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Rocket Launcher Strandbeest

FEATURE

Let slip the creepy-crawlies of war

’ve been making things for as

long as I remember, and

the idea of a walking

robot has always been

especially fascinating.

After several walker

attempts of varying success

levels, in mid-2013 I

was introduced to Theo

Jansen’s Strandbeest.

These amazing creatures

walk along a beach or

other surface, powered

only by wind, and

controlled by an ingenious

linkage mechanism.

While I at first ruled out

making one, considering it an

interesting curiosity that was

beyond my grasp, I eventually

did decide to make a single leg

out of wood, fastened together with

linkages constructed from PVC pipe.

Soon, one leg multiplied to four, and these

legs ‘somehow’ transformed into an entire

four-legged contraption that never really

walked correctly. After this, an also-not-

walking eight-legged golf cart-sized beest

followed, two smaller models did actually

walk under remote control, and what I called

I

By Jeremy S. Cook

ROCKET LAUNCHER

STRANDBEEST

the ‘ClearWalker’, a two-foot-tall beest

made out of clear polycarbonate. So

five beests, spanning several years

from that small bit of inspiration.

Consider yourself warned:

these walkers are not easy

to make and will consume

years of your life, even

with Jansen providing the

necessary linkage lengths.

At some point during

this process, I realised

that you can simply buy a

kit if you want your own

Strandbeest walker. It

would have made sense

to buy one first to see

how it works, but somehow

this idea was initially lost

on me. Perhaps they seemed

expensive at the time, since those

on Jansen’s site run for well over

$100. Given the amount of time and

money I spent on the five iterations outlined

above, this would have been an extreme

bargain – but wouldn’t have been as much

fun either.

Regardless, in late 2017 I ordered

a few generic beest kits, available for

under $10, if you look hard enough. The kit

How I Made

Above

The fully assembled

Rocket Beest, ready

for action

Don’t work with pyrotechnics unless you

have the appropriate knowledge and

skill. You are responsible for your own

safety. Take that responsibility seriously.

WARNING!