by George Leone

This is the 2.1 meter tall Arca Industries A-2 Series Monoped Tracked Workbot designed for 0.7 to 1.3 Gee applications. It is utilized in low to normal gravity situations such as moon and planet surfaces, space stations and maintenance of manned transports and exploration craft. A kit of accessories on it's "tail" can be socketed into the right-hand socket/tool changer by the unit itself for various jobs. It stands a little over 2.2 meters (7 ft. 2 in.) tall and is equipped with a 3-finger left-side effector, right-side flex-arm and tool kit.

I made this model in 1/20th scale from an Aoshima kit of a 3-legged robot(?) in 1/600th scale. English name of kit unknown. It appears that it flew, too. This model is 11cm (4.25 inches) tall.

I changed the legs from 3 to 1 and mounted it in the ball swivel supplied to articulate the kit. I used the an old 1/35th WW II German motorcycle-with-tank-tracks kit for the base. I trimmed the bogeys shorter, then made a 'pod' for the center out of some scrap plastic that fit the area. I blended the contours together with Bondo.

The 3-digit effector ('hand' for non-robotics types) was made from annealed sewing pins. They were heated red-hot and allowed to air-cool making the metal soft. They were subsequently re-heated and inserted hot into a small plastic sphere, making little rings at their bases. The ribbed arm was made by coating a spring with glazing 'spot putty' used for auto body touch-up.

I thinned the 'spot putty' with rubbing alcohol and brushed it on the arm and the pin heads, building up the flexible covering and 'finger tips' in multiple coats. I made 'fingerprints' that were visible on this one, by pressing a fine mesh screen against them while the putty was soft.

I had to have an interior, so I cut a door in the back before assembly and added some wires and small, blocky components from various old kits. I hand-painted the stuff and made a plausible-looking mechanism to open the hatch. The 'tool kit' was parts from the kit that fit the right 'hand' socket. I glued them to a sprue sub frame and attached it to the 'pod' with a bit of brass wire.

The right 'arm' is another long, tight spring that was pulled over a piece of solid core copper house wire (16 ga.). A collar was glued on near the bottom, then another spring (from a ball point pen, shortened) was wedged between the collar and the end 'socket'.

The 'eye' in the front was a depression that I glued aluminum foil into, filled with 5-minute epoxy colored with enamel paint mixed in. I sanded the 4 diamond shapes off of the front, sides and rear of the "head". Hoses on the leg were made from vinyl coated wire. I stripped the vinyl off of the ends and super-glued the copper ends into holes drilled into the "leg" so they wouldn't fall off.

It was first painted with white Floquil, then a layer of red enamel for the two-tone finish. Details were hand painted, then I used a mechanical pencil to draw in panels and tiny rivets. Everywhere. Even on the 'tool kit' tools. It came out great with just a couple of decals. I weathered it, after clear-coating it with Future floor wax, using a water-base tannish mix. A final coat of flat clear enamel finished it off.

The base is a sample piece from a local "cold-cast marble" manufacturer.

Image: Rear view

Image: From ground level

Image: Top view