Sculpture: "Cajun Gator and Jumpin' Catfish"

It's been a long time since I've made an "automata" crank-toy. Just finished this today.  Introducing "Cajun Gator and Jumpin' Catfish"! I couldn't get the video to play on the blog...so use your imagination. The front of the boat goes up and down...the back propeller turns...and the catfish "jumps" up and down and spins as you crank the handle.

 

AUTOMATA - "Pirate Puppet" FINISHED!

 YO HO HO, ME BUCCANEERS!  The Pirate Project be DONE!!

As often happens, my projects turn out to be way more complicated than I anticipate when I start with a little sketch on a scrap of paper.  But fortunately, I had some time over Memorial Day weekend, and some on-line encouragement from my friend, Joyce, to stick with it and finish this guy! So, without futher ramblings...let's look at the final stages.

I will say up front...the most frustrating part of this project was messing with beard fur and super-glue!!!  What a mess! Some months ago, a co-worker buddy of mine, Shannon, had given me this 98¢ fake beard, which was perfect for my pirate. I began by cutting out a piece to fit the lower jaw.  I glued the fur upside down, so it would hide the fabric backing, and give a soft, rounded edge to the top of the beard.

Next up...combing...trimming...then a little razor work to make the beard more uneven and shaggy.

Then I glued on a piece to cover the back of the head and neck.  After that...I added the mustache.  You will note that there is a nice little gap where the Pirate's wicked scar cuts across his lip.

The finishing touches were a bit more fur added in front of the ears, and also to back-fill any spaces where the backing showed through.  And then I glued the hat in place.

Next, it was time to see if I remembered anything at all from the sewing class I took in college, umpteen years ago! This part of the build took about 10 to 15 hours to figure out how to create the jacket.  But I think it worked out pretty well in the end.  The lace cuffs were some ribbon material I found at the fabric store.

One thing that I didn't account for was the thickness of the black felt that I used for the jacket.  It bunched up a lot in the area of the elbows, so I had to trim out and sew the sleeve with a bend to it...like the heel of a sock.

Since I did not have a pattern, I had to trim and measure things as I went.  I cut a hole for one arm, wrapped the felt around to the other side, then cut another arm hole.  The sleeves were long enough to tuck under for stitching later. Once I had a "vest" made, I folded the tops over for lapels, and added a collar.

I had stumbled across some ribbon fabric in the laundry room a few days ago, and thought it would make a nice "shoulder belt". So, I quickly made a buckle out of wire and plumbers epoxy.  The final step for the jacket was to attach the "steering arm" by closing up the "screw eyes", and then stitching on the other sleeve.

 Once the jacket was complete, I ran my strings through all the mechanisms, and glued the puppet parts to the base.  I was a little frustrated to discover that much of the range of motion with the finished puppet was diminished, due to the way the thicker felt fabric, and the beard material restricted the movements.  Oh well...live and learn!

Check out the final photos below!

 Time to swab the decks, Maties...this journey be over!
AAAARRRRR!!!!

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" FINISHED!

This little guy is finally done!!! The DiggerBot was way more involved to build than I originally anticipated. I had lost steam for this "steam-punk" project several times. But today I went out for some location shots at a construction site, and am actually smiling at the results. There's not going to be a lot of commentary on the paint job...just enjoy the photos!

I wanted to show the earliest stage of when I began to paint the Bot. I was really torn as to what color to go with, once I had sprayed on a primer coat of black. It reminded me of an old black train locomotive...and I really liked that look. I came really close to just hitting it with some silver on a few details, and calling it "done".
I also like the yellow colors of modern construction equipment. In the end, I went with a worn-out ol' rust-bucket bronze-red. Below are the basic arm movements. Unfortunately, the crank mechanism ended up being tighter to turn (due to the paint), so there's a bit of effort required to bring it to life.

So that's it for the latest project. Might have to get some more shelves!

AUTOMATA: "More Mechani-Cats"

I'm getting close to the end of the line with posting my automata creations...guess I'll have to work on some more in the near future. This little "Angel Cat" was made for my Mom a few Christmases ago...pretty simple mechanism...the wings just move up and down. It has the "antique" painting approach where I give everything a base coat of white, then skuff it up with sandpaper after the color is applied.

My brother, Kris, is an avid golfer. Since I was on the "cat theme" that Christmas, I made him this little guy. The golfball sits on the head of a mouse...when the club swings down, the mouse ducks in the hole just far enough for the cat to miss hitting the ball.

