Let's make this little guy pop up and down.
This model was a collaborative project built with Kristal.
She grew up on the prairies, and we've visited often.
We'll start with a basic crank/cam.
It simply pushes the prairie dog up and down.
Let's make it a little more interesting.
This cycles a support underneath the dog, to keep it up during alternating crank rotations.
Now to put the legs back.
Let's twist them so the dog is off-grid.
Now let's build a dog that turns its head from side to side.
The 1x1 round plates constrain the arm, to ensure the head remains centered.
We're using these soft rubber connectors to impart an alternating rotation on the tire.
Adjusting the height of the tire to ensure smooth operation.
Obviously most of this was pre-built, otherwise this video would be hours long.
This drive train operates all four dogs.
This dog will move in and out of a tunnel under ground.
It's driven via a simple piston, which is 'connected' to a 2 stud gap instead of a pin hole.
This results in the dog pausing at each end of its movement range, as the piston moves through the gap.
Let's start adding the dogs.
Adding supports for the ground level to 'float' on.
The back of the model has a door to access the battery.
We wanted to add some details to the sides of the model to represent some iconic prairie imagery.
Grain elevator.
Wheat field.
Tractor.
Time to build a tunnel for this little guy.
These guys are cute, but they can be menace, digging tunnels everywhere.
Hmmm, the sweet crunchy sound of LEGO.
The fourth dog will wag its tail furiously.
Connected through this hole in the ground to a crank on the drive train.
Probably extra crunchy since these are notoriously brittle reddish brown pieces.
This side features some bison, running towards a buffalo jump.
Don't know what a buffalo jump is? You should look it up. The Native Americans were quite resourceful.
The fourth dog needs an axle hole at the back so the tail can wag.
Now to add the ground.
Not very exciting, but it is the prairies after all.
And the burrow entrance.
Time to add some vegetation.
And here they go. Thanks for watching!