Micronaut Aliens - Hornetroid

Vital Statistics
	Role : Aerial attack vehicle Alignment : Evil Height : 38 cm x 25.5 cm x 18 cm (l x w x h) Wingspan: 40 cm Weapons : Mandibles, laser cannon, dual rocket launchers, antenna lasers, purple bomb? Transportation : Four wings, wheeled legs Special Features : Flapping wings, hinged cockpit, moving mandibles Accessories : None Release Date : 1979

Vital Statistics

Role : Aerial attack vehicle
Alignment : Evil
Height : 38 cm x 25.5 cm x 18 cm (l x w x h)
Wingspan: 40 cm
Weapons : Mandibles, laser cannon, dual rocket launchers, antenna lasers, purple bomb?
Transportation : Four wings, wheeled legs
Special Features : Flapping wings, hinged cockpit, moving mandibles
Accessories : None
Release Date : 1979

Description

Hornetroid side view Hornetroid is the most heavily-armed alien Micronaut, and, arguably, the most heavily-armed Micronaut. The first weapon that comes to mind is the dual missile cannon mounted on top of the wing-flapping assembly. These missiles do not fire unfortunately, probably due to some child firing missiles down his throat (sounds like natural selection, no?). The missile platform looks out-of-place for Hornetroid, in fact, the original plans did not include those missiles.

The second most obvious weapon is the laser cannon mounted on the tail. This weapon also looks a bit out-of-place; it cannot yaw across the tail without being pitched upward. Fortunately, the tail gun can pitch and yaw. The antenna are also assumed to be laser weapons (we've all watched Space Ghost, right?) The mandibles are linked to Hornetroid's tongue, so that once a hapless victim is pushed into Hornetroid's mouth, the mandibles close. The final "weapon" is a purple bomb (?) or bubble/tail cupola that loosely fits into the tail. Maybe it's a laser stinger, maybe it's a bomb, who knows? This purple attachment also looks as though it could easily fit into Hornetroid's wing-flapping assembly - hmmmm.

Hornetroid - cockpit open Hornetroid is, obviously, modeled after a Hornet. One might question the coloring since hornets are yellow with black stripes and wasps are all black - the original Hornetroid plans did call for a yellow-black combination, which made Hornetroid look very striking and even more formidable than the black scheme. Hornetroid has collapsible landing gear to improve aerodynamics. Although the front gear locks into place, the main gear must be held in place manually. The bug-eyed cockpit opens to reveal seating and controls for one. Most catalogs show Antron in the cockpit, but it is pretty tricky to get all of those arms to behave. A Time Traveler works much better, though no Time Traveler in his right mind would get that close to those mandibles!

Hornetroid's wings flap by means of a finger pad that is mounted just behind the wings. Wing travel doesn't span more than 20°, but it's sufficient to propel Hornetroid through the skies at a frightening pace. There are four wings altogether - two main, long wings, and two auxiliary rear wings. Both are mounted to a common bolt on each side of the flapping linkage, and both can swivel about 180°.

Description
	Hornetroid is the most heavily-armed alien Micronaut, and, arguably, the most heavily-armed Micronaut. The first weapon that comes to mind is the dual missile cannon mounted on top of the wing-flapping assembly. These missiles do not fire unfortunately, probably due to some child firing missiles down his throat (sounds like natural selection, no?). The missile platform looks out-of-place for Hornetroid, in fact, the original plans did not include those missiles.
The second most obvious weapon is the laser cannon mounted on the tail. This weapon also looks a bit out-of-place; it cannot yaw across the tail without being pitched upward. Fortunately, the tail gun can pitch and yaw. The antenna are also assumed to be laser weapons (we've all watched Space Ghost, right?) The mandibles are linked to Hornetroid's tongue, so that once a hapless victim is pushed into Hornetroid's mouth, the mandibles close. The final "weapon" is a purple bomb (?) or bubble/tail cupola that loosely fits into the tail. Maybe it's a laser stinger, maybe it's a bomb, who knows? This purple attachment also looks as though it could easily fit into Hornetroid's wing-flapping assembly - hmmmm.
	Hornetroid is, obviously, modeled after a Hornet. One might question the coloring since hornets are yellow with black stripes and wasps are all black - the original Hornetroid plans did call for a yellow-black combination, which made Hornetroid look very striking and even more formidable than the black scheme. Hornetroid has collapsible landing gear to improve aerodynamics. Although the front gear locks into place, the main gear must be held in place manually. The bug-eyed cockpit opens to reveal seating and controls for one. Most catalogs show Antron in the cockpit, but it is pretty tricky to get all of those arms to behave. A Time Traveler works much better, though no Time Traveler in his right mind would get that close to those mandibles!
Hornetroid's wings flap by means of a finger pad that is mounted just behind the wings. Wing travel doesn't span more than 20°, but it's sufficient to propel Hornetroid through the skies at a frightening pace. There are four wings altogether - two main, long wings, and two auxiliary rear wings. Both are mounted to a common bolt on each side of the flapping linkage, and both can swivel about 180°.

The Box