Friday, December 2, 2022

[CUSTOM] Bandai 30MM 1/144 eEXM-30-A Espossito α (Commander Type)


Model Number: eEXM-30-A
Designation: Earth Alliance Limited Production 4th Generation High Performance Transformable Air Superiority EXAMAC System

Why go for maneuverability when you can have supermaneuverability?

Build Notes
For the light review on the Espossito α, visit: https://gunplanerd.blogspot.com/2021/12/kit-insight-bandai-30mm-1144-eexm-30.html Aside from a darker, low-visibility colour scheme, the Commander Type has a new long rifle from a Kotobukiya MSG set and two pairs of variable-sweep wings from the Bandai Builder Parts HD MS Wing 01 set.

Fictional Lore
With the proven success of the Espossito α in combat against Maxion forces, Earth Alliance command hurriedly pushed through the development of a higher-performance, commander-use version of the EXAMAC for accelerated combat deployment. Traditional development pathways would have taken more than twice the time, had it not been for the Maxion's penchant for adapting its forces to every new weapon the Earth Alliance (and Bailon Army) were throwing at it. Even now, unconfirmed reports of a new Spinatio design were emerging from commanders in thickly-forested G-City - groundpounding, mass production types equipped with weapons intended to demolish and obliterate.

While the Espossito was formidable in the air due to its sleek, arrowhead shape, this blocky design was also its Achilles' Heel, a weakness that was quickly exploited by Bow-Type Spinatios. Instead of actively tracking Espossitos in flight as per their standard anti-aircraft protocol, Bow-Type Spinatios quickly adjusted their targeting systems to first predict an Espossito's flight path with unbelievable accuracy before placing a lethal shot right at its first turn, knowing full well that a transformed Espossito flying at full speed will never be able to move out of the way in time. Many Espossitos were lost to this new tactic, setting back the Earth Alliance's strategy to achieve air superiority before their main offensive.

Built from the same assembly line for the Espossito, the Commander Type received a number of critical enhancements from the base frame. The most visible addition was the two pairs of variable-sweep wings added to the side skirt armour and calf units of the airframe, granting the Commander Type greatly improved mobility both in EXAMAC and Flight Mode. The wings were particularly useful in Flight Mode and basically granted the Commander Type supermaneuverability, allowing the machine to pull off extreme aerial acrobatics, make super-tight turns in mid-air, immediately arrest or reverse their forward momentum as well as evade enemy projectiles without the need to deploy chaff. Commander Type pilots were observed twisting their engines along with making microadjustments to all four wings, effectively confusing Bow-Type Spinatio targeting systems and rendering their flight path prediction algorithm useless. These extreme moves exerted tremendous G-force on pilots, and only the grittiest mavericks were able to successfully pull off such risky manoeuvres.

Commander Types wielded one more weapon over its mass production brethren: a long beam rifle that was quite effective at taking out enemy EXMACs from medium to long range. The Commander Type also retained its double beam rifle as backup armament, along with the spiked shield for defense and last-resort attacks. Hardpoints on its airframe also allowed Commander Types to carry additional ordnance such as missiles, rockets and smart bombs, although not without significant cost to its aerial mobility. Lastly, a command fin mounted at the back of the EXAMAC's head unit allowed for medium command-and-control capabilities, with Commander Types able to act as AWACS for its squadron.

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