by George Leone

This is the 4 meter (13 ft. 4 in.) tall Tishkir Gamma-Zero Series Biped Workbot designed for Zero to .4 Gee applications. It is utilized in Low-Gee situations such as asteroid surface mineral mapping, space station repair and in-flight maintenance of ion propelled "slow-boats" to the outer solar system. This particular model has gripper feet used on standardized space equipment exterior plates. The unit can fold its' legs back onto themselves to store itself in small areas. The arms are fully flexible, so that it can reach around and through obstructions. Small eyes are imbedded in the "hands".

This was one of those dream models that was made quickly, using few parts that seemed to fall together in a few days.

I built this model in 1/20th scale from -of all things- a 1972 Datsun windshield washer nozzle and wire! The 'body' is the nozzle that has 2 ball-jointed sprayers. I inserted stiff brass wire into them, bent the legs at appropriate positions, reversing the 'knees' so they looked like birds legs. The 'joints' and 'feet' were suspension parts from an old MPC Volkswagen kit. The 'leg' on the base actually extends through the foot into a hole in the base.

The 'arms' are wound music wire that was annealed. This means that they were heated red-hot and allowed to air-cool thus making the metal soft. I bent and inserted the wire into holes drilled into the sides of the 'head'. The 'arm joints' were made by coating the wire with glazing 'spot putty' used for auto body touch-up. I thinned the 'spot putty' with rubbing alcohol and brushed it on the wires, building up 'joints' in multiple coats.

The 'eye' in the front (which is where the water hose is inserted below the Datsun hood) had aluminum foil stuffed into it, then I filled it with 5-minute epoxy colored with some enamel paint mixed in. The model was first painted with silver Floquil, then a layer of thinned home-made lavender enamel was airbrushed over it. This allowed the silver layer to show through. I weathered it lightly with a tannish color over Future floor wax. After that I clear-coated it with a final coat of flat clear to finish it off.

The model is 20cm (8 inches) tall. The base is a sample piece from a local "cold cast marble" manufacturer.

Image: Rear view

Image: Right side

Image: Looking down

Image: Recess!