Tomy Omnibot - Gizmo
In 1984, Tomy released the Omnibot and briefly made the future feel real. A programmable robot that could carry drinks on a tray, deliver messages via cassette tape, and move on a timed schedule. It couldn't do much by modern standards, but to the children of the 1980s it was the closest thing to having your own R2-D2.
This Gizmo print captures the Omnibot's distinctive silhouette - the domed head, the chest-mounted cassette deck, the arms designed for carrying rather than grasping. A machine built on optimism about what robots would become.
Gizmo Series
Gizmo gathers illustrations adapted from and inspired by founder Simon Tyler's forthcoming book Gizmo: Retro-tech We Loved and Lost, published by Laurence King in May 2026.
The series is a visual archaeology of consumer electronics - the machines that shaped how we listened, watched, played, and worked from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Synthesizers that invented entire genres. Cameras that democratised photography. Computers that launched industries from bedroom desks. Boomboxes that soundtracked city blocks. Each one arrived as the future and departed as nostalgia, often within a single decade.
Every illustration begins with extensive photographic research - sourcing original imagery of each machine in its best light - and builds toward a clean, considered portrait that honours the object's design intent. The aim is not retro sentimentality but honest observation: what made these machines distinctive, how they looked when they were new, and why their forms still resonate.
Printed with the same archival care as our other series, Gizmo turns industrial design history into crisp, enduring graphic art.
Printing & Materials
Our Gizmo series is produced in collaboration with specialist fine-art printing partners using museum-grade 250 gsm archival giclée paper.
Each print is made to order with exceptional precision and colour accuracy, using pigment-based inks for long-term stability and rich tonal depth.
Prints are carefully rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in rigid cardboard tubes to ensure they arrive in perfect condition, ready for framing.
All materials and processes are chosen for their longevity, texture, and fidelity to the original artwork, reflecting our commitment to quality and craft.