A Sleptin Prototype

Sometimes when I try to visualize things I just feel like it's better to knock a quick prototype of a component together it help me see things more clearly. Is the size I'm considering big enough? Is there enough room for the mechanics? Should I add some more scope?

The bird trying to grab the worm from an apple was such a case. I made the apple. I really haven't drawn the bird yet, but I wanted to scale the bird appropriately,  so I decided to prototype it. There is nothing too fancy here. It is built of bits of wood I find lying around in my shop. This one includes some particle board, something I would never use in an automata.

So here is the bird. It's going to be a North American Sleptin, a bird rarely seen in the morning hours. It pivots forward and back, it raises and lowers it's tail, flaps it's wings, and opens and closes it's beak.  So I think the prototype has helped. Now I need to turn it into a more life-like creature. Since I'm having fun in the shop I think I will just start in on making the legs. My next blog will show some detail on a special leg assembly I'm going to use.