CSA-TMS-01LW Columbia flight mode

This mecha design comes from a gargantuan Gundam alternate history story I concocted a few years ago, where, among other things, the Confederacy survived the American Civil War by retreating to the Caribbean and World War II ended with a draw between the Allies and Axis, which leaves the world sort of hovering in a permanent six-way Cold War. I scrapped the whole thing when I realized it was stupid and more or less turning into an excuse to have Gundams fighting Nazis and Confederates and Communists at the same time, but the mecha designs live on.

The Lightwing Drive was pretty much my excuse for a super high performance gimmick to add to the Gundams and such, inspired by the beam wings from V Gundam. The CSA-TMS-01LW Columbia is the Confederacy's pride and joy, a transforming number designed as the CSA's first entry into atmospheric combat mobile suits. It's well-armed with experimental heavy beam cannons and the Lightwing Drive gives it obscene maneuverability, and in the hands of ace pilot Lieutenant Colonel Charlotte Stewart, it's something of a symbol of hope to the miserable people in the dictatorial Confederacy. This is the flight mode.

I unabashedly used the Altairlion from Super Robot Wars as a basis for this design, with a dash of Union Flag from Gundam 00 for ironic flavor.