An Elephant Thinking of Inventing the Wheel

Paul Spooner has just finished 7 of these elephants.

The elephant is either re-inventing the wheel, or practising the fifteenth letter of the alphabet.

They are made from limewood with a leather sheath over stainless steel spring in the trunk. The box is a tropical hardwood salvaged from a hotel door frame.

Dimensions H 130mm , W 160mm, D50 mm.

Edition of 7

£295 (excl. VAT)

Sold Out.

Deluxe Designing Automata Kit

This box contains everything you need to get started with automata design.

Contents:-

1. Designing Automata Kit. The classic CMT kit – No glue or tools are required, and you will learn about simple mechanics using cams and a crank slider mechanism. Many different designs can be made, and the kit used over and over again.
It is suitable for either left or right handed use, and takes the frustration out of designing automata by allowing very quick assembly and testing without the use of tools. It is a valuable teaching aid, and ideal for those wishing to experiment with some basic mechanisms.
Kit includes a DVD showing you how to put it together, (and our small Barecat has some fun along the way!)

We have enjoyed using this kit around the world at workshops and exhibitions. Produced in Thailand using chemical-free rubber wood, from sustainable sources.

2. A range of materials to help you create your own designs.
(5 pieces of foam material, 4 straws, feathers, wire). Colours will vary.

3. The Interactive CD-Rom. An interactive version of the Designing Automata Kit – hours of fun.

4. How to Make Automata DVD (NTSC or PAL) Understanding mechanisms with Keith Newstead

5. Cabaret Mechanical Movement – Our book, republished many times since 1998. Covers all the basic mechanisms with specific reference to CMT automata.

£79.50 (excl. VAT)

Mexican Chickens

Carlos Zapata has just finished this colourful one off piece. These South American chickens are taking a break from their usual diet of corn, for something more refreshing. Carlos’ ingenious mechanism evokes the noise of pecking.

Height 34 cm (13 inches)

£1,195 (excl. VAT)

Frustrated Felines

This free download contains Paul Spooner’s plans for an automata called ‘Frustrated Felines’.

The detailed plans give an insight into how the automata was constructed, (a small edition was made and sold at CMT in the 1980’s). It makes a challenging project for an automata enthusiast!

You can find more plans and insights into automata making in the downloads section of our store.

14 page PDF (6.8 MB) – FREE

The Harpy of West Street

A new one-off piece from Fi Henshall, the green spikey haired Harpy hovers over the tin town below. Fi is creating these new pieces as she works on designs for a large exhibition piece with urban tin landscape, (we can’t wait!).

The Harpy of West Street

£695 (excl. VAT)

The Tax Man – An Unbuilt Machine

In 1984 Paul Spooner designed an elaborate machine which was to have been on display in a shopping centre in York. (This was four years before the Ride of Life). The machine, called the Tax Inspector, was to be ‘an automatic window display to cheer up the passers-by’. It was to have six scenes dealing with a day in the life of the Taxman, and the finale, as the machine opened up was a dream sequence.

You can download copies of Paul’s original drawings and ideas for these scenes here:

The Tax Man: An Unbuilt Machine – £1.40
11 page PDF Download (5.2MB)

‘Sad Frog’ by Keith Newstead

Keith Newstead has started making wonderful automata from the flotsam which arrives regularly at his local beach in Cornwall. The contents of containers lost at sea sometimes contain large amounts of the same, often colourful cargo, (lighters or legos).

This piece is called ‘Sad Frog’ and is a one-off design.

Height 24cm

£295

SOLD

Heart in Hand

The perfect gift for Valentines, a one-off piece from Carlos Zapata.

This a very stunning but gentle piece with a fantastic action as the hand opens and closes.

43 cm. high (17 Inches)

Price: £700.00 (excl. VAT)

First Edition – The Laird of The Mummy Wrappings

The Fourteen Ball Toy Company are producing this early Anubis piece from 1982, which Paul Spooner made while CMT was still in Cornwall. This is a rare opportunity to add a low numbered piece to your collection.

Our friend, the Egyptian God Anubis, is suitably attired in a beautifully painted tartan kilt.

The text reads,

‘Since his heyday in ancient Egypt, Anubis seldom has a chance to show off his shapely calves. He takes the opportunity in this Highland manifestation, but his pleasure is impaired by his young relatives’ lack of aptitude as a sheepdog.

145 mm x 118mm x 240 mm
Excluding handle – which makes 145mm into 200mm

Delivery – December 2009.

50% Deposit payable with order
50% Payable on shipping

Price: £785.00 | $1,065.60

Click here to buy from our shop

Fi Henshall

We are delighted to offer some pieces from a new artist, Fi Henshall, a sculpture graduate from Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall.

Fi was inspired by childhood visits to CMT in Covent Garden, and more recently by automata/machine maker Rob Higgs, whose attitude to making things convinced her that anything is possible. So she started to make automata, and was particularly attracted to it by the fact that, once made, they can be brought to life by anybody at the turn of a handle.

Fi enthuses about these new pieces, and says ‘The apparently idiosyncratic ways in which things can be made to move fascinates me. I enjoy the improbability of it all- even when I know something works, I find it hard to believe that the haphazard collection of cams and levers before me will really make something come to life. I work with a combination of materials as this stops me becoming too precious with any one of them, and ensures that I am always learning something new and discovering new things.’

Buy work from Fi Henshall in our online shop now:

Petits Fours £950

Liquorice Drops £295

Jack Daniels 1 £450