From thanking the Post Office guy for delivering the shipping box, to operating the robot! It's all here in this video.

1. Unpacking... Careful with all the packing peanuts.

2. Opening the box... You get a nice box with plenty of accessories. You can see the bot through a transparent cover. Not too flashy. They aren't marketing all over me with it. No, it's clean and simple and, if you've been watching the videos only and haven't seen one in person yet, be prepared to be happy.

3. Charge the battery. Instructions are actually sketchy about this. Let me be clear: It ships with niCads - give 'em an overnight charge, drain thoroughly, the usual niCad care and keeping.

4. Turn on the console, it should ship set up to control your bot.

5. Turn on the Bot. After announcing itself as "RFL" in a booming voice, it will reset it's throwing arm. (Watch out, it slams down pretty hard, and can pinch!)

6. In a moment, the Bot's Helmet should light up. When it does, it means the data is flowing to and from the bot.

7. Drive it!

*. A tip... There are extensions for the wheels to allow it to back up on carpets and rougher surfaces, like my back deck. Think of them as training wheels and put them on while your battery pack is charging. It will be easier to drive the bot. Fewer nasty falls when backing up on rough surfaces.

See next video for driving with extensions...

The extenders come with the RFL bot. They allow you to use the bot on not-so-smooth surfaces like decks and carpets.

Boy, does it make a difference! I suggest that while you wait for the battery to charge, you add the extenders. When your battery charges and you are ready to fire up your bot, you'll have maximum fun.

I was going to suggest they are like training wheels, but they are even better, more like opening up greater possibilities for Modding this Bot!!!

1. Remove the bot wheel.

2. Remove the whole white wheel backup stabilizer assembly.

3. Replace with the new stabilizer. Move the small white rounded stabilizer wheel from the white one to the longer one now on the Bot.

4. Put the bot's drive wheel back on.

5. Repeat on the other side.

6. Prepare to have a rousing good fun time!!!!

I spent a bit of time running the bot forward, then reverse, forward, reverse. Why?

Because, If you`ve read my other project, a standup RFL Inspired Robot Base, you know I built a Robot base inspired by the RFL Robot. I learned a lot about the physics of performance building my little Bot body. Basically, I got a lesson in applied physics.

First and most important was the lesson on shifting centers of gravity as the second physics demonstration of inertial energy. The inertial energy of a motor, and a battery, and all that load came crystal clear when I got the rubber tires in the mail.

Now even the shifting issues I had solved required refinement when I got all the traction. For one thing the batteries HAD to put their weight on the motors.

At rest. That means on stopping and starting the wheels are working hard to hold the weight of the bot within the limits of the center of gravity. The little bot, being shorter could maneuver much better than the bigger RFL bot.

The extenders take care of issues of stopping on too forgiving, or simply rough surfaces. Why not extenders on the front? Dunno...

But the idea of mashing up something more like the RFL base is somehow very appealing. I`m not sure why... But this Bot is pretty fun so far...

BTW: It climbs the hill and handles the debris in the road in front of my house. So far my RoboDog failed that test. I could climb (at walking speed) but to get over a speed bump, I had to use the double-speed booster button. The batteries kept up, the original remote-controlled Dog Bot RC Car couldn`t pull itself up the hill! RFL bot on the other hand made light work of the hill and the debris!