Commission Custom #13: XZ-450 HECATOMB

[Maethius]

HISTORY
The Independent State of Mhurahn arose from feuding noble houses that broke from the old Zenebas territories that shattered in the last war. As the Empire pulled itself back together, Mhurahn retreated for a distant shore. They took what remained of their Imperial military units with them, but hardly enough to prevent being retaken by the Empire. They decided to dig in new defenses in a place their histories showed was a former military research and testing base that had been uncovered by the Cataclysm’s rearrangement of the ocean levels, and they discovered more power than they could have imagined. The remains of a half-build Seismosaurus was found at the base, which cut into an ancient facility with some connection to a mythological power. Scientists unlocked some of the secrets of the ancient base, and those secrets were integrated into the half-developed Seismosaurus. What arose from the rubble was the Hecatomb; a Zoid powered with a technology intended to bring about the ultimate end to all Zoid warfare.


This is my 13th commission piece and, once again, it has risen to the top of my favorite builds. My intent was to make something truly daunting for my Age of War storyline but also to adhere more closely to the silhouette of what the actual animal was like... or so we think at present. The Puertosaurus is believed to be the widest animal that has lived on earth, including the blue whale. It was a massive sauropod with vertebrae as wide as an ankylosaurus. For me, it seemed a natural choice as a gigantic, mobile battle station.

As always, please look over my build page and cite your comments and criticisms below. Feel free to post them on my FaceBook page for Maethius Custom Works, as well.









The AOW Build Page

[Hanyoutai]

This is a truly excellent build! It's amazing how unique it looks, obviously its own Zoid, while still showing off the heritage of the Seismosaurus with the large number of Seismo parts used. It does a good job at representing the Pue as well. One thing I can't help but admire is the color coordination, and number of colors used. It was a great choice to add warning signs to those first couple tail segments. The way it feeds into the 2 darker gun segments, and then tail sections with no guns, makes it look like a gradiented dorsal stripe going down its side. Then you turn off the lights, and realize what the real dorsal stripe is! The purple detailing / glow in the dark is top notch, too.

To be honest, I really can't spot any weak points in this design. It's well balanced and has a great weapon setup. The repurposed missile pods in the sides look excellent. It's one of those things that seems like it should have been an obvious defense for these types of Zoids from the start, and is well suited to its broad build. It's also nice to see a unique cockpit (eye?) design.

[Snowflake]

beauuuutifulllll
It looks like a natural evolution of the design

[dchan]

Truly a masterpiece! I love the elegance this behemoth exudes while also looking so sturdy and functional. I like how you kept the weapons platform more restrained so that huge cannon can be a big focal point. As Hanyoutai said, the head design is striking! Very well done there too, gives a nice rest area with the smooth simplicity of the visor that really lets you appreciate the eyes.

As always it's a privilege to see your step by step progress and read your commentary on the build. The double layer of torso joints is amazing! Looks so natural and secure and stable. The blending of the Giga parts with the Seismo ones looks seamless too. The color scheme is very smart too-- not too overt but that just lets the accents pop so much more. Though the parts come from so many different sources, the proportions you've chosen make it look like they were all just fit together naturally, though I know it was really just a ton of clever planning and hard work

I think this is one of your most cohesively wonderful customs to date. I sometimes compare Zoids to real creatures with their taxonomic trees, and I can see this being a natural (and more powerful) relative of the Seismosaurus but adapted for a different role.

[Maethius]

Thank you all for the comments! It means a lot to me to get honest critique on my work.

This custom started out as a pretty clunky, uncertain design, and it evolved organically as it changed... the body jointing altered the leg design, which in turn changed my approach to the neck and tail, which then impacted the need for a new head. In the end, I really did want to do justice to the silhouette of the animal as it is known, but also use the concept of forced Zoid evolution to make it appear to be a technological next step. The massive gun is a focal point of my story, and so it needed to be a focal point on the Zoid as well. When I started this build, I was pretty excited about where it could go, but once I finished it, it really has become one of my favorite builds. One of the big inspirations behind it was actually Zee's Norea (Amphicoelius type) on his Zoidology site:



I've always admired his work!

[Gojulas Omega]

Another excellent build, nice work.

The first time I saw it, I feel it's kind of familiar, and now I know why I feel this way.