Automata

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John B.
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Automata

Post by John B. » Thu Jul 18, 2013 9:59 pm

John M. and I have discussed automata a few times, and I hope to build a simple automaton one day. I wanted to start a thread dedicated to automata and mechanical toys, things that may interest some of the same people who enjoy collecting Tenyo items.

I just read the short book Antonio Diavolo: A Souvenir of his Performance by John Gaughan and Jim Steinmeyer

http://www.jimsteinmeyer.com/catalog/pr ... 249&page=1

This is Robert Houdin's mechanical automaton that would balance and perform tricks on a moving trapeze. A video of the performance is below:

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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Thu Jul 18, 2013 10:04 pm

Built from Legos:

My favorite- Lego Antikythera Mechanism based on the first analog computer nearly 2000 years old. The antikythera mechanism was used to calculate the movement of the planets and phases of the moon. It was lost in the ocean for nearly 2000 years before being discovered in a shipwreck a little over 100 years ago. What really surprised everyone was a network of tiny metal gears embedded in the rock- these types of gear systems were not known until the renaissance period and historians were shocked that the ancient Greeks could build such a device. High resolution scanning X-ray tomography enabled scientists to build a model of the device a few years ago.




Pegasus:

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JohnM
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Re: Automata

Post by JohnM » Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:05 pm

John great minds think alike. ;–) I had this topic on my "Content List" thanks for starting it with some great videos.

Here are three that I enjoyed watching.

Paul Daniels Performs with a Beautiful Reproduction of Robert Houdin's Orange Tree.


The Story Behind the Real Automata that was the inspiration for the film Hugo.


Room For Wonders — A short documentary about a very unique collection of Automata and other interesting items.

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Roberto B.
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Re: Automata

Post by Roberto B. » Fri Jul 26, 2013 10:41 am

This my favourite (manufactured by an Argentinian artist):


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David DeTenyo
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Re: Automata

Post by David DeTenyo » Sat Jul 27, 2013 4:20 am

Great video's!

I also like The Magic Turk Clock which Paul Daniels has.


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Per-Aage
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Re: Automata

Post by Per-Aage » Fri Aug 09, 2013 5:03 pm

woow, very Nice videos !
I would love to build a small one, does anyone know if and where to buy a kit to build ? (Lego or Wood to start With :))
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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:14 pm

I wanted to buy the Pegasus Lego kit, but haven't been able to find it anywhere. If anyone has any leads, please let me know.

I have seen some wooden kits for sale, but they were all very simple.

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Re: Automata

Post by Per-Aage » Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:45 pm

This guy Amida, used to sell lego Pegasus kits, but not anymore.

I contacted Amida to ask him about the Pegasus, and he kindly sent me full instuctions to build it + a shop list for the lego bricks :)

If you also want the instructions for the Pegasus, here is the address:

http://amida.kr
amida@amida.kr
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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:19 pm

Awesome!! Thanks!

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Peter G
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Re: Automata

Post by Peter G » Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:01 am

I found this website. http://www.cabaret.co.uk/ Haven't dealt with them but it looks interesting.
They even have some magiacian-automata for sale! http://www.cabaret.co.uk/day-36-miniatu ... -automata/

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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Thu Aug 22, 2013 7:24 pm

Per-Aage wrote:This guy Amida, used to sell lego Pegasus kits, but not anymore.

I contacted Amida to ask him about the Pegasus, and he kindly sent me full instuctions to build it + a shop list for the lego bricks :)

If you also want the instructions for the Pegasus, here is the address:

http://amida.kr
amida@amida.kr
I started ordering the pieces to build this Pegasus automaton. I will keep you all posted on how this turns out.

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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:53 pm

I built the Lego Pegasus Automaton last night. It looks really cool and is fun to watch the gears spin. It was just under 500 pieces and cost a little over $100. Amida is a talented Lego designer!

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Per-Aage
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Re: Automata

Post by Per-Aage » Thu Sep 12, 2013 5:57 am

:) Great work John !

Pictures ?

