EZ-170 Aura Eagle

EZ-170 AURA EAGLE

Chassis: Harpy Eagle

Power Plant: CAP-A2 (Compact Avian Plant – Class-2)

Primary Mission: Airspace Dominance

Secondary Mission: Ground Strike Platform

Crew: 1 (minimum rank requirement: Lieutenant)

Statistics

Length: 20 meters

Width: 45 meters (wingspan)

Height: 12 meters

Mass: 45 tons

Performance

Air Speed: MACH 2.2

Ground Speed: 30 KPH

ZOIDS PARTS LIST

Buster Eagle

Wings, torso armor, ordnance

Jet Falcon

Engine pods

Pteras (Tomy)

Armor

Gojulas Giga

Wing details

Seismosaurus

Torso details

Disbelow

Abdominal armor, neck joint

Baragator

Missiles

Blade Liger

Rubber caps

CAPABILITIES (Performance)

As a standard air unit, the Aura Eagle would be considered a fighter/bomber. It can exceed MACH 2 using boosters designed after the Jet Falcon. These make it a decent fighter and interceptor, but it hardly rewrites the record books in terms of speed when compared to modern, top-of-the-line Zoids. It is, however, an agile flier, and can tangle with most hostile avian units in a fight. Even on the ground the Aura Eagle can function is a dangerous unit, able to scrap with lighter enemies and sustain running speeds of 30 KPH.

DEFENSES (Defenses)

Based on the concepts of the original Buster Eagle design, the Aura Eagle is heavily armored for an aerial unit and has a sturdy frame. These features may not even be required to protect it, however. The main defense of the Zoid is the electronic countermeasure suit for which is it named: AURAS (Afferent Utility; Reception Affect System). The AURA System allows the Aura Eagle to appear as any unit for which it has data. This hardware not only feeds inaccurate information to targeting sensors and receptors, it projects an almost perfect illusion that can fool human sight as well. In effect, the enemy can see one of their own Zoids flying by them including IFF signals, comms chatter, physical dimensions, and core signature.

45mm “Defeater” Beam Cannon (x4) – wing mounted, forward arc, 120° rotation

These guns are designed to focus energy into a “tapered bolt” that strikes the target akin to an armor piercing round, punching through armor without prolonged engagement. They were developed to melt holes through avian opponents but rapid, repeated applications can even penetrate heavier ground units up to 5 kilometers away.

50mm "Hailstorm" Gatling Cannon (x2) – torso mounted, fixed forward arc

The same weapon system mounted on the Guylos Lucht Vuur, the Hailstorm is a paired 50mm Gatling cannon that hoses a target with armor piercing explosive rounds targets at ranges of 3 km. With a terrifying 6,000 rounds per minute rate of fire, it can empty its magazines in only 30 seconds. It is capable in firing 25-round bursts to conserve ammunition, and the impact of even a portion of that is enough to tear many targets to pieces.

120mm "Airburst" Anti-Zoid Shotgun (x2) – torso mounted, fixed forward arc

This pair of weapons is practically hidden from view, mounted in the chest of the Aura Eagle and exposed when the head is raised in flight. Each gun has a short barrel angled slightly out and downward, allowing it to fire on either aerial targets or to spray softer ground targets. The effective range is only 2 kilometers, but the spray pattern affords the guns a high hit ratio.

"Skydance" Missile (4) – tail mounted, fixed rear

Mounted beneath the tail feathers and facing rearward, Skydance missiles are medium damage, medium ranged weapons designed to evade active defense fire when engaging a Zoid in the air, on the ground, or on the sea's surface. The missile can also be used to target incoming warheads, though it excels at the prior role. A Skydance missile travels MACH 5.4 and can detonate within 10 meters to damage a light target or impact a medium or heavy target at 16 km.

“Skydart-AA” Air-to-Air Missile (4) – fixed forward arc (wings)

A copy of the standard Guylos light air-to-air missile, the Skydart is extremely fast and agile. It has a range of 12 kilometers and inflicts minor damage, but for use against light avian targets it is an ideal weapon, not even requiring a direct hit to shatter control surfaces or pilot canopies.

