Covenant Ghost Bike

Well, it was inevitable that since I've redesigned my Covenant aliens to their new, brick-built versions, I'll need to redesign the vehicles so they can actually sit in them! I dread even trying to do the Spectre this way considering how much trouble I had with the regular minifig version... but for now, here is my new Ghost, version 3, redesigned as of 9/17/2007!

I actually was going to build one of those crazy new Brute vehicles that have been announced... the Brute Chopper, etc., but I got sidetracked with this little guy. I saw that piece that you see being used for the hood (it's from the giant squid in the Aqua Raiders sets) and just HAD to make a Ghost with it. This is the result.

Of course, many of you are probably already noticing the cons of the model. These are obviously the main two:
- The hood is too small. It should go up in front of the driver's face.
- The color is wrong (it's STILL not purple).

However, take a step back for a moment and you may notice a few pros:
- It's sleek, smooth, and compact. It's got style! At least, I think so.
- It's unique. I certainly didn't steal this design from anybody.
- It's cute. That's a good thing in a LEGO, I think.
- Dark blue is way, WAY cooler than purple anyway.
- Do you really want to drive a vehicle where the hood goes up in front of your face?

Here's a comparison shot so you can see just how much more awesome this new LEGO Ghost is than my old Version 2. In fact, it hardly looks like a LEGO anymore! Studless designs tend to do that. Okay, so there are actually two studs showing on the new Ghost, but I think they look better than it did with an ugly tile sticking up right there. Besides, you need some studs there so you can stick on a minifig for boarding action. Playability is always something I strive for.

Next to my Warthog. Yes, the same old Warthog. The new Elites can't sit in it. In fact, the only things different about it are:
- I finally gave it silver tusks instead of white ones, which is rad.
- The suspension is starting to sag because the rubber bands need replacing. Hey, they've only been on there FOUR YEARS!

The unassuming little red dots from my previous models have been replaced with more accurate decals (plus a couple more). Some of you may, like me, see these as an improvement. Others may not. Oh well, can't please everyone.

Of course, here it is seating its intended pilot: my new Elite design! And unlike regular minifigs, his legs actually go around the sides of the vehicle like a real bike. Speaking of which, how is it that 4-foot-tall grunts, 6-foot-tall humans, 7-foot tall Spartans and Elites, and 8-foot tall Brutes can ALL reach the same exact pedals to control this thing? It must have some great adjustability! Which is good, since this LEGO is adjustable as well. I remove one of the 1x1 bricks that connects the front to the back when seating a regular minifig, and add it back in when seating a Brute or Elite.

Personally, I love this model. Have you ever had those moments where you're building a LEGO model and everything just somehow works out right? You find all these great ideas and they actually work perfectly, as if through the magic of LEGO? This entire model was like that (save maybe one idea that I scrapped). It all just... came together. I can't help but like it as a result. In fact, I'd be willing to say this model has a more ingenious construction than anything I've built so far. Maybe I'm finally starting to be able to even touch the bar set by other, far more professional adult LEGO builders? I'd like to think so.

And finally, here it is with a Brute at the helm. He actually fits in the vehicle the best, as his feet actually reach all the way to the pedals (as you can see in the next image). By the way, my Grunts can also drive the vehicle but I forgot to take a picture...

EDIT: Okay, here's one...

In the original Halo, the Ghost had this great hovery-ness to it that made it a thrill to drive. It bobbed up and down and often flew everywhere when you went over a jump! But in Halo 2 that entire hover feeling was lost on all the Covenant vehicles. They had this traction to them, sticking to the terrain, as visualized by the purple glow under the bottom. Not nearly as fun! Here's hoping in Halo 3 things will be more like the old way.

By the way, here's the belly. Not much to see here, but hey, it's still smooth. I could have put some purple lights along the back of those flaps there to represent the thrusters that you can ignite in the game with the secondary fire button, but there was one obstacle to that plan: I couldn't find any purple lights.

The Ghost in battle! By the way, the purple dishes I keep using to make the vehicle hover is really just a little stand I built, not part of the vehicle itself. Although, I suppose it could have been...

ZOMG BATTLE DAMAGE ABILITY!!!!1
Seriously though, is that cool or what? This was another of those things that just jumped out at me while I was building the vehicle. I suddenly realized I could put a little greebling under the hood and make a great easy battle damage feature!

Honestly, if this battle damage playability feature doesn't endear you to my little Ghost at least a bit then there's just something wrong with you, and you shouldn't even be playing with toys. Anyway, here's another thing to note about the battle damage feature: you can easily rotate the cannons to make them crooked. Did you know the cannons become bent in the game when your Ghost gets damaged, which even causes them to fire off-center? Well yeah, they do. Next time you get your Ghost beat up in Halo 2, try firing off into the distance.

And just for fun, I thought I'd finish off the page with my favorite photo of the whole bunch. Enjoy!

UPDATE: If you're interested, here's what the Ghost would look like in dark red...

Some people use red for their Covenant LEGO vehicles instead of blue (besides those who actually use purple), but personally I don't think it looks as close. For some reason, blue just looks closer than red to purple, in my eyes, and a red Covenant vehicle looks strange... But hey, in the color spectrum, purple is between red and blue... so I guess either way is equally accurate or inaccurate. The only correct color would be purple. True, some of the vehicles look more reddish purple and some more bluish, with the Spectre being the most red and the Wraith being the most blue... but the Ghost is pretty much in the middle if you ask me. And besides, I like to stick to one color so that my Covvie vehicles match each other. Since I started with blue, that's what I'm sticking with for now.
Still, red IS my favorite color, and I just happened to have the right pieces to make my ghost in dark red, so here ya go!

As you can see, I didn't make decals for this version, so you also get to see what it looks like without decals. Also note that while I wasn't able to find the 1x1 slopes on the wingtips in dark red, I WAS able to find a piece I wanted to use for the nose from the very start, but was unable to find in dark BLUE! Ah well, you win some you lose some.

Another wild idea:

Old Versions

The Ghost was the very first Halo LEGO creation I made. It was posted on the website, along with the Banshee, on 10/27/2003. This sloppy original was the most basic creation imaginable, as you can see below...

Needless to say, this was not adequate for long. So when Halo 2 came out, I built this... It was posted on the website about a year later, on September 19, 2004:

A pretty big improvement, at least until everyone else started coming out with better ones... again.

Please note, by the way, that the pinkish dots on the wings are actually red; my camera just made them look weird.

Again, here's what the vehicle would look like IF it were purple. Which, it isn't. Sorry.