BusyBody Desktop Animation Toy
When Rufus Seder emailed me a video of his BusyBody desktop animation toy I was so busy (i.e., lazy) I almost didn't watch it. What are these, a bunch of little Gumbies on a mirrored merry-go-round? I've got too many other things to do (i.e., smoke, stream on Netflix) than watch such rudimentary childishness in action. So I guess I have to thank my friend Cornelius for saying, "Heh, heh. Dude. They have rods up their butts. I wanna see what they do."
And what do the BusyBody boys do?
Wave. Run. Dance. Flip. Hula hoop. Set each of the 10-man set in progressive positions, spin their carousel, and watch them come to life in the toy's magic mirror. It's no 21st century technological breakthrough, but the effect is still pretty gratifying. And as a DIY toy with limitless possibilities, I could see myself wasting many minutes (i.e., hours) of my work day fiddling around with the BusyBody. Check out the video yourself and see if you agree.
Seder's BusyBody set includes the mirrored turntable, 10 bendy figures, and easily followed visual guides to help get you started with initial positioning suggestions for animations including heel clicking, swimming, even kickboxing Street Fighter-style. The rubber figures are durable enough to bend into and hold new positions over and over, and the turntable is made of high quality plastic rather than glass to avoid messy crashes. Oh, and here's something you don't hear very often anymore: no apps, batteries, or USB cords required!