Replica robot from the Renaissance

In between painting the Mona Lisa and Last Supper the 15th centuries busiest man was knocking up early drawings of flying machines, parachutes, diving suits and just happened to create a robot knight. Yup, the painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, military engineer and draftsman, in 1495 designed the first robot, a hand-shaking, drum playing, guest hugging picture drawing robot. This 141 piece plywood model is based on it and, when pieced together will entertain you as you turn the wheel by drawing one of four pictures from the included “petal” wheels inside. Available at Go Go Gadget it isn’t cheap at almost £70 but a real talking point, you’ll want to show this off as much as your PAc Man arcade cabinet or pinball machine and it’s pretty display-worthy when you’re not doing the Da Vinci.

About Peter Jenkinson

Toyologist Pete Jenkinson regularly writes about toys in national newspapers like The Sun and The Mail. This super-dad has an unmatched passion and dedication for trying and testing the latest, coolest and most interesting offerings from the world of toys.

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