Thanks Kiveun - Hey t1ck - I was wondering - I don't know anything about rigging, but to prevent those deformations, would it be possible to just parent the chest and pelvis to the appropriate joints? I kind of figured that for a robot, you would parent the parts to the joints rather than paint weights... Just a thought and probably way off. Wow - a year of simply maya challenges - well done mate! I bet you have improved a ton!