“Hot-Hail” Cluster Bomb (x4) – wing mounted

A standard weapon carried by Buster Eagle and Dreadmander, the semi-guided bomb disburses 100 bomblets across a target area approximately 50 meters wide by 200 meters in length. The submunitions are designed to wound armored infantry, damage light vehicles and structures, and destroy "soft vitals" like communications and power lines

“Wildfire” Incendiary Bomb (x2) – integrated construction

The heavy talons of the Aura Eagle are improved versions of those found on the EZ-106 Blazewing. With their mere strength they can crush through any avian Zoid’s lighter armor, but coupled with the speed of the Eagle’s dive they could rend the limbs from a Shield Liger.

Hardened Allow Breaker Talons – integrated construction

Hardened Allow Beak – head mounted, integrated construction

Like any decent bird of prey, the Aura Eagle’s beak can cut through most armor and rend internal structures apart. The beak is heavily insulated to prevent injury to the Zoid or pilot in case of a power surge released when tearing through enemy power systems.

Hardened Allow Breaker Blades – wings, integrated construction

In addition to the beak and talons of the Aura Eagle being effective melee weapons, the tips of the outer wing feathers are each capped with a hardened structure to support a breaker blade. These can be used in flight to damage wings and soft armor on targets that enter melee range.

THE BUILD

THE CONCEPT

IMy daughter got a pretty cool Lego knockoff griffon kit for her birthday. Since it wasn't REAL Lego, though, she wasn't that into it (and the quality wasn't really great, either). She has admired my custom work over the past few years and asked if I could make her a Zoid custom using the head of the set... a piece that actually has very decent quality and a Bionicle joint for the neck. I promised her that I would make her one after the commission I was working on. So, since I had a cool eagle head that almost nobody has seen, I decided to make an eagle, and because I hadn't made a Zenevas unit in a long time (my prior 8 builds were Guylos and Helic, and the two customs apart from those were independants), I decided to make it a Zoid for the Empire.

ONE HINGE FOR ANOTHER

I knew going in that I would be using the wings of a spare Buster Eagle kit, but I didn't like the lack of flexibility and they looked a little small compared to the new head. I performed some surgery and added Bionicle ball joints at the elbow. Rather than making the joint flush, I opeted to mount the outer wing peg into the Bionicle joint so that it could still swing backward like the original, adding to its articulation.

HISTORY

A longstanding history of Zenevas’ military power has shown that the Empire has held a far weaker aerial component than their chief adversary, Helic. The Aura Eagle was designed to be rapidly produced as a Jack of all trades, but a master of none. In this way Zenevas bolsters its airpower and hopes to maintain better battlefield dominance ability versus more plentiful or more powerful units.

NOTABLE NOTES

Aura Eagle is the fastest custom I have made; the entire process, from concept to finish, took 16 hours. It is also notable for a "feature" that I would strive to change... it is the only Zoid I have made that has no pilot. Strapped as I was to build the present for my daughter, I wasn't able to carve open the head and install a cockpit. I do hope to rectify that major shortcoming one day soon!

ARMAMENT

The Aura Eagle carries a mix of weapons intended to support its dual role of dogfighting and ground attack. While it can carry different loads of ordnance, the following loadout is the standard.

AI-2 PROFILE

The EZ-170 Aura Eagle is almost stoic; a planner, thinker, and strategician. It weighs situations and opponents and suggests the best options to its pilot. It is still an aggressive predator, however, and once it enters the fray it is prepared to deliver the damage. Multiple Aura Eagles work well as a team to spread confusion and take down their enemies.

SUMMARY

It can truly be said that no Zoid is perfect, but one model could be considered a perfect solution to a specific requirement. The EZ-170 Aura Eagle, however, was never intended as a solution to a specific problem; it was created to bolster airpower across the board, and this it does very well. While it cannot dominate a dogfight, it can hold its own. It isn't the best platform for raining down ordnance against ground targets, but can deliver substantial damage. It isn't a stealthy unit that can invisibly infiltrate enemy airspace, but it can fool forces long enough to conduct deep recon. The AURA System sows confusion enough to tip the odds in Zenevas' favor in many cases, however, making the Aura Eagle a specialist in its own right.

