[*]Where did you integrate your "outstanding visual aesthetic integration?" [*]How did you get your team behind the effort (especially if your team's appearance involved specific items)? [*]How much time and money was used to bring everything together?
MOE 365 won the Imagery award at the Philly regional and at the Championship last year. In my opinion, the main factors are:
Consistency. Everything we have is always bright green and black (other adjectives have been used to describe the green of our shirts!). The robot is green, the pit, the buttons, the cart as well. We have various green colored headgear and accessories (the infamous MOEsticks and wobblies), even have green shoelaces. And some members dye their hair green - more would dye their hair but some schools have a problem with this.
Integration. This year since the robot had "kilts". Originally they were called "skirts", but some of the males on the team objected to a feminine robot, so they became kilts. The kilts were painted in a green and black plaid pattern. Someone on the team - don't remember who - suggested that the operating crew wear kilts as well. Two of the mothers found a green and rust colored plaid material and made kilts for the operators and pit crew. There was a picture of Dave Lavery wearing one of our kilts posted somewhere in an earlier note - long story as to why.
Time and cost. Most team members buy their own green headgear and accessories. The green shoelaces were donated last year - another long story. The team did pay for the kilt material, which wasn't much, and the mothers did the work for free. Painting the wobblies does take time but that is usually done after the bulk of the mechanical work is done, in the lull before regionals start. We do have a large team so there are usually extra hands around. The cost of the paint can add up but we buy in bulk and people are always on the lookout for specials. Some of the team members, especially some of the mentors, are very good at scrounging scrap or very cheap materials. Large companies tend to throw out a lot of stuff, and if you have an "in" you can get a lot this way.
Team effort. This is an important part of being MOE so the team is always involved and trying new ideas. We have some creative members who have great ideas. I think the extras all add up too, such as the pit tower and camera we had last year. And the various mascots we've had. Over the summer some team members came up with something new, and prototypes were tried; this will be premiered at one of the regionals. Stay tuned.
