Building McElroy Mechanics: Where I Start

A lot of figure builders focus on the head first — the sculpt, the paint, the face. I understand why. The face is what people see.

But for me, it always starts with the mechanics.

I come from a background in micro-mechanical work, and the McElroy control system is where I feel most at home. Metal stock, brass rods, small pivot points, levers that need to move with exactly the right amount of resistance — this is the part of the craft I love most.

The floating eye mechanism alone is a small engineering problem worth solving. The eyes need to move freely in all directions, return to center naturally, and respond to the slightest cable movement without sticking or dragging. Getting that balance right takes time, patience, and a lot of small adjustments.

The upper lip sneer is another favorite of mine. When it works correctly — smooth, consistent, with just the right travel — it transforms the figure's expressiveness completely. A figure with a working sneer can look amused, suspicious, contemptuous, or smug, all from the same movement depending on context.

This is what Glenn McElroy understood better than anyone: that expression is mechanical before it is artistic.

I'm rebuilding from the ground up on this new replica. More updates soon.

Alessio

Why McElroy?

People sometimes ask me why I'm so fixated on the McElroy brothers specifically. There are other great figure makers — Marshall, Mack, Selberg — so why these two?

The answer is simple: Glenn and George McElroy didn't just build ventriloquist figures. They built mechanical puzzles that happened to have a face.

When Frank Marshall first saw a McElroy figure at a magicians' convention in 1938, he reportedly said: "Looks like I'll have to go out of business." That says everything. Marshall was one of the greatest figure makers of his era — and he was genuinely shaken.

What makes a McElroy different is the control post. While most figures of that era had two or three functions at most, a fully loaded McElroy could have up to fourteen: floating eyes in all directions, crossing eyes, individual winkers, raising eyebrows, upper lip sneer, stick-out tongue, wiggle ears, wiggle nose, light-up nose, flip-up fright wig. All controlled by a typewriter-style keyboard of levers and keys built into the headstick.

The result is a figure that feels alive in a way no other dummy does. Every combination of movements creates a new expression. The possibilities are in the hundreds.

That's why McElroy. That's why I can't let this go.

Alessio

I'm Back — And the Dream Is Still Alive

It's been a while. Life gets in the way, as it always does.

But the McElroy brothers never really left my mind. If anything, the passion has grown stronger over the years — and now I'm ready to pick up where I left off.

For those who are new here: I'm Alessio, a ventriloquist and figure builder from Tuscany, Italy. This blog documents my journey building a McElroy-style replica from scratch — mechanics included. I've always been drawn to the inner workings of these figures: the floating eyes, the upper lip sneer, the typewriter-key control post. The genius of Glenn and George McElroy is something I think about more than I'd like to admit.

I already have a body cast from an original McElroy mold. The mechanics are my territory — I'm comfortable with metal stock, rods, and the kind of micro-mechanical work these figures demand.

What I'm still looking for is a head cast. If you're reading this and you know of one, or know someone who might — please reach out. I would be very grateful.

The project is alive. Stay tuned.

Alessio

 Hello everyone!

It's been 7 years now, and many things have changed... my life, my work... everything!

Now I'm ready to go back to building replicas of the famous McElroy dummies, the Rolls Royce of ventriloquist dummies.

In recent years, many "famous" builders have tried to dissuade me from this job, but it is a passion that I will not allow anyone to extinguish, and I will continue with my head held high in this magical challenge!

Will you follow me?

My McElroy replica: photos of the torso

As promised, here is an interesting news:
I came into possession of a torso for my replica...
but it isn't an "ordinary torso", it's casted ​​from a mold
of an original McElroy body!

On the back there is a large opening that allows you to easily move

your hand inside and interact easily with the control post.

As you can see, the neck hole is very large (about 4"),

and the protruding chest allows you to move the cradle back and forth

inside the body, with large displacements, thus giving the opportunity

to move the head up and down, without running the risk of bumping the cradle on the interior walls, as it would happen in other bodies.

I'm very happy about this purchase... it certainly isn't cheap,

but it is a McElroy body replica, and for a fan like me,

the piece is worth the price!

Soon: new assembly steps!

Me and McElroy's dummies: a love story - part 2

As I said a couple of posts ago,

the character that has always tormented my nights is Johnny.

I must have a copy of him, but I couldn't spend all that money.
So I began to search for all of the material that concern
the McElroy brothers and their creations. I began to collect photos and information, until one day I came across a book that literally changed my "dummy maker life": the book in question was "McElroy Magic!", of Greg Claassen.
That book, for me, was the gear that missing to start the machine.


Photos that I never found on the web, the story of the McElroy brothers,
I like to call the book "mechanics revealed", simply because

the story of how the author had first come into contact with the dummies
and then with the same brothers... then his first replica. And even more important:
an extensive how-to guide, with detailed drawings and pictures
for building a McElroy replica.

the mechanics used by the brothers is (considering the years in which
they were made those dummies) state-of-the-art...
or maybe I like to call it that because I’m ignorant in the mechanical field!

So, after spending months through the book, studying the drawings in every detail, asking questions on forums and FaceBook groups, I decided to expand my tools and beginning this adventure.

Now stop writing… follow me and together we will build my first replica!

New interesting photos will be available soon!

McElroy project goes on!

Hello fellas!
It's been almost six months since I last wrote on the blog.
Surely (hopefully) you have wondered why this period of rest...
well, since I don't want to bore you with unnecessary stories,
I tell you that I took an "half-year sabbatical."

But now I'm back full of energy and desire to carry out my project!
The McElroy dummies have never abandoned my dreams,
and you have never abandoned my thoughts, so here I am again,
ready to give you new emotions!

Stay tuned, there are interesting news on the horizon!