O.J. Punctuel Animatronic
My First DIY Animatronic
In 2019, I completed my very first DIY animatronic project—a small-scale (approx. 1:3) replica of O.J. Punctuel, the strict but humorous character from the preshow of the Efteling attraction Symbolica. As a lifelong theme park enthusiast and admirer of advanced animatronics, this project felt like the perfect blend of creativity and engineering.
Bringing O.J. to Life
Just like in the actual attraction, the figure features four axes of movement: lifting and lowering of the back, horizontal and vertical neck motion, and jaw movement for speech. These limited but expressive movements were ideal for a first-time build—simple enough to be manageable, but still full of character.
From K’nex to 3D Printing
The project began humbly with some K’nex as a base structure, but that quickly proved too fragile and clunky for the look I wanted. That’s when I decided to dive into 3D printing. I bought an Ender 3 and began learning how to model in Blender.
What started as a workaround quickly turned into a skillset: the entire figure was modeled in 3D, including mechanical parts, body shells, and even a mold for casting a silicone face mask.
Electronics and Software
The original version was powered by a Raspberry Pi 3 running custom software to control servo motors. Animation data was exported directly from Blender using a custom-built extension I wrote, and playback was handled through a mobile web app I also developed. A fun detail: the Raspberry Pi was a gift from a friend, long before I had a specific project in mind.
The web app allowed for both manual control and the playback of pre-programmed sequences—each representing one of O.J.’s many rules and protocols for meeting the king.
Community Response
The project received more attention than I ever expected. A video I posted on YouTube was picked up by Dutch news outlets Looopings.nl and Omroep Brabant. Best of all, Jeroen Verheij—one of the designers of Symbolica and the voice of the original O.J. Punctuel—saw the video and called it “incredible” on Facebook. That moment was a huge highlight.
2024 Refurbishment
In 2024, I gave the animatronic a full overhaul. The structure was upgraded with aluminum extrusion profiles for better durability, and the silicone mask was recast using a softer material for smoother jaw movement and improved longevity.
I also replaced the Raspberry Pi with an ESP32 microcontroller. This simplified the setup and removed the need for the mobile app. The software now runs on Arduino and uses my Blender Servo Animation Arduino Library, which pairs with the Blender extension to export and replay animation data directly on the microcontroller.