On August 30 and 31st Robosaurus came to downtown Orlando from Las Vegas as part of Vet Fest on Veterans Day. The monster rolled into town as a tractor trailer and then transformed into a 50-foot-tall, 30-ton electro hydro-mechanical monster, which could crush vehicles and breathe fire for spectators in attendance. lt takes only 2 minutes for the transformation to be completed. There was a $15 cover price to get close to Robosaurus but I went to sketch on faith assuming I could catch a glimpse of the monster. It was invented in 1989 by
inventor Doug Malewicki and is now operated by Action Robo, LLC. It made an appearance at Universal Studios in 2006 for the annual Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Florida. I saw him breath fire back then and decided I couldn’t resist getting a sketch of him now.
The inaugural Vet Fest raised money for American military
veterans. It was held at the new I-4 underpass Church Street
Amphitheater between Church Street and Pine Streets. There were food trucks and live music all day long. Unfortunately in the time it took me to sketch, the car eating robot was rather passive. Anyone who walked by couldn’t resist taking a cell phone photo of the creature. A few people asked me about parking. Since I was seated in the parking lot, I must have looked like an attendant. Though I didn’t get a chance to see the devastation it was unique to see the monster ready to wreack havoc on the streets of Orlando.