automata mistakes

I am now in new territory so have spent a lot of time building and rebuilding mechanisms. I have been trying to discover the best way of getting everything to work off the main axle and lack of knowledge means trial and error (helped by a great little book 'Cabaret Mechanical Movement' from Paul Spooner's web site). I haven't helped myself by not having a clear idea of what I want to do. I have used a bell crank (which in this case turns a vertical movement into an horizontal one, with the intention of making the figures head turn from side to side.

One thing I've learnt is that trying an idea out in card using split pins for joints really helps visualise the end product. I've then moved onto making a simple version using florist wire (you can see this in the head mechansism). As you can see this is a bit of a rough version but it does work. I can now rework it to improve strength and smoothness of movement.

One thing I am pleased with is the change in speed from the wheel spinning in the background to the gentle left to right head movement. That was a total flook!

Saw a great quote from the director of Toy Story 3 who was discussing the experimental approaches they use to create Pixar movies: "Screw-ups are an essential part of making something good. That's why our goal is to screw up as fast as possible"