Build your own steampunk chicken-walker mech

Step 8 Putting it together

Getting into the mech takes a few minutes and is best done with some help. First I pin the backpack onto the main PVC frame and attach the side panels. Then I put on the platform boots, insert them into the mech feet such that the heel hooks over the back cross-beam PVC pipe, and slide the middle cross-beam pipe over the toe of the boot, locking it in place. Then I slide the 1" PVC end of the pistons through the mech feet, the shorter one just in front of my shin and the longer one just behind my calf.

I then get someone to help me put the main frame over my head, placing my arms through the backpack straps as it comes down. I then tighten my belt while my assistant pushes the saddle clips at the top of the pistons through the holes in the side panels and snaps them to the upper of the two side pipes in the PVC frame. After that my assistant puts the false legs onto the seat and rubber-bands the boots into place while I thread my own pants belt through the two sides of the false-leg pants and buckle it in front. (Be sure to stretch the fabric around your own hips as much as possible so they extend below where the side panel shields you from view.) Hook the side-rails over the top of the backpack frame and into the top hole in each side panel and you're good to go!

I found it was pretty easy to walk on level ground with this contraption, but much harder on broken sidewalk and certainly impossible to keep up with 6-year-old trick-or-treaters running from house to house. All in all it was great fun and I loved the reactions — but next year I plan to listen to that little voice that tells me "no really, you should have started this project earlier than October first!".