"Theo Jansen is part artist, part engineer. He builds moving sculptures using complex algorithms and lightweight materials – the wind does the rest."
Theo Jansens Strandbeests
Need to find these algorithms or details of the structural componants. His work is unbelievable. Check out his movie below. I especially like the clad versions of his strand beasts.
http://www.cove.org/ape/demo2.htm -
is a great site for modeling the physics behind the structures. It is called the Actionscript Physics Engine or APE. Querying the availability of this program to produce my own prototype.