Rivet

A six-legged mecha spider in ochre armour over a charcoal frame, 9.4 × 8.8 in from claw to claw.

It starts with a charcoal frame.

Everything on Rivet hangs off one black chassis: six hip sockets, pegs for the armour, and a belly that rides 1.4 in above the desk.

One leg, root to claw.

A hip yoke, a twin-rail thigh with its own plate, a knee beam, a tall ochre shin guard, a black claw and a pale cable loop. 7 pieces, locked at hip and knee by 2 hex-head pins.

Then five more like it.

The front pair swings 60° forward, the rear pair 45° back, the middle pair straight out. That spread is what plants it so square.

Three plates of armour.

Fore, centre and aft plates seat on pegs along the spine, each one faceted and slotted, with a dark seam left between them.

The spine and its blades.

3 raised shells close the top. The centre one carries the two blades swept back over the tail, and a pale ring marks each flank.

Six points on the desk.

63 pieces, one rigid machine, 9.4 × 8.9 × 6.2 in. It holds this stance for good: nothing moves and nothing runs on batteries.

Seven pieces make a leg.

One leg laid out from hip to claw, every piece at its true size against the others, with a hex-head pin through the hip and another through the knee. Rivet stands on 6 of them, mirrored left and right.

Diagram: the pieces of one leg laid out in a row from hip to claw

Hip yokeKeys into the chassis and holds the thigh.
Hex-head pinsOne through the hip, one through the knee.
ThighTwin rails and round collars, rising to the knee.
Thigh plateA small black plate between the rails.
Knee beamDrops from the knee hub to the ankle.
Shin guardThe tall ochre slab with slotted panels.
ClawA stepped black point, blunt at the tip.
Cable loopA pale arc from the hip up to the knee.

Up close

It takes a patch of shelf 9.4 × 8.8 in from claw to claw, stands 6.2 in to the tips of its blades and weighs 9.0 oz.

Rivet on a round wooden side table in a bright living room, a white mug beside it and a sofa behind — On the side table next to my coffee, claws planted on the wood.

Close on the front legs: hex-head pins at the knee, a pale cable loop over the thigh, a black stepped claw — Hex heads at the knee, the cable loop riding over the thigh.

Rivet from behind and to the left: the two blades rising over the tail, a pale ring on the flank, legs splayed — From the back, the two blades sweep up and over the tail.

Six claws, one footprint.

Seen from above, Rivet is all angles. Each pair of legs leaves the frame at its own sweep, so the six claws land on a wide, even ring and the body sits square in the middle of it.

Swung 60° forward of straight out, reaching past the nose.

From above with the nose at the bottom, like the photo. The dots are where the claws touch down.

Rivet

63 pieces, one rigid machine.

6: legs, each of 7 pieces
12: hex-head pins, at every hip and knee
3: faceted hull plates
3: dorsal shells, the blades on the centre one
2: pale flank rings
1: charcoal chassis

Size: 9.4 × 8.9 × 6.2 in (wide × deep × tall)
Claw to claw: 9.4 × 8.8 in
Belly height: 1.4 in
Weight: 9.0 oz
Material: PLA
Colours: ochre yellow, charcoal, pale grey
Pose: fixed; a display piece, nothing moves

Rivet head on: the narrow hull between two blades, three legs a side, claws planted

Good to know

Does it walk or move?

No. Rivet is a display piece in one fixed stance. Its legs key into the frame and are pinned at hip and knee, so it holds that pose; there is no motor and nothing to wind.

Does it need batteries?

No. There are no batteries, lights or electronics anywhere in it.

What is it made of?

PLA plastic in 3 colours: ochre yellow armour; a charcoal frame, claws and pins; pale grey cable loops and flank rings.

How much room does it need?

A patch 9.4 × 8.8 in from claw to claw, and 6.2 in of height for the blades. It weighs 9.0 oz.