DINOBOT - The world's largest Australian Bulldog ant model, 300 times normal size, was made in Herstmonceux

The giant Australian Bulldog ant model, is not in any way connected with the generating history of Herstmonceux Museum, other than being built using their facilities, in association with Jameson Hunter Limited, for their Sectasaur, and Magic Dinobot, story development and special effects.

In the late 1970s, Max Askaroff, brother of Alex Askaroff, brought back a bulldog ant (myrmecia regularis) from his travels in Australia. Even compared to the largest wood ant in the UK, this specimen was huge, and it had attacked and eaten a tarantula and a scorpion in the same transit jar. How 'Maxy,' as he was known, managed to get them all into one large jar alive, we cannot imagine. Dangerous to say the least. That the Bulldog ant had come out victorious against such deadly foes, was impressive enough a feat, to spur all concerned on, to want to learn more about this tough little bush animal. Especially since they grow up to 40mm in length and can run faster than a man. It was the stuff of science fiction. And that, coupled with the developing disciplines of robotics, mechatronics and animatronics, triggered the as yet incomplete story: Jimmy Watson and The Magic Dinobot. The Christmas wish of a budding AI programmer.

THE MAGIC DINOBOT - Ideal as a live action network streamed TV series

JIMMY WATSON'S MAGIC DINOBOT

Jimmy Watson is just an ordinary boy. He attends an ordinary school. He is a loner with just a few friends, and quite a few enemies. He often wanders off into a world of his own in classes, not listening to his teachers fully, on those occasions. Although he truly admires his science master, loves physics and maths lessons, and especially metalwork, when he gets to make things in steel and other exotic materials. This was all another world of wonder for young Jimmy.

Jimmy's special talent is programming. He was taught that at school quite early on. He was always in demand in teams for robot competitions. The only time he was popular at school. With his programming, and provided the robot was sturdy enough, his team would nearly always win.

Jimmy would read books on robotics from cover to cover. Sometimes, under the covers by torchlight. In the town library, he would always check out any new books on animatronics, and mechatronics. His favorite subjects. Then one day in the covers of a robotics magazine, Jimmy saw a kit for a hexapod, designed for developers of artificial intelligence.

THE MAGIC DINOBOT - Could be a Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar style animation for all the family at Christmas

SECTASAUR - Movie goers seem to enjoy a good monster movie, the bigger the better: Alien, Godzilla, Jurassic Park, King Kong

SECTASAUR

This Jameson Hunter story, is a variation on the 1954 classic movie "THEM" with a tinges of Alien, Godzilla, King Kong, and "Jurassic Park" thrown in to the mix. Set in a future where the planet is boiling from fossil fuels, and the Antarctic ice cap is rapidly melting. Though not far from the truth today, this story was conceived over thirty years ago, the rights recently acquired. So far, it has only been developed in outline form. With Kulo-Luna and Cleopatra's Mummy, far ahead in development, and recently published as full (draft) scripts, as part of the John Storm franchise. Jameson Hunter, is a story developer, looking to publish graphic novels, subject to favorable market surveys.

View from the front. Anthony is actually the artwork for a book: Jimmy Watson and the Magic Dinobot, from the Jameson Hunter Ltd., stable. Deemed to be suitable for adaptation to a TV series: Jimmy dreams of building a giant robot ant as a special project, then one day his dreams come true when the robot he has built is transformed into a living, breathing, companion. CHAPTER 3, CH4, CH5

The same artwork also works as a John Storm film: SECTASAUR - OUTLINE: At a time in the not too distant future, the ice melts at both poles revealing features on the land not seen for 200 years. A converted Frigate, the US Arktos is discovered at the South Pole locked into melting ice. She has been missing since an expedition in 1838. A famous ship at the time, formerly the USS Essex, she had been bought at auction in 1837 and hastily refitted by a group of explorers who had come by a fossilized artifact thought to be of considerable archaeological importance. The fossilized jaw was said to have originated in Antarctica brought back as a souvenir by the Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen during his fabled 1820 expedition.