Where did you buy the lego bricks ? I also have to build the Pegasus :)
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Rob Rand
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Re: Automata

Post by Rob Rand » Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:13 pm

Per-Aage wrote:woow, very Nice videos !
I would love to build a small one, does anyone know if and where to buy a kit to build ? (Lego or Wood to start With :))
Per-Aage, here's a very nice Automata from wood, to build yourself. I bought it at a gift shop and glued it. Unfortunately I didn't paint it.

http://youtu.be/VZT76RI-IPo

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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Sat Sep 14, 2013 9:25 pm

Per-Aage wrote::) Great work John !

Pictures ?

Where did you buy the lego bricks ? I also have to build the Pegasus :)
To build the Pegasus, I purchased the bricks by joining Bricklink.com This is a website that allows people to search for sellers (over 7,000 sellers) of particular bricks and colors. You can quickly search for the pieces by typing in the numbers provided by Amida in the Pegasus instructions. It took a while to order the nearly 500 pieces, but I was able to buy probably about 70% of the bricks from one seller called Plastic Bricks Direct in the US. Unfortunately, for some of the rare pieces, I had to do individual orders which, when considering the shipping charges, added a bit more to the cost. However, there are many Lego brick sellers in Europe on the site. If you are less picky about the color scheme or are open to purchasing "used" bricks with some wear, it will be easier and cheaper to find parts. It took me about an evening to build it once the pieces all came in. After assembling it, I have a lot of respect and appreciation for the mechanism, and this is beautiful and was clearly well thought out. I will try to load a photo at some point.

I found another neat automaton on YouTube this evening- near the end of the video, the development is shown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiLWBzxyzuk

There are small wooden kits that Simon C. pointed me to when I met up with him in London last weekend. He took me to a famous toy store called Hamleys and they have a display with many of the kits assembled and moving. The kits are made by a company called Timberkits. I bought the Drummer while I was in London since I liked how he moved and the mechanism underneath. I haven't built this one yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wm6e-JXcho

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Rob Rand
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Re: Automata

Post by Rob Rand » Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:50 am

Hey what a coincidence. My Kissing couple automaton is from Timberkits too, here is a better video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jjuYx9kdnE

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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Tue Sep 17, 2013 7:57 pm

Photo of the assembled Pegasus:
pegasus.jpg

Some pictures of the inner workings and gear mechanism:
mechanism1.jpg
mechanism2.jpg
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JohnM
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Re: Automata

Post by JohnM » Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:10 pm

That's really beautiful and I bet it was fun to make.

What a great subject mater.

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Rob Rand
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Re: Automata

Post by Rob Rand » Wed Sep 18, 2013 12:05 pm

John B, these inside pictures of the Lego Pegasus excite me more than the centerfold of some magazines... Yes, I AM a Legoman for sure! Absolutely an adorable mechanical masterpiece!

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Re: Automata

Post by SimonC » Wed Sep 18, 2013 12:27 pm

Really glad those last few pieces arrived, it looks fantastic!
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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Thu Sep 26, 2013 10:18 pm

I built the "Woody Blues" Timberkit shown in the Youtube video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_5b6-xuW4

I made two changes from the instructions- one aesthetic and one functional. I kept the head straight and placed the instrument at an angle whereas the instructions suggest tilting the head downward. The functional change included installing a small peg in the hole in the bench to enable greater movement of the figure's left leg. This has a nice movement, and I am happy with how this turned out. I am looking forward to building my drummer set next.

Some Photos:
blues1.jpg
blues2.jpg
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JohnM
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Re: Automata

Post by JohnM » Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:51 am

Maybe you can string them together so they work with one crank. I think they make a piano player as well.

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Re: Automata

Post by SimonC » Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:57 am

FleetWOOD Mac?
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John B.
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Re: Automata

Post by John B. » Sat Jan 25, 2014 9:41 pm

I finally finished the Drummer set I purchased when I met up with Simon C in London.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wm6e-JXcho

This one was more complicated than "Woody Blues" because there is a lot more movement.

Here are some pics during construction:
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Re: Automata

Post by SimonC » Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:10 am

That looks like fun :) how's the band coming along?
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