Downloadable plans for action toys at PlayfulPlans.com

Woodworker and author Kevin McGuire has a web site featuring downloadable plans for vintage-inspired wooden playthings. The devious little toy shown in the video above is one of my favorites. On his site will also find plans balance toys, rolling toys, gravity toys, games, and more. His plans include step-by-step instructions, illustrations, and photos of the finished project.

Here is the site's intro video:

Here is where you can check out Kevin McGuire's action toy plans at www.playfulplans.com.

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Model car integrated into wall mounted kinetic gear train sculpture

Check out this new wall mounted kinetic sculpture by Brett Dickens. We're not unfamiliar with the his wooden gear sculptures, but this one has an interesting addition: a 1:25 scale model of a 1948 Ford Woody Wagon. The Woody is situated above a ramp, which is set into motion by the gear train. Once the ramp meets the wheels, the car goes for a ride.

See more kinetic sculpture by Brett Dickins on his YouTube channel.

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The Amazing Journey - a bicycle automaton with parallax effect

Automatist Keith Newstead has made many pieces featuring bicycles, but this one has got to be one of the most intricate and grand that we've ever see here at The Automata Blog. The automaton was a commissioned piece and is titled The Amazing Journey

Th Amazing Journey

Newstead explains the origin of the piece:

John Lau has asked me to make a different version of my automaton 'Brians Brilliant Bike'. He would like me to feature his wife, Vivien, surrounded by all of their pets. He wants the automaton to remember his wedding -- such a nice thing to do.

The depiction of the human characters, John And Vivien, is lovely.

The bold colors and menagerie of the animated creatures adds tremendous amount life to the piece. This is a video you can watch more than once. Did you notice the acrobatic mouse on the front wheel of the bike? The rabbit's swagger as it conjures? The gentle swaying of the snake?

Mechanically, there is a lot to take in: pulleys, belts, linkages, joints, rotating objects as well as the metal combined with wood. Most fascinating for me, is the extremely clever rotating background. By rotating several discs behind the scene at different speeds, Newstead has simulated a parallax effect with wood and paint!

As usual, the artist has some great in-the-making photographs of the automaton on his blog. Check them out.

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Gyroscope toy: still crazy after all these years

Maybe it's just the soundtrack, but this video from ThinkGeek makes the good old gyroscope toy look pretty entertaining. I've read about them in basic physics books and I have to admit...it still looks like magic to me!

Here a bit from their write up of the toy:

The toy gyroscope hit the market in 1917 and hasn't changed much since your grandparents (or great-grandparents!) played with one. This classic toy fascinates us with its gravity defying stunts, which are easy to learn with a bit of practice. Wind the string, pull it quickly, and the Original Gyroscope will start spinning. Want it to walk a tightrope? Balance on your hand or head? Tilt at impossible angles without falling? You can do it with the power of physics.

Here is the ThinkGeek listing for the Original Gyroscope Toy.

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Three books on making LEGO Technic mechanisms

Recently brought to my attention are these three detailed books on making mechanisms out of LEGOs:

   • The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Simple Machines
   • The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Fantastic Contraptions
   • The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Wheeled Wonders

The clever little walker shown in the video is from the Fantastic Contraptions volume.

From Fantastic Contraptions book description:

The Technic models in Fantastic Contraptions include working catapults, crawling spiders, and bipedal walkers, as well as gadgets powered by fans, propellers, springs, magnets, and vibration. You'll even learn how to add lights, pneumatics, and solar panels to your own models.

All three books look really good! For in-depth reviews of these three LEGO Technic books head over at the Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories Blog.

[ Thanks Denise! ]

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Interesting repelling magnets on spinning wheels

I don't read (or speak) Japanese, but I think what we are looking at in this video are two spoked wheels with magnets on the ends -- each wheel having the opposite pole from the other. Some interesting and unexpected motions result!

Amazon's very cool Industrial & Scientific section has a huge selection of magnets if you are inclined to do some experimenting of your own.

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