HARD-HEADED

The kit was from a company called, "Enlighten", but there was nothing light about the head. A heavy, thick, single piece of plastic, it had a scuplt that was all at once organic and mechanical-looking. The plume of feathers reminded me of a harpy eagle; one of the largest avian predators on Earth. I decided that I couldn't leave the beak closed, so I had to saw off the jaw and Dremel out the rest. I used a small Lego hinge (official!) to add the joint.

TALON-TED!

I ad three of these Bionicle feet to make the talons, but there was only one little problem; each only had two toes. I took the third foot and cut the toes off, then mounted them in between the toes of the stock pieces. Using my Dremel, I also sharpened the claws. Finally, I added a black Lego claw at the back of the foot. While it cannot flex, there are two holes so my daughter could reposition the claw for standing or attacking.

FILLING THE GAPS

I admit most of the build is a bit of a cop-out, but I didn't have any really great options for making an eagle body in my Zoids parts... and I was short on time if I was going to give it to her for Christmas. I opted to make the main body and legs out of Bionicles and then use Zoid parts to fill out hte silouette and aesthetics. I also stuffed some capacitors and small computer parts here and there to lose the hollow look that Bionicles tend to have.

OVER THE TOP

IThe body looked good, but it still felt on the scrawny side. I took the legs off of a Jet Falcon and chopped them into a pair of boosters, using toothpaste caps for engine bells. These I mounted to a large piece from Disbellow that also cradled a pair of twin Gatling cannons from a 1/144 Heavy Arms Gundam. Finally, I decided to fill many Bionicle holes using slotted screws.

ASSEMBLING AURA

It was finally time to put it all together. I rather enjoyed seeing the parts, trying to picture how the paint would finally look and hoping my daughter would at least like it... maybe love it. The proportions turned out well, so I decided to go light and more realistic with the ordnance, using what I had of the original bonbs from the Buster Eagle, some missiles from a Baragator, and added some guns for direct fire options.

GALLERY

AURA EAGLE vs. HURRICANEHAWK

Both of these avian Zoids are similarly built for both attack and strike roles. Compared to the Hurricanehawk the Aura Eagle is more of a slower, almost lumbering unit. It has superior armor capable of resisting damage from the hawk's weapons, and its 50mm twin Gatlings vastly overpower the Hawk's paired 30mm guns. In the end, doubt would turn the tide; the Hurricanehawk has no ECM suit to see past the Eagle's illusion, likely to its end.

AURA EAGLE vs. SIOBAHN

At first it would seem that an eagle would esily have the upper hand on a terrestrial opponent, but in this case the match is quite close. Both are in possession of a pair of 50mm Gatling cannons, and both have heavy beam weapons as well. Even though the Aura Eagle carries ground attack ordnance, the Siobhan has a high chance of downing all of it. In this case, should the Eagle come in range, the Siobhan would likely own it.

AURA EAGLE vs. SIAFU

Unlike the prior challenge, this one strongly favors the Eagle. It has superior range on the Siafu, and the Siafu lacks the weaponry and the defensive systems to endure an attack by the Aura Eagle. The Siafu might be fortunate enough to land a shot, but the odds do not favor it.

AURA EAGLE vs LUCHT VUUR

Eagle versus dragon, invisble versus deceiver. Both Zoids are armed with identical 50mm Gatling cannons, though Aura Eagle is the steadier shot, and it has superior direct fire weaponry as well. Both are armed with similar ordnance as well, and with the defensive systems to reasonably survive them. Despite being much slower, the Aura Eagle is quite agile. In the end, however, Lucht Vuur's speed and deadly close-combat arsenal wins the day.

NON-ZOIDS PARTS LIST

Enlighten Blocks War of Glory Griffon

Head

Heavy Arms Gundam

Twin Gatling cannons

Lego

Jaw hinge

Bionicles

Body, legs, tail, joints

Capacitors

Details

Kotobukiya MSG 106

Wing thruster ducts

Brass Screws

Bionicle plug details

Toothpaste caps

Engine bells