The visual effects master Stan Winston died last year while working on his final film, Terminator Salvation. But like the most evolved of creative geniuses, he left behind a succession plan: Rather than appointing a single person to carry out his vision, Winston left an entire team of talented and inspired artists to inherit the spirit and craft of his work. And today they continue to produce mind-blowing, detailed and other-worldly cinematic magic under the banner of Legacy Effects.

One of Legacy's newest creations is the Hydrobot, which is inspired by the deep sea creatures that lurk miles down in the world's oceans (like the viperfish pictured here). Instead of rendering the undersea beast from pixels and bits, Legacy built the creature using hard steel and elbow grease. Here is an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the construction of the Hydrobot, a new machine in the Terminator lineage.

Click on the thumbnails below for larger images.

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