It sucks that she moved all the way to NZ only to have the job evaporate a few months later. I hope she is still working with Weta on other projects like [Insert Directors Name]'s Hobbit movies.
I also live in Seattle and I would have loved to have checked these out in person. I'm pondering how I can build my own just for fun. I'm wondering if it can be done with strong plastics/PVC because I don't have a clue how to work with metal.
Yeah, they brought her on to work on other stuff. When they saw the legs they said, 'Hey cool, you want to sell them through Weta?'
She said she can't tell me what she's working on but due to her history of sculpting large scale dragons I've been hoping she's working on Smog. *fingers crossed*
I know she was using ABS for parts of her design but I don't know if those changed once they started to produce them.
I tried them out once right before she moved to NZ. They were pretty cool but I felt really vulnerable. I didn't spend enough time getting used to them.
She has a very 'Pay it Forward' philosophy. Email her on her site about the metals and plastics. It may take awhile for her to get back to you. It's usually been a week or two when I hear from her after sending an email.
But I'm betting if you want to go with a design similar to hers, you're going to have to go with metal for at least some parts due to the stress put on the extensions.