Evil Cartoon Animal Automata

These cantankerous automata critters were created by Juan Diego Sanin. Turn the cranks on their backs and their arms wave and the stars on their chests rotate. From left to right we have Gato Satanico (Satanic Cat), Oso Maloso (Bad Bear), and Conejo Malgenio (Cranky Rabbit). The free papercraft templates for the evil trio may be downloaded here, here and here.

Antique Toy Circus Papercraft

The Victoria & Albert Museums of England are offering an antique toy circus papercraft on their website. The original template for the circus was created by a French company around 1930. The best part of this papercraft is that it is an automata of sorts. Twirl the flag on top and the performers spin around like a merry-go-round. In addition to the usual cardstock, a piece of cork and a barbecue skewer are also required to build the circus. The template for this papercraft may be found here.

Walking MechWarrior Automata

Here is one of the best paper automata I have come across in ages. The creator of the automata, J. Hodgie of Ontario, Canada, claims that this is his first attempt at paper automation, but he has done an excellent job. The model is specifically the Madcat/Timberwolf type battlemech from the MechWarrior video game series. To view a video of the model in action check out the post here on Instructables.com. Along with the video you will find a PDF download of the template and detailed instructions illustrated with photographs. There is a color-it-yourself blank template available for download as well if you are in the mood to customize.