Mod of the Month - August 2008

Tachikoma

by dimtek
Worklog

About one of the only things that is considered to be cooler than a model mod is a robot mod - and that's at least in part due to how rarely they're ever seen. Rigging up servos, planning out power and mobility and various other difficulties really ramp up the challenge as modders seek to take their project from the ordinary to the extraordinary!

It gets even cooler when you stumble upon one of those robot builds and realize it's actually, well, built. And well!

It's that exact case that I found sitting quietly in the corner of the forums this month - the sleepy but brilliant Tachikoma by dimtek. For what this thing lacks in petite size and grace, it makes up for in the sheer awesomeness of a robot spider on wheels.


PLAN YOUR MOD! Yes, I have begun to sound like a broken record on that - and with good reason! dimtek actually had quite a bit of work cut out for him with this project, which involved some extra effort in creating moulds out of the fibreglass. To do that, he started out with a cardboard replica...


...and filled in the gaps with spray foam insulation. Some additional shaping was then performed on each piece before it was given its final use - moulding the fibreglass.


Halves were slowly formed, joined together with bondo, and then sanded smooth again to create hollow but well-shaped pieces.


Tachikoma was given metal supports through its legs to hold the body comfortably upright - and to mount the wheels on! Once the main frame was done, it was time to bring the computer in it - in the form of a VIA EPIA under the dome.


Once the fibreglass had been formed and the overall lay out tested it was time to bring in the batteries and test the mobility. And after that, all there was left to do was a good paint job....

The mod is now mostly complete, but bits of the worklog are still being filled in. If a massive fibreglass robot spider on wheels doesn’t get you over there, well...you're a sad case, my friend.

Before you zip off too hastily though, why not take a quick pop in the forums and vote for Tachikoma by dimtek as the Mod of the Month winner for August?