Table of Contents:
U.S.A. Irregular scout walker
F.L.A.S.H. Interceptor
Scythian Evangelist Cyborg and Trattorian Brute Drones
Stinger Gunship & Scarab Dropship
T.L.A. S.A.S.S.
The Personnel Excursion Quick Unobtrusive Orbital Dropship (P.E.Q.U.O.D.) is the T.L.A.'s newest special operations dropship, replacing the Hr-36. Advances in technology gleaned by studying Angels and other phenomena in the Impact Zone have improved its speed, firepower, and stealth capabilities. The P.E.Q.U.O.D. is armed with two Size 3 positron guns, two Size 2 miniguns, and two Size 2 missiles, and can (theoretically) carry a squad of five troops, usually the T.L.A.'s elite jump troopers. The P.E.Q.U.O.D. is one of the first few builds in my planned project to rebuild the T.L.A. more or less from the ground up.
Side view. This was a monster to put together - I spent over a month trying different approaches to get the shape I wanted. The design is based on the Zanzibar II cruiser from Gundam 0083. I especially liked the way the design featured a smooth curve from the nose to the wingtips, and I tried to replicate this on the model as best I could. I also tried for a more consistent color scheme, with grey on top, white underneath, and black on the engines.
Front. Optical sensors are some of my favorite details to add to a model, since it's more or less obvious what their function is supposed to be.
Top. I feel like the mindset I got into while building BrikWars units has limited my ability to build complex details, since I have to worry more about conserving parts and finishing builds quickly to get an entire army together. When detailing the P.E.Q.U.O.D. I decided to ignore these considerations and go all out, and I'm mostly happy with the results.
Rear view. I generally start my ships from the front and build backwards, which sometimes leads me to get stuck when designing engines that fit with the rest of the frame. The lower pair of engines were exceptionally tough to design. Finally, I had a breakthrough when I discovered that the slope of a 1X1 cheese wedge matched a 45 degree slope brick held by a click hinge. I ended up building the rear engine nacelles using these wedges.
Underside. I'm extremely pleased with how the intakes turned out, although I'm now worried about my supply of 4X2 wedge plates.
Underside with landing gear deployed. The gray piece at the bottom of each engine nacelle folds out to let the gear extend, then moves back into place to conceal the empty gear bay.
Sitting on the landing gear. The 1X1 cheese wedges on the side landing gear doors touch the bottom of the wings, keeping the gear in the correct position.
Exploded view showing the major subassemblies. I've taken care to make sure that all of these parts have at least two points of contact with one another, improving the model's overall structural strength.
These subassemblies form the top and sides of the ship's front section, and are probably the most complex. I love these 10x3 wedge pieces - they're an easy and efficient way to add shape to just about any model.