Jack the Mechanical Parrot

Jack the parrot, the mechanical bird

Recreate the most colorfull and popular bird with my new project : Jack the parrot, the mechanical bird.

For this project I chose to recreate my favorite animal, parrots represent freedom and travel in addition to being very clever and colorful. I added a special theme for the stand that evokes the carribeans islands with a small totem pole, a waterfall and some tropical plants.

Why this project ?

This whole story started a few months ago when I watched a documentary on Disney attractions. Among these, a special topic was the tiki tiki room show at Disneyland California, which was the very first attraction with audio animatronics. the Animatronics were actually birds singing together and I thought that was fantastic! Some time later I went to a friend who had a real beautiful parrot at his home and at that moment I clicked, why not create a parrot in lego? I made the link with the previous documentary and started researching parrots, where do they live? what colors do they have? How do they get around? So I looked at my friend's parrot for a long time to understand how it moved. When I got home I took some bricks and started building, after two weeks Jack the Parrot was born!

How it works ?

The mechanism is based on a system of handle and ropes, by turning the handle the parrot tilts on its perch. A system of ropes creates a combination of movement (tail, wings, head and beak) so when the parrot goes down the cables stretch and activate the different parts of the parrot. When Jack the parrot goes up the cables relax and an additional system of rubber bands puts the moving parts back in place. You can also add a motor in the stand to animate the parrot like magic for a more interactive experience.

The global model measure 46cm tall for arround 1200 parts.

Enjoy this project !