For a long time I have wanted to make a dragon that can spit fire without the use of real fire or chemicals, but I always thought it was impossible.

Then I discovered a trick with a mirror. I used mirrors for many of my automata. In this case I removed some of the reflective layer behind the mirror, at the place where I wanted the fire to show. The light of the fire is behind the mirror.

The dragon itself is made from paper.

I also made a 'Steampunk' version. This dragon is made from some brass gears and other materials from a small clock. I used a zipper to make the flexible neck of the dragon. All the other gears at the bottom and the sides of the mechanism - the brass tubes and the winding key on the right - are just for decoration, and to give it a steampunk feel.