Our local art store has the Flying Pig series of crank-animated paper sculpture kits from the UK. These are pre-printed, die cut paper model kits you assemble with Elmer's white glue. All the bases are open paper frames that support a crank and cam mechanism which moves a shaft up and down to animate the sculpture. I picked up Bob the Dog, Cat Walk, Ruminations (the cow), and Mexican Peck (chickens). These will be a lot fun to build soon on a rainy day.

More on paper automata. And yes, someone has already thought of this.

- mike lee - baltimore