M274 Ultra-Light ATV "Mongoose"

posted 01/10/2009

Ah yes, the M274 Mongoose ULATV. When it didn't show up in Halo 2, everyone raised a fuss, so it ended up in the sequel. The vehicle, which is pretty much an engine on four wheels and nothing else, is of questionable tactical value in combat situations. Actually, it's highly impractical and typically only sees use in "race" gametypes that require it, when transporting a flag quickly across a map, or when the player is attempting to get a certain achievement.

A lot of people have asked me why I never made a Mongoose before now, seeing as it is such a small and simple vehicle. Well, that's the problem: small doesn't mean simple; it means complicated in order to get accuracy and detail in such a compact size. And when you're done, it doesn't look like much work could have gone into it.

Well, despite what you may think it looks like, it took me the better part of a day to build this little sucker. I changed the wheels three or four times (it seems every time I use LEGO wheels that they're always too big or too small...), the nose twice, and the back end took me forever to get right at all. I also had to order the clear 2x2 tile from Bricklink because I just cannot be satisfied with using a solid colored piece for a windshield. As the Monitor would say, "Unacceptable! Simply unacceptable!" The front end may look similar to other LEGO Mongooses (mongeese?) you've seen around the web. Because, hey, it's the best way to do it, IMO.

The wheel axles can rotate slightly so that the vehicle may be "posed" for cooler action shots. You can also use this feature to "turn" the vehicle, even though it leans in the opposite direction from which it is turning, and the wheels tend to jam when doing this...

I intended to make headlight decals for the Mongoose (by the way - if the Warthog is shortened to the 'hog, does that make the Mongoose the 'goose?), but I wasn't sure if they would blow over well, and they always ended up looking unsettlingly like a pair of eyes. I still might go back and add some later.

I finally got the Mongoose Mowdown achievement when playing Lone Wolves on the Isolation map. I just drove the 'goose around throughout the game until I finally hit a guy in just the right way to kill him. Getting that achievement is like a lesson in the proper usage of the Mongoose. In other words: don't try to run people over with it. You're just wasting your time.

Side-by-side with the Ghost. Be sure to check them out in action in my Capture the Flag diorama!