MLC-3 Mobile Laser Cannon

"—That little MLC started rollin' and firin', takin' out equipment and personnel at random—"

The MLC-3 Mobile Laser Cannon was a small, one-person tank used by the Rebel Alliance on the planet Hoth.

Characteristics[]

The MLC-3 Mobile Laser Cannon tank^[2] was designed for perimeter defense, allowing security teams to patrol a facility's surrounding terrain. It was armed with a pair of medium repeating blaster cannons and moved on heavy treads,^[4] with a compact chassis and removable transparent dome.^[1]

While the MLC-3 was designed to operate with a single pilot,^[1] its motion and attack circuits could be jury-rigged to run autonomously, firing at random on a time program.^[3]

History[]

MLC-3s were used by the Rebel Alliance on Hoth prior to the evacuation of Echo Base.^[2]

According a tall tale told by rebel pilot Wedge Antilles,^[5] MLC-3s were used by scavenger Arns Grimraker and his associates while raiding the remains of the Battle of Hoth. One such unit was rigged by Antilles to fire upon the scavengers and their equipment, providing the distraction necessary for the pilot to escape the planet aboard the GR-75 medium transport^[3] Death Merchant.^[5]

Behind the scenes[]

MLC-3 Mobile Laser Cannon — Kenner's MLC-3 Mini-rig

The MLC-3 was one of Kenner's Mini-Rigs, and like many of the toys in that series, was an original design,^[6] though it has since appeared in Star Wars (1977) 78.^[3]

Although the name "Mobile Laser Cannon" suggests that the MLC-3's weapons are lasers,^[1] they have been described as blaster cannons by The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia^[4] and StarWars.com. The StarWars.com article "Offscreen, but Not Forgotten: Mini-Rigs, Body-Rigs, and Other Kenner Vehicles" incorrectly states that an MLC-3 was used by Wes Janson in Hoth Stuff!,^[2] when it was in fact used by Wedge Antilles.^[3]