Another fantastic discovery is a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the ice, dated by scientists to be millions of years old. Mysteriously, the scientist who discovered and dated the tunnel complex disappears, but not before his find is leaked to a Sky news researcher on the Discovery channel.

In Australia it is law that building sites have to be cleared of bulldog ants before work can begin. They can paralyze a man with a single sting. So by all means study these social miracles, but be careful - they are very aggressive and they bite. 

IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - (Myrmecology, Biomimetics, Ant colony optimization algorithms)

Observed by humans since the dawn of history, the behavior of ants has been documented and the subject of early writings and fables passed from one century to another. Those using scientific methods, myrmecologists, study ants in the laboratory and in their natural conditions. Their complex and variable social structures have made ants ideal model organisms. 

Ultraviolet vision was first discovered in ants by Sir John Lubbock in 1881. Studies on ants have tested hypotheses in ecology and sociobiology, and have been particularly important in examining the predictions of theories of kin selection and evolutionarily stable strategies. Ant colonies may be studied by rearing or temporarily maintaining them in formicaria, specially constructed glass framed enclosures. Individuals may be tracked for study by marking them with dots of paint.

The successful techniques used by ant colonies have been studied in computer science and robotics to produce distributed and fault-tolerant systems for solving problems, for example Ant colony optimization and Ant robotics. This area of biomimetics has led to studies of ant locomotion, search engines that make use of "foraging trails", fault-tolerant storage, and networking algorithms.

SECTASAUR - MI6 and the CIA decide to send in John Storm, an expert diver, archaeologist and enthusiastic adventurer to report on the goings on. Storm is happy to oblige if it means adding to his DNA collection for his usual fee - a hefty donation to his favourite charities. Having equipped his solar powered ship, the Elizabeth Swan, with arctic clothing and supplies, he, Dan Hawk and Charley Temple sped from the Southern Ocean to the Weddell Sea and there to Deception Island, an extinct volcano.

The team set up camp onshore and soon the trio locate the excavation site, then using the 'Ark' (a DNA database) Storm uncovers disturbing new evidence to support a theory that dinosaurs were not wiped out by a meteor striking the earth (creating an artificial ice age), but by very efficient hunting animals related to the Vespoidea or Myrmecia Giganticus taxonomic group, part of a long extinct branch of the family Formicidae of the order Hymenoptera - insects in plain speak. This strain appears to have evolved rapidly by adaptive radiation. From the evidence on site it seems that these deadly animals hunted in packs in significant numbers to overwhelm much larger animals (an example of which may be seen in 6mm army ants overcoming a 40mm bull ant and just about any animal in the jungle that gets in their way).

From DNA analysis aboard an energy depleted Elizabeth Swan, Storm estimates that this species grew to between 3-5 metres and that they were warm blooded with a high tolerance to low temperatures, with a kind of lung to supply vast amounts of oxygen to their spiracles via an organ pumped dorsal aorta to the other organs in an otherwise classic exoskeleton arrangement. Storm and Hawk realize the danger if such a creature were ever to be introduced on the mainland and with evidence that eggs have been removed from the site, alert MI6 and the CIA to the danger.

SECTASAUR™ - CHAPTERS (suggested sequence order)

PART 1

CHAPTER 1: US ARKTOS 1838 EXPEDITION - The ice melts at both poles revealing features on the land not seen for thousands of years. A converted Frigate, the US Arktos is discovered at the South Pole locked into melting ice, then freed.

CHAPTER 2: TUNNEL COMPLEX - Discovery of a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the ice, dated by scientists to be many millions of years old, is leaked to Jill Bird, BBC world service, via Sky news and Discovery Channel. Supporting John Cleves Symmes theory of 1818.

CHAPTER 3: GOLD RUSH - Three expeditions launched by competing concerns, Swedish led by Bjorn Atlas, Multinational headed by Cathy Carter, backed by the CIA. The third funded by Chinese pharmaceutical giants, led by Lin Po Chang.

CHAPTER 4: CALL FOR JOHN STORM - MI6 and the UN decide to send in John Storm and the Elizabeth Swan. Dan Hawk and Charley Temple speed from the Southern Ocean to the Weddell Sea and there to Deception Island, an extinct volcano.

