Star crossed

Adding more animations to my conversion figures has been a goal of mine. I thought perhaps blinkers might be my next challenge, but I'm not quite ready for that. Even though I think I could make soft blinkers, I really don't like the looks of them. I prefer hardshell blinkers, but they're much more difficult to produce. They require more precision and planning than I'm ready for right now.

Crossing eyes seem more reachable, especially after fielding some ideas on how to do it. I requested information on an approach for crossing eyes using springs for eye posts, which is my preferred self-centering mechanism. Several great ideas were offered, but Mike Brose's technique (learned from Rick Price) seems elegantly simple and effective.

Mike suggested that I add a tiny "eye" (like a screen door eye) to the back and side of each eye ball. Attach a cord to each, suspend the cord over a brass and rod or plastic pulley apparatus and attach the cords to a lever on the control post. Since I use very flexible springs, the eyes will turn inward when the cord is tugged and spring back when released. The eyes don't have to move that much to make a convincing crossed-eyes effect.