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Less-Movement Automata
The number of movements a mechanical doll makes is a significant indicator of the doll's quality. Usually, both in the past and in the present, automata have from 1 to 3 movements. The number of movements is so small mainly because musical mechanisms are used as motors in such automata, which are not very powerful. Motors that are more powerful are either too expensive or not easily obtainable, especially today.
Yet even with fewer movements, you can develop captivating personalities in the dolls as well as interesting overall scenes.
Here are some of Anatoly's early Less-Movement automata.
Captain Jack is a very expressive figurine of a pirate, sitting on his treasure chest. He moves his head from side to side, "plays" his guitar with his right hand and "counts" the beat with his peg leg (a total of three movements). The doll is 8 inches tall. His head and hands are made of porcelain. Ten different fabrics were used for the costume and decoration. The artist made four slightly different variations of this automaton.
Another doll of this type is Mr. Smith, portraying the character of a village blacksmith. Similar to the pirate, this automaton has several movements, a porcelain head and hands, a fabric dress and classic look.
Mary also has just three movements, but one of them is quite complex. There are bellows in the mechanism that pump air into the doll's mouth, making it blow out small bubbles. For this mechanism, Anatoly needed a more powerful motor, which he took from an old phonograph.