CHAPTER 5: IT'S MURDER ON THE ICE - Several fatal accidents occur in quick succession, then an egg clutch is discovered in a section of a tunnel. Chang eliminates the remaining opposition. Then nurtures one egg through a simulated incubation.

CHAPTER 6: BOUND FOR ENGLAND - The creature is smuggled aboard Ice Patrol survey vessel 'KoolArctic' bound for England, eats two crew members. Second mate on KoolArctic reports the chaos aboard vessel to the British Admiralty, abandons ship.

CHAPTER 7: BASECAMP - John's team set up camp onshore, locate the excavation site, using the 'Ark' (a DNA database) Storm uncovers disturbing new evidence to support theory that dinosaurs were not entirely wiped out by a meteor striking the earth.

PART 2

CHAPTER 8: WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH - Confirmed, they lived when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Dinosaurs starve in volcanic/asteroid winter. Sectasaurs have higher tolerance to freezing conditions, eat competition, then hibernate.

CHAPTER 9: WORST FEARS CONFIRMED - From DNA analysis aboard energy depleted Elizabeth Swan, Storm estimates species grew to between 3-5 metres, were warm blooded with high tolerance low temperatures. Team realize danger to humans, alert MI6 & CIA to the danger.

CHAPTER 10: - ATLANTIC EXPRESS - Storm and crew head to England at high speed. Meanwhile Chang has landed in Portsmouth.

CHAPTER 11: HAMPSHIRE - The giant prehistoric animal jumps ship, feeds on ponies, gaining attention of Hampshire police, relayed to MI6 and thence to John Storm.

CHAPTER 12: BUCKLERS HARD - Storm head up the Beaulieu River to Bucklers Hard, following pony corpses toward a wooden area near Worts Gutter (Furzey Lane). Storm calls MI6 for backup.

CHAPTER 13: CAT & MOUSE - Storm and Temple play cat and mouse with Sectasaur - when the giant insect came up from behind over the brow of a ravine and knocks Charley nearly unconscious. Storm strikes the creature with an axe, causing partial shock. 

PART 3

CHAPTER 14: FIRST AID - Charley and John patch creature's wound with antiseptic and bandages. The giant insect feigns immobility. Understands dialogue between John and Charley is not aggressive or threatening, and marks these two humans down as allies.

CHAPTER 15: SECTASAUR RESCUES JOHN - John panics with axe. Creature lashed out in reflex throwing John over a ledge. John at the mercy creature. The huge insect puts itself at risk to pull John up to safety. Meanwhile government troops are closing in.

CHAPTER 16: PUZZLING SITUATION - John dusts himself, while magnificent insect cleans itself. John offers hand palm up to the creature. The animal studies with both feelers, tickling him. John's heart pounding, at risk of amputation, enjoying leap of faith.

CHAPTER 17: ALL FRIENDS - Charley joins from bracken and saw the interaction between John and the insect. She proffers her hand, the prehistoric insect smelled her all over with its antennae. Charley giggled at the friendly touch.

CHAPTER 18: HOSTILE FIRE - Troops fire wounding animal. John & Charley both leap in front of insect yelling to stop firing, but Charley is shot in the arm and screams. The giant insect moves to protect them both from the gunfire, taking more hits and one to the head.

CHAPTER 19: ATTACK SUBSIDES - John and Charley shout as loud as they can, stopping firing. They reach insect. It raised its feelers, Charley and John take one each, and the trio embraced for a minute, then the creature subsided its antenna went limp - it was gone. 

CHAPTER 20: NO REMORSE - John & Charley welling up inside, tears. A well-built soldier is delighted at kill. "Yes," cried the soldier. "Yes," said John, punching the soldier out. Up to that point other military thought they had saved their lives.

CHAPTER 21: EPILOGUE & DEBRIEFING - John files a report with the United Nations and MI6, advising of a great loss to science. Keep watching brief for any repeats, finds, etc. Antarctic Area 51.

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