Lego Automaton

A lot of people seem to enjoy my builds and youtube videos and because i am so happy with my latest model i finally got up the nerve to post it on lego ideas.

Lego automaton. A kinetic lego sculpture or automaton of two figures paddling a canoe. It s designed in the style of the voyageurs who were french canadian fur traders a. I ve been building lego automata for a couple of years now.

My name is teun de wijs from amsterdam holland. Hi everybody i ve been building automata for a few years now and was so pleased with my last model that i decided to put it on lego ideas. This model has been inspired by an 18th automaton i could see in the workshop of the speelklok museum in utrecht.

A lego automaton that can play music. A classic illusion which is usually performed with some sort of s shaped liftarm but i ve always wondered if this variation with a solid hoop and moving sup. I found a pretty elegant and simple solution.

Reproducing the original mechanism with lego parts was a really fun challenge. Check out the video below to see it in action. I studied the patent of an old tin toy called zilotone and had to think hard on how to code the melody using just lego bricks.

After many trials and errors i managed to build one that i am happy with. An updated version of my sisyphus kinetic sculpture if you would like to purchase all of the parts needed to build this model you can buy a kit from mochub here. Lego moc moc 13424 sisyphus automata motorized building instructions and parts list.

The mechanism of this automaton is very smooth never jams and it s completely hidden from sight even though the table is hollow. I envisioned a man in a bath full of lego because well we ve all thought about it right. I started thinking about a lego automaton that could play the glockenspiel 5 years ago and finally find a good occasion to make it.