January 14, 2008

GIZMO (Dec, 1958)

Filed under: Robots — @ 4:18 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1958
Buy on Ebay

“GIZMO.” a mechanical man. can walk, answer “yes” and “no” and grasp and release objects. Built by Wade Barrineau III, Georgetown. S. C.

12 Comments »

  1. He’s still making stuff: http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/m.....centReview

    Comment by DHM — January 14, 2008 @ 4:50 am

  2. I sent him a link to this page so hopefully he’ll contribute something.

    Comment by Firebrand38 — January 14, 2008 @ 2:48 pm

  3. Hope this will find someone that can help me. i built this robot when I was in 8th grade. Im trying to find the article. Ive had several people check there DEC 1958 Issue of mechanix Illistrated and the article is not in there. Just a small picture of the robot. does anyone know where this article is. I cant seam to find out how to contact Mr Barrineau. I think he is still living. This was such a great project Im wanting to do it again with the boy scout troop here.

    Any help at all
    Thanks John Anderson

    Comment by John Anderson — March 5, 2008 @ 8:27 am

  4. I don’t think there is an article. Just this little blurb.

    Comment by Charlie — March 5, 2008 @ 8:39 am

  5. I see Firebrand38 said he sent Him Wade Barrineau a link to this. how did he do that.

    Comment by John Anderson — March 7, 2008 @ 7:09 am

  6. John
    All I was able to do is find his profile on amazon (follow the link in my first posting) and sent him a message.

    Comment by Firebrand38 — March 7, 2008 @ 9:04 am

  7. I take that back. I’m e-mailing his e-mail address to Charlie as we speak.

    Comment by Firebrand38 — March 7, 2008 @ 9:15 am

  8. You were right mr Barrineau is a sharp cookie. Talked to him. He said he didnt think the article came out in mechanix Illustrated. he thinks it was in Boys Life, the magazine for scouts. Ive done many searchs and still nothing. i know for a fact that there is an article because i built the robot in about 1957 from those plans. Still Looking
    john

    Comment by John Anderson — March 12, 2008 @ 5:07 am

  9. Still havent come up with much. Im sure I built it and im sure I had plans out of a magazine. Back then we got three magazines, Boys Life, Popular Mechanics and popular science. Can figure why we cant track it down Oh Well.. John

    Comment by John Anderson — June 24, 2009 @ 11:46 am

  10. Somewhere I have a copy of the “Gizmo” robot plans that I sent away for in Boys Life magazine when I was younger (in the 1980′s) when they published plans for “Gizmo 2″; I may be able to dig both up and put them on my website somewhere, if I can find them…

    Comment by Andrew L. Ayers — April 17, 2010 @ 12:45 am

  11. Ok – here is what I found and put up on my website:

    http://www.phoenixgarage.org/show_article/91

    It isn’t the same as this robot, but I think it is the likely one mentioned by John Anderson; I am still looking for my copy of the article on “Gismo 2″…

    Comment by Andrew L. Ayers — April 17, 2010 @ 1:29 am

  12. I’m posting here a set of notes I made for myself, which expands on the info above:

    Boy’s Life Gismo robot series (back issues available on Google Books, as of 4/18/2011)

    1. GISMO AND I – Sherwood Fuehrer, June 56 p. 18 (original Gismo – not a construction article, but Fuehrer’s tale of homebuilt robot Gismo)

    Great collection of Fuehrer Gismo pics at
    http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=1920

    includes reprint of Boy’s Life article (plain text only)
    includes photo that appeared for many years (in the 60′s editions???) in the World Book Encyclopedia article on Robot

    2. “GISMO” the Great – Glenn Wagner, Nov. 56, p. 74 (build-it-yourself plans, similar to Fuehrer design)

    3. Build Your Own Robot – Tom Carroll, Feb. 87, p. 18 (GISMO2BL)

    4. Gismo is back! – Mark Haverstock, Sept. 90, p. 24 (GISMO 3)

    5. Gismo is back – Mark Haverstock, April 96, p. 26 – reprint (& slight update??) of Sept. 90 article

    6. Build a ‘Bot! – Mark Haverstock (GISMO 4, “BASIC” & “EXTREME” variations), not published in magazine.
    At:
    http://media.scouting.org/boys.....ismojr.pdf and
    http://boyslife.org/hobbies-pr.....ing-robot/

    7. Build a recycled robot – Cy Tymony, April 2011 (GISMO 5)
    At:
    http://boyslife.org/hobbies-pr.....led-robot/

    (in general, the series is progressively dumbed down as it goes, until reaching a low of superficiality & inanity in the latest. So boys today are too stupid & clumsy to use tools, and have the attention span of a goldfish???)

    Also, in Mar. 86 issue, p. 58, an article, “We showed you how,” referring to the Nov. 56 GISMO as one of the most famous construction projects ever in Boy’s Life, “still knocked together by craftsmen discovering them for the first time.” Includes greatly reduced reproduction of original article, in its entirety.

    Comment by Jeff Rice — April 19, 2011 @ 12:31 pm

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