AUTOMATA: "Computer Cats"

Here are a couple more of my first wooden crank toys from a few years back. I made this one for my Mom for a Christmas present. When you turn the handle, the cat's paw bats at the dangling "mouse" cord, and the cat tail goes down. At the same time, the cord swings to the left while the computer keyboard pivots up on off of the desk. When the keyboard goes up and down, the "real mouse" bounces and slightly rotates a bit each time. Sorry, but I didn't take photos of the "action", so you'll just have to use your imagination on how it works.
This next one was made the following year for my sister-in-law, Debra. She's a great lover of cats and computers, and really had her eye on the toy I made for Mom. I simplified the mechanics a bit, but I think she was happy with it. When you turn the crank, the arms tap away at the keyboard. I like the "antique" feel of old wooden toys from days gone by, so I painted it to have that worn and aged look.

AUTOMATA - "Piano Playin' Ken"

Here is a "going away present" I made a few years back for my good friend Ken, who was making a career change at the time. For the most part, everything is made from wood, except for the head, which is "sculpey" modeling clay.


When you turn the crank, the cams rotate and push wires up and down to make the arms "play" the piano. Another peg makes the right tap to keep time.

AUTOMATA - "Mr. Shorty"

I thought it appropriate to show one of my earliest toys that I made for my Dad, who just passed away this week. I gave this to him Christmas 2004. He loved to cut firewood with his chainsaw. Whenever there was a storm, he was one of the first guys to run over and help folks get the big limbs out of their yards. At his funeral, one of the stories about my Dad involved him helping a new neighbor go get firewood in the middle of the hot summer ("That's the time to gather it...not in the winter when you NEED it!).


When you turn the crank, "Mr. Shorty" stands up, then pushes down into the log with his saw. I don't know if Dad knew, but I made him saw the log in that way as an inside joke...he always used to laugh at guys that pushed and pulled on the saw like you would a normal handsaw. ("Just hold it steady...the saw will do all the work for you.")


Thanks again to all who offered prayers and kind thoughts for our family as we said goodbye to a truly wonderful, one-of-a-kind, genuine friend and father...James "Shorty" Ludwig. We'll miss him dearly.
-W

AUTOMATA: "Uncle Icarus"

Here's another "toy" I made for myself. It's loosely based on the Greek myth about a guy who tried to escape Crete by making wings...and then unfortunately flew too close to the sun. I decided he would be an eccentric uncle who was constantly making weird inventions...I suppose it's a bit of a self-portrait, now that I think about it.

Originally, this piece was going to be a polymer clay sculpture, and not automata. The sketch in the upper left corner below shows "Icarus" jumping off the edge of a barn. I'm not really sure why I changed it into a crank-toy. As always, it went through several variations in sketch phase.


Here's an early stage of the figure. I used Super Sculpy to model the head and hands...carving the level of detail I wanted into the wood became too difficult. You can see that the legs are still very simple. I was able to use my dremel tool to grind out the shapes. I also redesigned the skinny arms into something more substantial.

When you crank the handle, the wings go up and down, his legs tilt down as his rear goes up.

Here are a few more detail views. I wanted the wings to look like they were made from pieces of lumber. I also chose to paint this toy in somewhat of an "antique" look...it feels like an "old fashioned toy"...and it also covers up a lot of imperfections in my craftsmanship!


That's it for today...
-W

AUTOMATA: "Crab"

This little guy is one of my very first attempts at "automata". He was inspired by the blue crabs that we have fun catching when visiting family in Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay.


Part of the process of building these "toys" often involves prototyping. I wasn't really sure how I'd get the legs to move, so I made this "leg box" to see if a crankshaft approach would work.


As usual, I drew up lots and lots of sketches to see how elaborate this final version would be. To help me figure things out, I did a good bit of research on the web, and checked out books from the library about basic machines, woodworking, toymaking....there are so many talented folks out there doing incredible things!! I repeat...I am NOT an engineer...but part of the fun is in trying to figure it all out. Since then, I've started to collect my own books so I can refer to them often at home.


The mechanism I ended up with was about as simple as I could make it...sort of like piano keys. As you press each lever, a string pulls a pair of legs upward. You can make the crab "dance" by "typing" quickly. One lever makes the claws go up in a "defensive pose"...just like the real ones do, just before they pinch the crud out of my fingers when I try to pick them up!


Til next time...
-W