Automata and Mechanical Toys

This book reminds me of Pinterest or other clickbait. Think you'll learn how to make what's on the cover? Think again. It has the most beautiful picture of an amazing automaton on the cover, but don't be fooled, this is not in the book or discussed.. There are almost no useful plans for any automatons here. You'd be better off looking at a youtube video of basic levers and cams.I found many of the images of different artist's automatons to be quite inspiring, but the book is very light on details as to how anything works, and includes almost NO pictures of the inner workings of anything. See that beautiful thing on the cover, want to know what cams and levers are behind it? Me too!!!! Too bad that's not what this book is about.

This book has a beautiful collection and automata AND an extensive section on how to build the various mechanisms that power them. I was very happy to find a book like this.

Has a lot of info and pictures, some quite odd pictures. Lots of ideas for sure just not what I was looking for.

Is exactly what i wanted.

Beautifully written and illustrated. Love the various artists and styles covered - really broad.

This book is everything you could ask for in book on contemporary artistic automata.Each chapter has a brief summary of the topic in question -- say tools and materials. Next, each chapter moves on to showcase the work of two or three automata artists with many pictures and a page or two of information about each artist.The photographs of automata in this book are outstanding. You can really get a sense for the devices, their construction, and most especially, their finishes.If you love automata, want to see more of them, and want to learn about some of the top automata artists in the contemporary scene, this book is a must-have.

Nice book and good information.

good

If you are interested in making automata you should but two books.This one and the one from Cabaret Mechanical Movement. You will have al the information you need.This is a large glossy affair, full of interesting history, ideas and a set of projects to build the main types of mechanism you will need.It’s really good!

I bought this book before I retired as a Design and Technology teacher in a secondary school. I found the projects to be excellent for the more able students in a subject which is increasingly turning to CAD/CAM. While I understand that students should be familiar with the processes used in "real life" I think it is essential that they also understand how to use hand tools and basic materials. This is one of several books I bought which I believe further this ideal and highly recommend it, especially for after-school clubs. There is also the fact that kids love things which do something, and this book is filled with that kind of project.

This seems to be arranged for a course on making modern automata. It has a brief history and sections profiling and reviewing, mostly British, modern automata artists. The photos of their work are very nice, and it is interesting to have quotes from them.The "how-to" section is very explanatory, but not really inspiring. It is arranged so you can build sort of a demonstration cabinet of mechanisms, but it is not very charming. If you can translate the bits and bobs straight away into your own creation, it is a good source, but if you build what you're supposed to, you'll die of boredom before you finish.

I love this book. It makes you want to have a go yourself. Amazing works of art.

Really prompt service and book was exactly as described