Hot on the heels of my newest squad member, Smoke, comes my newest Mando custom. While not a member of my Imperial Mando squad, he is a new rival of Boba Fett's and a powerful ally or an indomitable enemy, depending on which side you're on. As I revealed in my spoiler about him, he's stealing bounty hunting jobs from Boba Fett in order to bank roll his own private army (which might be the Cobra to my Imp Mandos' GI-Joe. Not sure yet)... This guy was a pretty intense customizing experience to make and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The royal guardsman's head was a pain to work with as it's a bit deformed. So a I cut a better jawline, and gave him a new hairdo.
I present:
Zayd Kyro (rhymes with Paid Jyro), born the son of the Mandalorian warrior Ahmahn Kyro, who, before the clone wars retired his armor and became a royal senate guard. When war broke out and the galaxy was thrust into turmoil, Ahmahn was recruited to train a battalion of clone troopers in the arts of Mandalorian combat. Ahmahn was slain during the clone wars and his son, Zayd vowed to take up his mantel and carry on the legacy. Growing up, Zayd's father felt it was important to tutor his son not only in Mandalorian combat, but also in their history and their culture. It was in his studies that, as a teen, Zayd chanced across a section about an ancient Mando warrior cult (much like the Greek Spartans) known as the Mandalegionnaires. The legionnaires adhered to a strict code of honor both on the battle field and off. Believing that their home world of Mandalore held the keys to their becoming the strongest warriors in the galaxy they built vast fortresses deep beneath the planet's surface. In these tombs they stored their arcane knowledge, weapons, armor, and relics. Although the Sith wiped them out many millenniums ago, their secrets remained sealed in their crypts. After his father was killed Zayd traveled to Mandalore and sought out these secret temples for the power they were rumored to hold. At last finding them he began to set up a base of operations hidden from even his fellow Mandalorians. Combining his father's Royal senate guard armor with that of the armor he found in the tombs, Zayd crafted his signature look and applied the yellow and orange coloring of the Mandalegionnaires to his outfit. He shaved his hair into a mohawk much like the crests on his father's royal guard helm, and fashioned one of them onto his helmet. He tattooed his face in the shape of the most recognizable Mandalorian feature, the T-Visor as this shape was inspired by traditional facial tattooing and he hand tooled his kama to reflect the planet Mandalore, believing that all else was insignificant when compared to the power of his people. On that day, with his armor complete, Zayd became a Mandalegionnaire forever. He then set about raising funds to recruit and outfit the new generation of Legionnaires. As a bounty hunter and mercenary for hire he's a constant thorn in Fett's side, and some are even considering him to be better than Fett. Often carrying out various assassinations, and capturing his prey to return to those paying before even being hired. It is likely that Fett and Zayd will face off more than once. Only the best Mando will live.
Zayd's amror combines Neo Crusader elements with modern Mando styles and Royal Guard crafting. in addtion to his mid range sighted laser carbine he also carries a light projectile spray-rifle, an armor piercing repeating pistol and in a scabbard on his jetpack he has a machete. His cape features a graphic of Mandalore (the planet) and spelled out in Mando'a lettering on the reverse side is the word "Mandalore". (I wanted his cape details to look somewhat hand painted as he would have had to custom make these). He has multiple pockets and pouches for various items, his armored suit can be sealed against the vacuum of space and his jetpack attaches to an on board life support pack with an extended oxygen supply (more than the standard mando suit) for long stints in space, underwater, or in a toxic environment. The royal guard chest plate, shoulders, shins, codpiece, and back plate are all cortosis alloy coated, thanks to his father's ingenuity, and his wanting to survive if a Sith or Jedi ever attacked the senate.
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DSC_2545Mandalore planet graphic:
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DSC_2557Side arms:
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DSC_2561"Mandalore" in Mando'a lettering:
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