Animatronic Kit: Captain Cogbrow
Captain Cogbrow is an entire animatronic... you can build!
Ahoy, matey! This buccaneer's kit has all the treasure ye need to craft and bring to life an animatronic pirate o’ yer very own. From gears to gizmos, you too can learn the fine arts of animatronics.
But that’s not all—Captain Cogbrow sets sail with Bottango, the finest animatronic animation tool this side o’ the Seven Seas. Easy to use and packed with power, it’ll have you creating your own animations like a true pirate in no time.
Captain Cogbrow will be availble for order on December 11th
New orders estimated shipping December 16th with free expedited shipping. We're working hard to get Captain Cogbrow out in time for holiday gifting. You can cancel an order for a full refund at any point before your order ships.
Preorders for pro upgrade kits shipping separately, estimated Q1 2025 (around March). If you preorder the pro upgrade kit, you'll get Captain Cogbrow when he ships in December, and the pro upgrade kit as a separate shipment when it's complete.
See the ordering FAQ for more details.
Fun to Build
Captain Cogbrow comes with an interactive 3D assembly program to teach you step by step how to put him together.
Easy to Animate
Captain Cogbrow is fully integrated with Bottango's powerful animation software. Create your own animatronic animations in a state-of-the-art animation studio, designed to be as user friendly as possible.
What's in the Pro Upgrade Kit?
The same high quality parts and motors that make up Captain Cogbrow's mechanisms are included in both. You build the same great animatronic in either case.
Standard Edition is optimized for a wired USB-C connection to your computer while creating and playing animations. Use your computer's speakers to play audio while Captain Cogbrow animates.
The Pro Upgrade Kit adds additional hardware, circuits, speakers, and audio tools to let you untether your animatronic from your computer.
NOTE: The pro upgrade kit is still in development and will be shipping next year (estimated late Q1 2025, around March). If you preorder Captain Cogbrow with a pro upgrade kit, you'll receive a Captain Cogbrow kit in December, and the pro upgrade kit next year as a separate shipment when it is complete.
Standard
Pro
Build the same Captain Cogbrow in both versions.
Build the same Captain Cogbrow in both versions.
Seven high quality metal gear servos.
Seven high quality metal gear servos.
Yes
Yes
Not optimized
Yes, Low latency wireless connection hardware
Not optimized
Yes, Animation Storage and 3 Trigger Buttons
Use connected computer and your computer's speakers
Audio line out, Stereo Amp, Stereo Speakers Designed to fit in the animatronic
All About Captain Cogbrow
What exactly comes with Captain Cogbrow?
It's our goal to give you 100% of everything you need to build and control your own animatronic.
Included in the box you get:
1) Parts and tools to form the structures and mechanisms of Captain Cogbrow.
2) Seven high quality, metal gear servo motors, configured for Captain Cogbrow.
3) Power supply and control boards.
4) All required hardware, including bolts, nuts, push rods, ball joints, etc.
5) Cosmetic vinyl sticker decals to give him his finished look.
6) A pirate hat and earring.
7) A stand to hold him
See standard vs pro upgrade kit for more details on what's included in a pro upgrade kit.
Who can build Captain Cogbrow? Do I need to know how to code or build circuits?
Captain Cogbrow is meant to be as accessible as possible! We think that creative expression through robotics and animatronics is something everyone of all backgrounds can enjoy!
Captain Cogbrow comes with everything you need to build him, and doesn't require any soldering or circuit building. Because of Captain Cogbrow's integration with Bottango, you can control and animate him without needing to write any code.
That being said, you need to be comfortable assembling parts together, as well as running and learning software and learning new skills.
How exactly do I control Captain Cogbrow?
Captain Cogbrow is made by Bottango, the company that created a state-of-the-art, intuitive animatronic animation studio. Captain Cogbrow is made to work seamlessly with Bottango.
With Captain Cogbrow, you can animate animatronics the same way you animate 3D characters for movies and TV. You move a 3D representation of Captain Cogbrow into desired poses, creating keyframes and synchronizing those movements with audio. If you have ever done any kind of 3D animating, the workflow will be very familiar. And if you haven't, it's easy to learn!
Captain Cogbrow also comes with an example animation to learn from in a Bottango example project. However, the point of Captain Cogbrow is for you to build your own movements and animations. Captain Cogbrow is a platform for you to build animations on, not a robot with a prebuilt set of behaviors and interactions.
What kinds of movements is Captain Cogbrow capable of?
Captain Cogbrow is designed with seven axes of movement:
1) Move his mouth
2) Move his head from side to side
3) Move his head up and down
4) Rotate his head left and right
5) Move his left eyebrow
6) Move his right eyebrow
7) Rotate his mustache
How big is Captain Cogbrow when he's fully built?
