Tim Keeps His Balance

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ A very unusual automaton featuring an elastic powered ‘penny farthing’ bicycle. British coins changed after we switched to the decimal system, but in the ‘old days’ there were 240 pennies to the pound, and then there was the half-penny and also…

Tim Socks It To Them!

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim is fascinated by many things, and his amazing collection even has examples of unusual… socks! First of all, socks with eyes, but that is not all. These socks have little arms attached to them, and when you bring the two…

Tim Twizzles!

From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ Tim smartens up with a comb that is also a pen – now he is ready for the autograph hunters! Multi colour marshmallows – pop them in a container that allows you to pump some of the air out. What happens? The marshmallows expand. When…

It’s A Bug’s Life

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim’s collection has a number of small critters, little wiggly things, that lurk in small containers! You can see them as exotic pets, or maybe just a way to startle your friends… All of these have very delicate balancing mechanisms, so…

Folding Money 2

From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ Origami in leather? This purse, possibly made in Morocco, opens and closes simply by folding it. As Tim says, he used one of these as his regular coin purse for many years. Also a version made in China. Every item Tim opens seems to have…

Tim Says ‘Bee Mine…’

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Spring is in the air, and Tim is exploring the butterflies and the bees! A solar powered butterfly that is really very realistic. Only while the sun shines of course! Tim’s lapel badge shows a bee and the quote ‘to be…

Racket In The Attic

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim is making a racket again, and not the tennis kind! Auto tune can be used to make sure a singer hits exactly the right note, but here is an auto tune violin! Made by the Tomy toy company, there are…

You Can Leave Your Hat On

From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ A swinging pendulum that swings though the focal point of a parabolic mirror – a toy from 1976! When the red ball is at the focal point, its reflection fills the whole mirror! A hook for your hat or maybe coat. Part of a wooden…

Ear Candy

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim makes a noise! The ZUBE TUBE gives weird audio effects when you talk into one end. There are two cups inside, joined by a long spring, which vibrates when you talk into the tube. Next, a percussion instrument that creates…

Roar

From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ Tim demonstrates a bullroarer. This example is a ruler attached to a length of string. The bullroarer, rhombus, or turndun is an ancient ritual musical instrument and a device historically used for communicating over great distances. It consists of a piece of wood attached to…

Ruler Of My Heart

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Balance a ruler using two fingers. It doesn’t matter whereabouts you place your fingers, so long as they can balance the ruler without it falling to the ground. Then move your two fingers slowly together. If your fingers are equidistant from…

Drop It Like It’s Hot

From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ 1998 – the year that keeps on giving! An @ sign that has a metal blade which allows it to cut paper, open envelopes etc. Small clothes pegs that are painted to resemble small creatures. A key fob that is also a puzzle. Two rubber…

Illusion

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim is still exploring his 1998 case of toys… Open the doors to reveal the sea… this optical illusion was a handout at an exhibition held by the British artist Patrick Hughes – https://www.patrickhughes.co.uk/ A lenticular skull – very gruesome. Just…

You Spin Me Round

From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ More toys from Tim’s 1998 case… A wheel inside a disc. It seems that the wheel is rotating inside the disc, but it is a very convincing optical illusion, the small wheel is fastened firmly to the disc! A spinning top that is also a…

A Night To Remember

From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim dives into a 1998 case of toys and novelties. Some luminous novelty glasses which came out at the end of 1997 to people could welcome in the new year… A coiled snake which uncoils its tongue when you squeeze it.…

Knock On Wood

From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ Wooden automata! Two little characters walk to the edge of the table. It is not a wind up, there is no motor, and the table is not sloping. Tim acquired this several decades ago at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany. How does it work?…