Panterragaffe
I love to search out the work of creative minds and happened upon Theo Jansen's Strandbeest. I was captured in a moment of wonder, trying to figure out what I was looking at. In time I saw the pair of tennis shoes on the person pushing it at the back, but that moment of wonder left a lasting impression on me.
Some time later, I had forgotten about Strandbeest, but I literally had a dream one night of riding a big machine through a sea of people. When I woke up, I sketched out a concept I thought might work and looked up a photo of one of Theo's leg mechanisms. Over the course of a weekend I figured out I would need at least 12 legs for the thing to work smoothly and set about building a baby working model.
leg mechanism notes
Encouraged by the Baby Walker, I got serious about reverse engineering the correct dimensions for the mechanism to work properly.
prototype leg box
From the basic drawing I mocked up a half scale prototype of the frame and legs to work out the details and test materials for strength. I got lots of things wrong, but 2 more tries ended in a working full size machine.
completed machine
In the spring of 2011 I had the legs nearly dialled in and the frame made in 3 large parts that could be pulled apart or pinned together allowing for easy transport on a truck. Over the summer I added a sound system and took it to the first Maker Faire in Vancouver. I called it Panterragaffe, because the word didn't exist on Google and I thought it would be a cheap way of tracking it's spread across the Web.
filming for “Sekai No Hatte Madde Itte Q!”
It was a smash hit. Within weeks it was zipping around the web. It was on CNN, local news, front page on Reddit and a crew came over from one of Japan's most popular shows “Sekai No Hatte Madde Itte Q!” to have their stars filmed riding it.
All the clicks and videos were great, but the real joy was taking it out in public and seeing that moment of wonder on people's faces, especially the children. A great moment was the day we crashed the Vancouver Pride parade with it. We cruised up on a side street and the police actually moved the crowd and barriers out of our way so we walk straight into the parade. There was a slight pause as we strode out into the middle of the street and then a huge roar went up from the crowd and massive applause. This video is from a later engagement at a fireworks event at English Bay. A young couple asked if they could make the video and this is what they gave me 2 weeks later. It very nicely captures the feel of Panterragaffe in a crowd.
Finally, in the fall of 2014, it had to come to an end. Local crowds had seen Panterragaffe at fairs and street parties a few too many times and it was becoming a fixture rather than a spectacle. He made one more public appearance at a local high school and after a little cutting and snipping Panterragaffe was interred at the local scrap yard, having lived a full and exciting life. He brought joy and wonder to all who saw him.
Panterragaffe May 2011 to January 2014 RIP