That pretty much sums up my reaction to spiders Dave!

Update
Quote Originally Posted by k_c_r
Carcinus currently needs some considerable re-jigging
And today it got it.

Spent ages in the workshop today, deciding to focus solely on Carcinus. I was just going to switch it back to conventional 2WD but then started wondering if I could get an actuator mechanism fitted in for the claws. So first I stripped it back to the bare chassis, during which you can see how much it has been butchered in its short lifespan so far:



I re-used some of the claw linkages from the old mechanism and trimmed them down a bit. I also had an M12 threaded rod actuator-type-thing that I got from Jonny (originally made by Billy Breach) so decided to fuse that with a drill motor to provide the motive source. A couple of bolts later and the basic setup was done:



Then it was time to put everything back together, fitting the existing components around the new ones (which don't take up too much internal space). So this is where it's currently at:



I need to redo the mounting points for the side armour, make some covers for the exposed drill motor and sort out a new top panel. The top will probably just be MDF with a bit of plastic re-inforcement here and there. Not got time to get more plastic delivered and it'd be a waste of money as I'm thinking of changing the design after the championships. The horizontal claws just aren't effective enough a weapon, and it requires quite a large robot to accommodate everything. So I will probably look more into a vertical crusher setup, but that's for another day...

Oh, and I threw a little video together to show the drive and claws, along with my standard ramblings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi_XVQ_e84w