Terrain Scout Ulmaris

Now this is old. I re-arraged decent part of my parts collection and emptied my WIP box that was oversized and practically a graveyard for abandoned constructions. Most of them I disassembled, but I chose a few to be completed. Hopefully soon. 

This was the only finished but not published build in the box. It was built in early 2019 or late 2018, contemporary of Slalom Probemaster of similar idea.  With them I wanted to use pieces I normally don't use mostly because they're gray and "robotic"; often this kind of sci-fi things end up being armed to teeth for destruction and I didn't (and still don't) have much interest for such thing. With these models I explored the possibility of unarmed and cool if whimsical big robots. While Slalom was an odd ski-bot, this is probably less eccentric; a saucer with censors and a long grapping arm. Essential part of the idea was the strong silhouette created by having the model only supported by its arm, hovering slightly above the ground on some transparent pieces, while the actual bot would absolutely tower the minifigs. This was made possible with the tight joints of the grappling arm; actually the pincer with its stud-to-pin-hole connection was the seed and beginning of the MOC.

The rest is based on circles, circles and circles: big dishes with palm trunk eyes and censor ears, with round boat stud engines and a round air scoop. There is a metal weight rim from Ninjago spinners on the top. The arm can hold the weight just fine, but it sometimes causes a gentle swaying of the whole build. I find it pleasant, even otherwordy.

I had originally planned a dry half-desert base for this, but I never really completed it, and thus the finished bot was abandoned (though it appeared on Hupicon 2019 event in Helsinki in that year's april). When I revisited this now I felt the half-desert was somehow stereotypical and went for monochromatic lime undergrowth instead, with the minifigures struggling to advance, while the Ulmaris Scout is peacefully floating on, collecting data from the surroundings.

On other news, I'm having a small personal exhibit on my local library in Hervanta (designed by Raili and Reima Pietilä!!! The library). So if you happen to be in Hervanta, check it out. It's at least until 15th of December. And visit me for tea.