christrom
Sr Member
Hi folks, this is just a heads up for a long term project. I'll be working on it here and there in between other work. Over the past few years I've been looking into ways to create a mechanised walking AT-AT. There is a youtube video of one that Adriano Kenobi made a few years back, and it is amazing:
I got in contact with him and as I guessed, he wanted to keep the mechanism a secret. Don't blame him really. All I really know is that it is a clockwork-type mechanism, presumably made with a central motor and a cam/sprocket system. I spent a LONG time trying to work out such a mechanism for myself. Here is a video of my experiments!:
I got reasonably far with this but figured the skills involved machining small parts would be a complete nightmare, not to mention trying to keep all of the actions in perfect synch. I'm going to work on a servo-based system instead. This will have the added advantage of being able to move legs independently, and to refine the walking gait as part of the process.
I tried with sub-micro servos embedded in the legs first, but still ran out of room. Also, the torque generated just wasn't strong enough. I also tried a design where the servos were held inside the hull, with pushrods and control cables to transmit the motion. It worked okay, but again the torque needed to move the legs would have been too difficult to transmit through all of the joints. I didn't want to do any cheats with the design, it all had to look exactly like the filming model.
So... what to do?
Well, I'm going to go bigger and attempt to double the size of the Revell. This will mean a scratchbuild of approx. 1/35 using the revell kit parts as a starting point. I should then be able to find servos with sufficient torque which will still be able to fit within the legs. This should be completely doable. I tried a servo from a small Walkera helicopter and it had just enough power to work... when it comes to buying the servos I'll be upping the power considerably!
I cannot tell you how many sleepless nights this has caused. It is completely maddening, but I am determined!
I'll post updates as and when, but this will be a slow build!
I got in contact with him and as I guessed, he wanted to keep the mechanism a secret. Don't blame him really. All I really know is that it is a clockwork-type mechanism, presumably made with a central motor and a cam/sprocket system. I spent a LONG time trying to work out such a mechanism for myself. Here is a video of my experiments!:
I got reasonably far with this but figured the skills involved machining small parts would be a complete nightmare, not to mention trying to keep all of the actions in perfect synch. I'm going to work on a servo-based system instead. This will have the added advantage of being able to move legs independently, and to refine the walking gait as part of the process.
I tried with sub-micro servos embedded in the legs first, but still ran out of room. Also, the torque generated just wasn't strong enough. I also tried a design where the servos were held inside the hull, with pushrods and control cables to transmit the motion. It worked okay, but again the torque needed to move the legs would have been too difficult to transmit through all of the joints. I didn't want to do any cheats with the design, it all had to look exactly like the filming model.
So... what to do?
Well, I'm going to go bigger and attempt to double the size of the Revell. This will mean a scratchbuild of approx. 1/35 using the revell kit parts as a starting point. I should then be able to find servos with sufficient torque which will still be able to fit within the legs. This should be completely doable. I tried a servo from a small Walkera helicopter and it had just enough power to work... when it comes to buying the servos I'll be upping the power considerably!
I cannot tell you how many sleepless nights this has caused. It is completely maddening, but I am determined!
I'll post updates as and when, but this will be a slow build!
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