Have been looking at the design and i know i have about 2 weeks to complete this thing to get some days driving with it before battle, but im looking to build some parts from thicker material in order to absorb impacts and increase strength.

I have just placed an order for 20mm and 15mm sheet material, mainly the 20mm for the robot and 15mm for more motor mounts i am selling. This should be arriving in 3 days time, meaning i have enough material now to do a few parts in 20mm.

Looking at the gear ratio for the axe mech i also waht to get this tested, incase i need bigger gears. currently a 5:1 ratio isnt great as its only 2 and half rotations of the motor to get full swing of axe... Will see if i can go bigger with the output gear or adjust the gear ratio, alternativly i may switch to a drill motor and rely on this for a gear down ratio. Not the ideal solution...
I really wanted all the gearing in the chasis footprint and not be exposed ontop. but this may have to change.