Happy Ramblings: I made a paper automaton aeroplane - Warning! air pockets

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

I made a paper automaton aeroplane - Warning! air pockets

 Paper automaton aeroplane WAP

I had a lot of fun making this moving automaton for my 11 year old nephew. It took me just over 2 weeks to make and it is made out of paper printed on my printer. 

The Warning! air pockets (WAP) automaton was designed by Giuseppe Civitarese and I found the free template for it on his website, together with the theory behind the mechanics and a YouTube clip showing how it moves.

There were 19 pages of instructions, with diagrams, and 52 pages with 165 parts to cut out! The printing used a very large amount of ink and different thicknesses of paper. The construction was quite complicated for me, being the first automaton that I have ever made, but I completed it and it works 😎 

WAP moving aeroplane model automaton

The flying movements of the aeroplane mimic those of an aeroplane that is hitting air pockets. Quite a bit of turbulence!

To make the automation work, you turn the handle on the large wheel at the front. 

This makes:
- The waves rock up and down individually
- The aeroplane move up and down and rock from side to side as if it has hit air pockets
- The seagull's wings flap up and down
- The sun spin around
- The cog wheels at the back work as gears moving the pistons and crank shaft

It is quite complex and you can see all the workings as they control the automaton.

Rear view of the WAP automaton

I had such a great time making this and even more fun playing with it. 

Really happy 😊

Hugs, Rose x

8 comments:

  1. Oh my, that is amazing! What talent and patience to create a truly heart-felt gift...your nephew will absolutely love it! Mary

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    1. Dear Mary, thankyou very much :) I enjoyed every minute of making this automaton. Testing it as I went along and finally playing with it lol. I would have loved to make it a hobby, but at the moment the cost of printing is too high. Maybe one day! Hugs, Rose x

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  2. Wow, that is incredible! The amount of effort that you put into that is very impressive. I bet your nephew loves it. What did Otto make of it?! xx

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    1. Hi VeggieMummy, Thankyou :) Otto was very curious and kept jumping on my desk to investigate what I was doing when I was making it. I had to keep rescuing pieces and he wanted to lie on the paper. I don't dare to make the automaton work while Otto is around, as he would totally demolish it thinking the aeroplane = bird. Luckily he isn't interested when I am not around lol. Hugs, Rose x

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  3. Wow! I would love to have one myself :)
    Sunday again, I hope you have a beautiful day!
    Greetings from a grey and windy island & Titti

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    1. Dear Titti, Thankyou :) It is going to be hard to part with the automaton, it is so much fun!
      Most of last week the weather was grey, wet and extremely windy here too. More like winter than spring. It is expected to be the same this week, so no walking outside with Otto, sigh. I hope you have a wonderful week with better weather. Hugs Rose x

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    1. Dear Liberty, thankyou very much :) Hugs Rose x

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