[re-thread] FRANK, the transforming rover/assault bot

[katateochi]

I'd posted about this err rover before the forums got Krakened. It's one of my oddest craft and kinda different so I hope you don't mind me posting this again.

FRANK - Formidable Rover and Nasty Kontraption

This rover than can turn into an upright assault bot started out life as a tool to help around the launch center. He was initially built to be something that could be used to film launches from different angles, but I got rather carried away and he became something else entirely. He can take on the guise of a low slung rover, but is then able to sit upright with an evil grin on his face, brandishing two lazers.

This first vid shows the first incarnation of FRANK.

He was such a success that I had to make more of him. He's now been re-built to have fuel tanks (lots and lots of those oscar-B tanks and a couple 50l tanks) and can now fly. As a rover he has a booster engine and can hit speeds of 50ms without issue. As an assault bot he has several sets of engines which enable him to fly about.

He also can land standing up and now has docking ports on his arms so he can dock with his landing pod and refuel.

FRANK's mission to Mun

While FRANK was being developed a group who were opposed to the decisions of the space program had setup a base on Mun with a missile silo and where threatening to launch it at the KSC. So FRANK was dispatched to go and deal with it. In this mission he is joined by two manned rovers, one to mine resources and the other to act as base defence, but really that's just to make the two drivers feel important. Their real job is to be there incase FRANK breaks a wheel!

FRANK and his team land nearby the enemy base and FRANK sets off to take out the base. It's not a simple mission as the base is guarded by a large 6 wheeled tank and he doesn't have long before the missile is to be launched.....

[TooManyErrors]

How long did it take you to make this? It looks like it took a while.

[katateochi]

How long did it take you to make this? It looks like it took a while.

The first one only took a couple evenings work to make. He's pretty simple as he can't fly. The second one took longer but making the 2nd vid took the most time. It was about 2 weeks to make the MKII FRANK and the 2nd vid. Making vids always takes longer (for me anyway).

Making the base I destroyed in the 2nd vid was really fun, cos I didn't care about it!! Usually making a base takes a while, trying to get everything just right, but with this one if I'd forgotten something, or not set action groups up just right it didn't matter so that whole base only took an evening to build and fly out. It was really quite liberating not to care so much about it and just do it! I might try caring less in the future!

I've got plans for another vid with him, I've just not got round to doing it yet.

[Brotoro]

FRANK is one bad-ass robot. I like the original video where he gets revealed a little at a time.