible automaton features a beautiful clock underneath the skull cap. Over the course of a few minutes the mandible opens, then snaps shut all of a sudden. The snakes in two eye sockets alternately emerge and retreat. Created in 1610 by Nicolaus Schmidt der Junger, this skull automaton/mechanical clock recently sold for an astounding $135,000.

Here is is a more complete description and several large photographs of the 400 year old gold skull automaton and clock over at the Watchismo Times Blog.

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Teeny, tiny skeleton in a coffin mini automaton

The line of miniature automata they have over at Cabaret Mechanical Theatre is amazing! Keeping with the spirit of the month, here is the cutest-little-dead-guy you ever saw rising from the grave.

Here's where you can get the Skeleton in Coffin mini-automaton.

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Hide and Seek automaton by Yoshihiro Banba

Check out this excellent automaton by Japanese automaton-artist Yoshihiro Banba. I love the motion of the skeletons!

Here is a web page with more information and photos of the Hide and Seek automaton.

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Mechanical flying winged Grim Reaper prop

It's getting to be that time of year again, when I young man's fancy turns to thoughts of scaring the crap out of people with motorized monsters. Or, is that just me? Well, either way for $30, this animatronic Grim Reaper looks like a nice effect at a good price.

 From the product description:

The Grim Reaper's 4' wingspan automatically flaps and his sunken eyes illuminate with an ominous glow whenever it detects sounds. It has posable arms and a skeletal visage that peer out of a hooded black tunic that has the tatter one would expect in a garment that's been worn to escort millions of deceased souls to the afterlife. The three-dimensional Grim Reaper hangs from a wall or eave with the included fishing line. Requires three AAA batteries. 39" H x 38" W x 5" D. (3 lbs.)

Here is where  you can watch a short video of this mechanical flying winged Grim Reaper prop.

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Reader Contribution: Ask the Great Magnus

Automata / Automaton Blog reader Les Clay sent a note via the contact form telling us of a recently finished project titled 'Ask the Great Magnus'. This the second unique automaton he has finished.

From the YouTube description:

Another automaton based on the mechanism used in the Climate Change Prognosticator. A color-changing LED lights the interior under the crystal ball, but its effect is not noticeable on video. The figure's arms are poseable to some extent. The head, hands and skull are sculpted in polymer clay. The skull glows in the dark. You may notice that the "future" can sometimes appear hazy — often falling between two symbols — a side-effect of the mechanism, which uses no gears or pulleys, and none of the moving parts are connected to each other.

Interested in making your own automaton? Check out the the Automata Books page, the Automata Kits page, or Automaton Plans page.

[ Thanks Les! ]

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"FAKIR" magician automaton by Thomas Kuntz

Another masterful magician automaton from Thomas Kuntz!

From the video description:

This video shows the presentation and some construction highlights of a magical automaton. This piece, an original sculpture by Thomas Kuntz portrays the exotic albeit "dead" Fakir, performing a peculiar cups and balls routine ending in regurgitation. The mechanism needed to be extremely precise to produce the desired result. It was constructed of solid brass the cams acting on levers were cut by hand... all other mechanical components were custom machined metal as well either brass or steel. To allow the operator the ultimate control over speed and stop/ starts there is NO electricity on this piece, all functions are purely mechanical, cams levers gears linkages and a very unusual bent pitch sound device also controlled by a cam that emits a sitar kind of sound over the hum of a ratchet/pawl assembly that also serves the purpose of protecting the machine if the operator turns the crank in the wrong direction. The case is custom made too from solid oak and the mechanism can be viewed from a door at the back.

See more magic automata by Thomas Kuntz on his web site.

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The Boneshakers by Fourteen Balls Toy Company

Check out the motions on this amazing piece!

From the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre shop site:

An ingenious new piece from the Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Three skeleton cyclists are being chased by a dog. In turn they turn their heads to see if he is still in pursuit, tongue wagging! Matt Smith's new exhibit design has a tremendous sequence and meticulous workmanship. An exquisite collectors piece,

Here's where you can see more pictures of The Boneshakers automaton.

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More video of Pablo Lavezzari's 'The Jailer'

I posted video of The Jailer automaton in action the other day. Here is more video of this automaton by artist Pablo Lavezzari showing the back of the piece and how it is operated.

From the video description:

Explanation about the piece THE JAILER. Death locks the souls in jails from where they will never be able to escape and return to the world of the living. But this time Death herself has been trapped. An despite of all her fury, a dog-shaped and a crow-shaped demon will prevent her from escaping.

See more automata by Pablo Lavezzari on his web site.

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THE JAILER - automaton by Pablo Lavezzari

Another amazing automaton by Pablo Lavezzeri. As usual, the video production is as impressive as the automaton!

See more automata by Pablo Lavezzri on his web site.

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The assorted wood automata of Michel Fleau

Check out this wood automaton by Michel Fleau, entitled Mister Bone.

Here is a link to more images and video of automata by Michel Fleau.

[ Thanks Charles! ]

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