This Would Make an Incredible Pinball Topper: Handmade Merlin Automaton – Incredible Engineering

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama·video·8m 39s·analyzed·Aug 20, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.012

TL;DR

Handmade Merlin automaton showcased as potential pinball topper inspiration

Summary

Gonzo showcases a handmade Merlin automaton created by Mike over three years, featuring intricate mechanical details and hand-chiseled elements. The automaton depicts Merlin casting spells with moving components including a wand, cauldron, broom, and dragons. Gonzo discusses its potential as inspiration for a high-detail topper on a modern Merlin pinball machine.

Key Claims

The automaton was handmade by Mike over approximately three years in his spare time
high confidence · Gonzo states: 'Mike has spent the best part of three years in between his work, his repair work and his general workshop work putting together this incredible model'
The brick work effect was hand-chiseled, not 3D printed
high confidence · Gonzo explicitly states: 'the brick work effect on the wood here was hand chiseled. So this has been this has been absolutely this has been handmade'
A modern Merlin pinball topper would be unlikely to have as much detail as this automaton
medium confidence · Gonzo speculates: 'if anybody did make a Merlin pinball machine, and I'm talking about a modern pinball machine, and you wanted a a topper for it, you probably wouldn't find one with as much detail as this'

Notable Quotes

“I didn't know what an automaton was before about 10 minutes ago and I'm not entirely sure I fully know now. But what I do know is we have a model here which Mike has spent the best part of three years in between his work, his repair work and his general workshop work putting together this incredible model.”
Gonzo @ early video — Establishes the scale of effort and Mike's commitment to the project
“The brick work for instance the brick work effect on the wood here was hand chiseled. So this has been this has been absolutely this has been handmade.”
Gonzo @ mid-video — Clarifies that no 3D printing was used; emphasizes handcrafted nature of the piece
“if anybody did make a Merlin pinball machine, and I'm talking about a modern pinball machine, and you wanted a a topper for it, you probably wouldn't find one with as much detail as this.”
Gonzo @ end video — Main thesis connecting the automaton to pinball industry and topper design standards

Entities

GonzopersonMikeperson MerlingameGonzo's Pinball Flipperamaorganization

Signals

?
community_signal: Pinball community values and celebrates detailed mechanical craftsmanship and DIY maker projects outside of commercial manufacturing
high · Gonzo specifically addresses 'mod makers' as audience, emphasizes the inner geek appeal, and dedicates significant video time to showcasing handmade details with multiple close-ups
?
technology_signal: High-quality handcrafted mechanical automata being recognized and celebrated in pinball community as potential alternative or complement to modern 3D-printed topper designs
medium · Gonzo's framing of the automaton as inspiration for modern Merlin pinball toppers, emphasizing detail superiority and potential appeal to mod makers in the community

Topics

Handmade mechanical craftsmanship and automaton designprimaryPinball machine toppers and aftermarket enhancementsprimaryMerlin theme in pinball and pop culturesecondaryDIY and maker culture in pinball communitysecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.95)— Gonzo expresses consistent enthusiasm and admiration for Mike's craftsmanship, technical detail, and the automaton's engineering. Tone is celebratory and encouraging toward maker community participation.

Transcript

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We've got a bit of a different video for you today because I am in a workshop. I'm in Mike's workshop, which is why you can see lathes and drills and lots and lots of specialist equipment, which I'm hoping will appeal to the to the geek, the inner geek that's in us all because we all love our pinball machines. I know there's some mod makers who hopefully will watch this video. And it's just something that that I've noticed. I mean, Mike does a lot of repairs on on clocks and and such like, but I wanted to share with you what I have been told is an automaton. Now, it it's quite amazing. This is handmade and and we're just calling it Mike's Merlin really, which hopefully you can see is I didn't know what an automaton was before about 10 minutes ago and I'm not entirely sure I fully know now. But what I do know is we have a model here which Mike has spent the best part of three years in between his work, his repair work and his general workshop work putting together this incredible model. Now, as the name might suggest, Automaton, it's going to do some stuff in a minute once I start um pressing the buttons. But before I do that, I just wanted to share the incredible detail. In fact, I'm going to go back up to the top here and see. I think it's a we'd call this a gargoyle. I think it's a gargoyle. There's one there. And actually, I've just realized the the one on the other side is actually slightly different. I'm hoping you're getting a really, really good close look at this stuff because there's a lot of work and a lot of love has gone into this. And I just wanted to say because I've asked Mike beforehand, I mean you can see here that's I just want want you to know that that is 3D that that's not and this has not been 3D printed. The brick work for instance the brick work effect on the wood here was hand chiseled. So this has been this has been absolutely this has been handmade. I want to show you inside here before I I press the the uh the action button so to speak. So, we got Merlin. Needs no introduction, I'm sure. We got Merlin, and he is inside well, his castle, but the detail inside here is incredible. And I mean, well, I'm going to once I press the start button, some crazy old stuff's going to happen. But I just wanted to show you in detail now. So as you can take in some of the incredible workmanship here. Look, I mean, look at that staircase at the back. We're going to get right in there. Look at that staircase. Incredible. Just on the right hand side, we got his uh shelves of wizardry, which I guess plants and and potions and everything he's going to need. these recipes. There's a wonderful spell book which you can just see here. I mean, there's so much. There's stuff that you're probably going to notice looking at this cuz you've probably got a better closeup than me. Some of the detail here is just exceptional. And I've just noticed something here. If you look at the um at the sort of the roof joists, can you just see the detail there? Amazing. Of course, he's got his his crystal ball there. And I hope you were able to see. I'll just try and get a little bit closer. I'm using a small camera here, but the small camera allows me to get in close. Look at the uh the suit of armor with a cauldron. Okay, I'm going to press the magic button now. And I just want you to to look at amazing amazing stuff here. Okay. Incredible. So, I think it's telling a little story here. So, Merlin's um well, he's going to start doing his magic in a minute. You can see he's holding the wand in his hand. So, I think it looks like he's casting a spell there. He's turning towards the fireplace. waved his wand. Waving his wand again. [Laughter] How cool is that? The cauldron is moving over to the fire. The wand comes up again. And now watch. All the while, hopefully you can see the broom is doing its stuff. The spell has been cast. So, the broom is sweeping the floor. The cauldron. Look at that. Then you got the two dragons. The serpent's heads. Or were they dragons or serpents heads? M. They're dragons. Just incredible. I just thought it was something that was worth sharing with you all. Uh, and I just thought to myself, if anybody did make a Merlin pinball machine, and I'm talking about a modern pinball machine, and you wanted a a topper for it, you probably wouldn't find one with as much detail as this. Let's just a final look at just some of the detail with the logs by the fireplace. Look at look at the ash and the embers that have obviously spilled over the edge of the fire there. Just going to put it on one more time so as you can see it and whilst I show you from a slightly different angle because now you know what's going to happen. And the more you look at it, the more John Youssi other things. I mean, I've only just really noticed the candles are burning. And you can see the torches. Hopefully, they're lit up. And you could hopefully you can see that clearly the crystal ball here is catching the light from there as well. We've got to we got to see this bit again because that that's really quite an incredible effect, isn't it? On the when Merlin fires fires up the fire and the cauldron goes in. But even just if you look on the arm where the cauldron is going, the incredible detail on there. You have to excuse the shaky camera works. I'm just trying to get in as as closely as I can. and just something that I thought so many of you will uh will appreciate the hard work and the detail that have gone into what is this incredible automaton give it its correct time. Magnificent. [Music]