A Flock of Seagulls - No Not the 80's British Pop Synth Band- Automata Seagulls!

Well these five seagulls are sporting a fresh coat of paint and patiently waiting a mechanism. I think I mentioned previously that sometimes I build all the characters and then fit the mechanism under them. This is such a case. Of course there is a risk that things may end up up being a little tight  in the mechanism space, but seeing as we are COVID lockdown in Ontario right now, I guess I've got no excuse for not taking time to figure it out.

Let's review. The two gulls in the front tip forward to the ground and mysteriously seem to have bills with magnetic attraction capabilities!?! The gull in the centre rear, currently well hidden in the photo grouping, is the gull that lunges forward sticking his bill into things but really getting nothing for it. The two in the rear on either side turn their heads fretfully as things transpire around them. As a reminder, the early design evolution of this piece is covered in a free course in the Learning Centre. It's called "From Idea to Proof of Concept to Prototype".

These are painted as Herring Gulls with a folk art look about them. The carvers at the local club wouldn't be impressed with the absence of feathers and slack adherence to realistic proportion. That's okay I say, they have moving parts, do yours move? It's a constant tease between us. (They do beautiful birds by the way!)

Remember automata has a whimsical side, realism is nice but seldom amusing in itself!

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