The Cyclops has joined the vehicles on the Universe page and gave us a lot of new information on it. A major theme for the information is the confirmation that the many variants Mega Bloks has created over the past few years are indeed canon to the story. The question is however, which Mega Bloks sets are the variants mentioned on the page? Some are easier to tell, while otherwise not so much. Being a huge fan of the Mega Bloks line and the Cyclops itself, I decided to try my best to sort everything out.
There are currently ten Mega Bloks Cyclops sets, two of which are the same model just a different color, so there are nine different versions we’ve seen.
- Jungle/Desert Strike with a devastating wrist mounted piledriver- Arctic with a wrist mounted flamethrower- Attack with dual shoulder mounted M12s- Offworld with a high-tension energy blow torch- Sector 12 Police with a devastating heavy machine gun and riot shield- Flood Containment with an arm-mounted energy cannon- Heavy Assault with a missile launcher and machine gun replacing the two three fingered hands- The new unnamed Fall 2015 ‘Miner’ with a wrist mounted mining laser- And finally the new unnamed Fall 2015 ‘Flood’ variant with a Flood tentacle replacing the left armThe Universe page lists several variants with two classes. The ‘Major’ and the ‘Minor’ variants. Both have some nice hints to which set belongs to which variant, with Minor having some more in-depth descriptions.
Major Variants
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Mark III [A]: Initial prototype using neural interface controls. The sealed canopy used an armored carapace visually similar to that utilized in the later MJOLNIR EVA variants.- Mark III: Unarmed production version.- Mark III [B-II]: Unofficial nomenclature for exoskeletons which features redesigned feet and a more robust, sealed cockpit. Many also use alternate power-packs that replace the expensive fusion generator with hydrogen-burning turbines or high-density power cells.- Mark III [B1]: Upgraded models produced by Hannibal Weapon Systems with composite armor plating and hardpoints for weapon installation. These refits proved popular with paramilitary security forces in many Earth cities.- Mark III [M1]: Armed variant produced by Lethbridge Industrial currently undergoing field trials with the UNSC Army. These units are multi-purpose assault platforms with shoulder heavy weapon hardpoints and Titanium-A plating.Minor Variants
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Peacekeeper: Popular with police SWAT teams in Earth’s megacities, these Mark III [A1] units are usually equipped with a large riot shield and a low-pressure autocannon that can fire a variety of riot-control munitions. Most were destroyed after being pressed into active combat duty.- Protector: Deployed in high-threat civil rescue missions, Protector units (usually older B-II units) are used by firefighters and medical response teams for deployment in situations where larger vehicles cannot fit, and unprotected workers would risk death. A typical configuration mounts a large tank of fire-retardant foam and a high-pressure projector, and a high-torque gripping arm for ripping apart mangled vehicles to get at trapped occupants or breaking the reinforced walls seen in many arcologies.- Breaker: These Cyclops frames mount specialized tools for shipbreaking and construction, which may include high-power plasma-cutters, hydraulic rams, or assorted cutting blades. Wreckers employed by the UNSC and contractors are vacuum sealed and kept busy slicing up shattered ship hulks and stations that remain in orbit around Earth or excavating half-melted buildings on the vitrified surfaces of former colonies.- Hazop: Cyclops with biolab-grade environmental sealing and a heavy flamethrower are sometimes assigned as support vehicles to Spartan assessment and containment teams at Forerunner sites which may house Flood samples. Unfortunately, it is often necessary to destroy these suits at the end of successful containment missions, as properly cleaning every nook and crevice for traces of Flood spores is prohibitively challenging. A worst-case scenario - so far explored only in simulations - is one in which the operator is infected by the Flood and FSC-based biomass further augments the existing exoskeleton armature.With what we know from both Halo Waypoint itself and Mega Bloks’s Halo page, we can take some rather accurate guesses as to what the major and minor variants look like using the Mega Bloks sets as well as what models the minor variants are under.
Let’s look at the classic version we’ve seen in Halo Wars and the Flood. The HRUNTING Mark III Exoskeleton is a redesigned version of the Mark III exoskeleton, a predecessor to the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. It’s likely that this model is the Mega Bloks Jungle and Desert Strike sets and the Mark III [A] and Mark III given that these are the original models and the name of one model is shared with the overall name for the exoskeleton. It’s possible the newly revealed Miner variant is also this model seeing as they are used on Reach’s titanium mines.
Next is the Mark III [B-II] which featured redesigned feet and a more sealed canopy. It’s likely that this is the Breaker minor variant seeing as these models are used for ship construction and vacuum sealed, which would need a stronger canopy. The Offworld Mega Bloks set shares a similar description with the Breaker so it’s likely they are the same, plus it comes with a blowtorch.
Next up is the Mark III [B1], a model popular in security forces on Earth. This is easily the other model used besides Mark III [A1] for the Peacekeeper and Protector minor variants and the NMPD Mega Bloks set. Shame we never saw these in ODST.
Finally for the major variants is the Mark III [M1] which is used mainly for combat. These include the Hazop minor variant and the Mega Bloks Attack, Heavy Assault, Artic, and Flood Containment sets seeing as these Cyclops are used for combat scenarios. If you look at the Hazop description, you’ll see that it’s vulnerable to the Flood so it’s likely the Hazop variants are also the Flood Cyclops, with some obvious changes made during the Flood’s takeover of the exoskeleton.
So what do you guys think? Did I nail all, if not most, of the similarities? If you think that there is any errors or you think I made some errors please tell me in the comments and I’ll gladly fix them.
Halo Universe Cyclops Page: https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/cyclops
Halo Mega Blok’s various Cyclops sets: https://halo.megabloks.com/en-us/toys/construction?search=cyclops