When measured fully built, including his stand, pirate hat, and ship's wheel:
10" deep x 1'4" wide x 1'4" tall.
Can Captain Cogbrow be used standalone or does he need to be connected to a computer?
The standard edition of Captain Cogbrow is best used with a USB connection to your computer. The pro upgrade kit contains what you need to untether Captain Cogbrow and use him without a computer.
See pro vs standard for more details.
It is possible to take the standard edition offline and play animations without a computer; however, it will require an advanced understanding of Bottango's software, comfort editing code and flashing new firmware, and there is limited storage space. The pro upgrade kit contains everything you need to make that process intuitive and easy.
Can Captain Cogbrow play audio? What does Captain Cogbrow sound like when he's animating?
Bottango, the software used to control Captain Cogbrow, is built with audio playback as a key feature. You can animate Captain Cogbrow to audio in Bottango, and play audio back in perfect sync with your animations via Bottango on speakers connected to your computer.
The pro upgrade kit contains audio hardware and speakers to play audio directly on your animatronic.
One other note: Captain Cogbrow isn't silent while moving. You will hear motor movement while Captain Cogbrow is animating. It's simply a reality of motors at this size and gear reduction that you will hear some amount of motor sound.
Can I control multiple Bottango kits at once? Can I use Maxwell and Captain Cogbrow at the same time?
At launch, only animation for one animatronic at a time will be supported; however, we're working hard on expanding functionality here.
We hope to have a software update in the future that will give you the tools you need to animate multiple Bottango kits at the same time. This will not require any new hardware, just new software functionality to unlock this feature. Stay tuned for updates.
Are replacement parts available? 3D Model Files?
We designed Captain Cogbrow to be robust, but moving parts wear down and need TLC over time. If you need to purchase replacement parts, you can do so at Shop Bottango.
Upon request, customers with a valid order number are able to get STL and DXF files for Captain Cogbrow, as well as a template for the stickers. Reach out to Contact@Bottango.com with an order number and from the email address associated with that order to request the files.
Who designed Captain Cogbrow?
The principle designers of Captain Cogbrow are:
Evan McMahon - Bottango founder and software / experience developer
Brian Roe - Hardware and animatronic developer
Captain Cogbrow Ordering FAQ
When will Captain Cogbrow be shipping? Will I get him in time for the holidays?
We are working around the clock to get Captain Cogbrow ready in time for the holiday season.
We're opening orders for this kit on December 11th so we can be confident that we can ship orders in time for holiday delivery. If we need to adjust expected timelines for new orders, we will adjust the messaging on this site to reflect new timelines.
We are currently planning to ship out new orders on December 16th with included free shipping options of 3 day or less delivery estimates (specific service will depend on delivery address).
After you place an order, If there are any delays to our shipping timeline estimates, we will reach out directly to you. You can cancel an order at any time before it is shipped for a full refund.
Because we cannot control delays once we pass the package to a shipping carrier, we cannot guarantee a delivery date.
How do I cancel an order for a full refund?
Any order can be canceled for a full refund up until the order is fulfilled.
If you want to change or cancel your pre-order, reach out to Contact@Bottango.com with your order number and let us know you'd like to cancel your pre-order.
What is the current status of the Captain Cogbrow kit?
The design of Captain Cogbrow is complete and all his parts are in production. We are packaging what we have in our inventory now, and awaiting delivery of a few parts.
We're still working to finalize the software side of things, and will have that ready by the time Captain Cogbrow ships.
When will Pro Upgrade Kits Ship?
We're excited to get our most advanced hardware out to folks ASAP, but we want it to be perfect and there's still work to be done.
If you order Captain Cogbrow with a pro upgrade kit preorder, you'll receive Captain Cogbrow himself in the same timeline as other orders. You can begin building and animating Captain Cogbrow as soon as you get him.
When the pro upgrade kit is finished, you will receive those parts as a separate shipment at no expense, sent to the original shipping address. We will contact all pro upgrade kit preorder customers before shipping to confirm that no address change is needed.
Our current estimate is late Q1 2025 (around March).
Can I cancel just the Pro Upgrade Kit Preorder?
Yes, if you'd like to cancel your Pro Upgrade Kit preorder before it ships, please contact us at Contact@Bottango.com with your order number and let us know you'd like to cancel your pro upgrade kit preorder.
You will be refunded the price difference between the standard edition and the pro upgrade kit combo.
Will Captain Cogbrow be available in my country?
Right now we only ship to the US, but are actively working on expanding to international destinations soon. We currently estimate international shipping to UK + EU + Canada in early 2025, around the same time as the pro upgrade kit launch.