Galaxy Squad MOC: Armored Rapid Response Walker (ARRoW)

[Tereglith]

By the fifth year of the Human/Buggoid War, the Galaxy Squad forces had no shortage of tiny vehicles to throw at their enemies, but few of them had any sort of protection whatsoever against enemy fire or combatants. In atmosphere, they take a while to get warmed up and thanks to their lack of control surfaces they are difficult to fly properly; comprehensive studies by the Galactic War Council found that in many cases, the standard-issue speeder so often used by Galaxy Squad forces offered no tactical advantages whatsoever. More often than not, their pilots were killed en masse during any sort of large battle, costing thousands of lives and (more importantly to the Council) billions of dollars.

In order to rectify the problem, the Council immediately sought a new design to bridge the tactical gulf between the capabilities of the woefully inadequate speeders and the highly successful but inflexible and plodding larger vehicles. The cheapest and smallest solution was the ARRoW, or Armored Rapid Response Walker. The ARRoW was a major evolution of a design abandoned early in the war, that of the Mini Mech. Thousands were pumped off of production lines overnight and, thanks to their diverse and flexible capabilities, the vehicles were shipped to nearly every Galaxy Squad outpost and base in the Milky Way.

The walkers are small and highly maneuverable, carrying a single Galaxy Squad Trooper into battle, reconnaissance, exploration, search-and-rescue, or nearly any other type of operations imaginable.

The standard-issue walker possesses impressive firepower, boasting two plasma canons and two swiveling chainguns. Council scientists are working on changeable weapon/manipulator modules to be mounted on the front (in place of the chainguns-and-headlights emplacement that is currently standard) for more specialized missions.

Despite their power, the walkers are small and sleek, barely taking up half the hangar space of a ship like the Swarm Interceptor.

What makes the ARRoW special is how fully it opens up to allow extremely rapid entry and exit of its pilot. First the rear panels swivel back:

Then the windshield and sides swivel down:

And the pilot can step outside easily. The process reverses itself rapidly when the pilot is entering the vehicle; under combat conditions, a GS trooper can go from running towards his walker to running the walker out of the hangar in less than five seconds.

The walker also features a small storage compartment mounted unobtrusively behind the cabin:

Inside, the pilot can access field binoculars, a green rationkit/medipak, and a four-dimensional hyperwrench that can be used to make almost any conceivable repair should the ARRoW break down far from a base.

The buggoids don't stand a chance!

This MOC came about after I bought the Mini Mech polybag on a whim at Wal-Mart, and decided that while it was cute, it needed a little something more. The guy seemed way too exposed! So I added a bit here, and a bit there, until it was 101 pieces, barely similar at all to the original set, and looking pretty awesome, with a sweet opening transformation.Thanks for reading (or just looking at the pictures if reading my elaborate sci-fi backstories isn't your thing)!

Edited March 14, 2013 by Tereglith

[Artanis I]

Thanks for reading (or just looking at the pictures if reading my elaborate sci-fi backstories isn't your thing)!

TL;DR

Not that I have the original (nor do expect to ever get hold of any polybags) but it looks like a useful little battle mech. Some suggestions: cover the studs on the legs with a tile, grill or something. Smooth or greebly, whichever. Also cover the holes on the side slope pieces, try using a technic half pin, then you can put something on the stud or in the pin hole. Probably not anything you can do for the tubes in the interior that folds out. Good blend of the 3 colours.

[Bob De Quatre]

I didn't read all of the backstory

But it's a cool build.

Having a mailbox as storage space is not something you see often on MOC of that size

[Wedge09]

Nice work :thumbup:

[DraikNova]

Pretty complicated for such a tiny build.

[TenorPenny]

This is a cute little build, with a fine match-up to the GS aesthetic.

[Only Sinner]

This is fantastic! This would be perfect for a GS battle pack. A huge improvement over the polybag. I've got to get me one of those four dimensional hyperwrenches, that just sounds like it could come in handy.

[MSP]

It looks fantastic . Much, much better than the original set.

The buggoids don't stand a chance!

No, they don't!

Congratulations for your MOC .

Edited April 4, 2013 by MSP

[JoeyB]

I always wanted to comment on this... brings back a lot of memories as a kid/teen getting into LEGO's then-recent Space outing. I love how much bulkier and protected this thing is, and the color usage is perfectly in-line with the theme. Plus the way it opens up is... mwua so good, I'd be playing with that all the time as a kid and adult.

[Flak Maniak]

Very faithful to the Galaxy Squad aesthetic. Uses the right era of parts, to fit in with the look.