From work I saw that my MkII PhantomX hexapod kit had been delivered. I immediately raced home.

I quickly opened the box and spilled the contents onto the dining table. There was certainly a lot of stuff in there. (I wish I had a pic).

• 18x  AX-12A  DYNAMIXEL Actuators
• PhantomX Hexapod Hardware & Body Kit
• ArbotiX Robocontroller
• ArbotiX Commander
• 2x Xbee 1mw Modules
• 6x F1 Bioloid Frames
• 12x F2 Bioloid Frames
• 6x F3 Bioloid Frames
• 11.1v 3S 2200mAh LiPo Battery
• LiPo Balance Charger Starter Kit
• USB Xbee Interface
• USB A to Mini-B Cable
• 10ml Bottle of Turbo-Lock

In addition to that list there is a TON of hardware. Bags and bags of screws and nuts. This is probably a boring post and I don’t have any pics, so I’ll cut to the chase. Following the assembly manual, it took a good 8 hours to build. It wasn’t hard, but it was pretty tedious. Over 350 tiny screws, each with a tiny nut. On top of that you need to locktite every nut. If you stay on track with the instructions, it goes smoothly. All the right hardware in the right places, right servos in the right locations, correct orientations, etc.

Next up was the Arbotix Commander, gotta build that too. Pretty straightforward although some of my hardware didn’t match the instructions and I had to improvise a little with a drill.

Next it was time for: PhantomX Software and Electronics Setup