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Subject: 
Re: It's perfect!
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.fun
Date: 
Wed, 8 Jan 2003 15:57:37 GMT
Viewed: 
867 times
  
In lugnet.starwars, Shaun Sullivan writes:
In lugnet.starwars, Jason J. Railton writes:
In lugnet.starwars, Mark Chittenden writes:

Small quadraped animals (dogs, for example) have reversed knees on the back
legs, for running.  Very large ones (elephants, or dinosaurs like
diplodocus) have/had reversed knees on the front legs, for better balance.
The only quadraped that walks with four forward knees is two men in a
pantomime horse, but that's how AT-ATs walk.

Weeelllll, technically, that's not right.  All mammals have knees that bend in
the same basic direction - as long as you have a consistent definition for a
knee.  In most mammals, though, the thigh bone is much shorter and compacted
into the body, with a much elongated shin and, usually, a much elongated
"foot".

This picture shows it pretty well:

http://www.specificbreeds.com/html/skeleton.html

If you look at the outline, you can see why it is that we don't really notice
the knee, per se - it is hidden in the structure of the upper leg and body.

Take your dog, for example.  What you are calling its "knee" is actually its
ankle (analogizing to human anatomy).  It's foot is long and thin, and doesn't
really touch the ground - instead, your dog walks, basically, on his toes
only.

Bad form, but I'm replying to my own message - 'cause I forgot to tie it into
Star Wars.

I did a quick study a couple of years ago on the AT-ST.  If you check out the
pictures from the movie, you can see that the AT-ST does indeed have a knee
that faces the correct direction ... plus an ankle ... plus a toe joint ...
plus one extra one between the ankle and toe:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=22976

1 = thigh
  knee joint
2 = shin
  ankle joint
3 = foot section 1
  new joint
4 = foot section 2
  toe joint
5 = toe

The AT-AT also has this small, body-packed upper leg section.  The legs of the
AT-AT actually attach to the body near the center, but there are small leg
sections, hidden behind the lifting brackets, that extend either forward or
backward.  Attached to these are the long, vertical leg sections.  In that
sense, the AT-AT *does* have backwards knees on the rear legs.

Anyway, just some points of interest.

-s



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: It's perfect!
 
(...) Well, if this is indeed the case, then we should ask LEGO to give us a more accurate Special Edition AT-ST that has the correct working knee joints and such. Also, making octagonal pieces like in the side cannons in the picture that you posted (...) (21 years ago, 9-Jan-03, to lugnet.off-topic.fun)

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