While sitting at home and staring at my piles of pieces I had the idea of building a humanoid creature out of K'nex. After many trials I succeeded in producing my first hominid, Zyrael (the smaller one). After the build was done I looked for others to compare with my building style and found none.

I have decided to share my building stratagies with others so others can build their own Titans. The tallest titan I've built so far is about six feet tall, and they can be complicated.

In this instructable I will outline strategies that have worked well for me.

Step 1: Planning

Before you start you should consider your goals. There are some important stability issues in the design:

Taller = less stable
More joints = less stable
Few peices = pops apart often
Too many peices = collapses under its own weight

(Three to four feet is the heighest that a Titan of mine has supported its weight unaided.)

There are several things that vary from one design to another, such as the number and placement of joints, the thickness and legnth of the limbs, and the overall look of the titan.

Step 2: The Torso

The torso usually defines the look of a Titan. It should be light but strong (the legs will have to support all this weight) and the torso size in relation to the arms and legs can change the look from apelike to humanlike

I use geometric structures to increase the strength and keep the weight low. I have considered including a mass damper in the torso, but haven't tried it.

Step 3: Arms and Legs

The larger the size of the titan, the thicker the legs need to be. The arms to not follow this rule, and need to be light.

The length of the limbs should be proportional to the torso.

Step 4: Joints

The reason that Titans can move like people is beecause their joints mimic a person's.
the simple hinge joint is triangular and allows the the piece on the bottom to rotate freely.

For the knee joint of my larger titan i needed something more durable. I created a sliding/ rotating joint. Please see the picture.

Step 5: Thats It

With these skills and techniques you can build your own Titan, possibly to be bigger than yourself. Use some creative talent and try to create your own designs.

I would appreciate an instructable for any innovative design improvements that anyone comes up with.

Now hop off the computer and build a Titan!

*As an added bonus I included a hand design.