chicken legs

The two legged chair (I've seen this called chicken legs, presumably because of the jointing, but I can't say that it gives the air of menace I wnat from this figure!) has finally got past the basic construction and is now taking on the character I wanted. The legs need a lot more detail and gears etc to give a steam punk feel and I hope to add more consoles and arms to the chair but you can see where it's going.

The chair has been covered in plastiroc modelled to look like padding. The boiler is bits of plastic I've found wrapped in strips of card studded with split pins, you can't see it but the boiler is covered with strips of masking tape which when stained will look like planking.

I found some coiled plastic tube which I plan to have coming out of the figures back like feeding tubes.

The figure is taking shape, he is a thin wire armature with almost no padding covered in tape to give him a gaunt skeletal look. He is awaiting a long coat and lots of straps and tubes.

steam punk cricketer

This was a modified version of my steam punk droid made as an xmas present for my cricket obsessed dad

2 legs easier than 6 (or is it 8?)

After a few attempts to make a spider legged base I just wasn't geting anywhere, mostly as it looked too bulky and didn't give the figure the precarious look I wanted. (I've since seen a lovely tripod design which would have been perfect)

Anyway keen to move on I sketched some designs based on animal legs, which look very much like Imperial walker legs because I guess that's where ILM got their design from, still looks good though.

I've used a basic mdf one piece leg which I'm adding too to give the effect I want. This was a quick and simple way of making the figure stand up so I could move onto adding the chair.

I need to figure out a way of creating some nice pistons so the legs look like they could function and add a boiler too the back of the chair. This will alos have lots of funky consoles and controls coming off it as well as some kind of foot support for the stooped figure. Not really sure how he will be finished, possibly lots of tubes coming off him.

Below are some images I found for inspiration. I love the metal jaguar by artist Andrew Chase

his work is amazing and well worth checking out.

spider chair

The last few months have been a creative vacuum, too tired and cold and with no clear ideas to get engaged with. Now school hols are here I feel revived. I've had the idea of some kind of robotic chair for some kind and while sat doodling some head ideas during a cover lesson yesterday I came up with a clear idea of a thin little guy on a chair with lots of controls which moves around on spider legs. Kind of a Davros like figure judging by the eloctodes sticking out of his head (I'm fed up of top hats)

While making the chair I sat the driver in 2 poses, one as intended stooped over the controls sat vertical, (as seen below) another with him led back in a more racing car pose. I like this second idea but was worried it was too much like the racers in Phantom Menace, maybe I'll make both.