Animated units were made in several different shapes and sizes.

The smaller units were made for sale and sold in large numbers but the larger units seen in the UK were mainly hired out to shops to attract potential customers to in-store sales areas.

Larger units that went abroad were sold, due to the high cost of delivery and return. Animated Units became a very important part of the company production.

Movement was always one of the greatest methods of attracting customers.

The Small Animated units called Mini Units in the factory were simply 2 pieces of wood (Top and bottom) held apart by 4 dowels. The motor was attached to the top, hidden by a curtain.

Very late mini units were made of all wood. As sales at that time were very low, these are very rare.

The most sought after version of the mini units is the one shown on the right, containing 5 popular Walt Disney characters. (Goofy, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Pluto)

Another popular version is the one with the 3 Peanuts characters where the top is shaped like a roof.

Mini Units were made with single, 3, 4 and 5 puppets.

Watch out for fake mini units being made in the UK.

The 42" long unit was also referred to as a small unit in the factory.

These and most of the larger units (72" and upwards) were made using a frame of Dexion, an angle iron with holes along its length.

In the mid 70's this was changed to 1" square hollow tubing and later replaced with aluminium to reduce weight.

During the hay day of Pelham Puppets up to 200 of these units were stored at the factory being made ready for the next season. Some of the very large units such as "Gulliver's Travels" were partly constructed from Fibre glass, latex and celastic.

In most cases the motor was hidden under a house or stairs towards the right hand end of the unit.

The motor drives through a speed reducing gearbox which drives various cams.

Levers with rollers transfer the up and down movement onto.

Andrew Watts normally assembled the motors while Bob Pelham, David Leech and Andrew Witts worked on the puppets.

In the early days Anne Pelham painted almost all the scenes but after 1952 Frank Lawton's wife Pam also was involved. This painting partnership continued until the mid 80's Pelham Puppets also licenced animation units to be converted to coin operated shows for seaside attractions.

When the factory finally closed most of the units were broken up with the motors and metal parts going for scrap, however many still survive as they were never returned to the factory after hire periods.