History Main / MotileVehicularComponents

* Captain Giantu's ship in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' has extremely mobile engine mountings.

[[quoteright:620:[[Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato2199 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20230729_220802.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:620:Above: A Cosmo Zero stored in the hangar. Below: A Cosmo Zero ready for action.]]

Gun turrets, [[WhenThingsSpinScienceHappens rotating engine components]] (ex turbofans, propellers/impellers, [[SwirlyEnergyThingy swirly energy thingies]], etc.), CentrifugalGravity spinners, and control surfaces are specifically discounted, unless they're able to up-stakes and move around on the hull. They're mobile, but not mobile ''enough.'' More to the point, the audience expects them to move, albeit in a very specific way.

** The HandWave in the original series for why Gundams were built in a humanoid form is that it's so they can maneuver in such a way that they can reserve all their delta-V for actual forward motion, like how a properly-trained astronaut can reorient themself by using the momentum of their limbs. A nice side-effect of this is that they can be used as either {{Space Fighter}}s or HumongousMecha, depending on whether they're deployed in orbit or on the ground. Adding hands to their forelimbs allowed tactical flexibility by quickly changing weapons.
** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', ''Minerva''-class space battleships can retract their combat control centers into the heavily-armored core of the ship when under combat conditions.
* In ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', Faye's ship has its guns mounted on a pair of bulky mechanical arms, themselves mounted to either side of the cockpit.
* Smaller ships in ''Anime/OutlawStar'' utilize mechanical arms (they're called out as repurposed cargo loading equipment) to effect Grappler Wrestling moves InSpace on other ships, and act as quick-change points for certain kinds of weaponry (an SMG the size of a car and an equally big tactical tomahawk).
* ''Anime/SuperdimensionFortressMacross''[=/=]''Anime/RoboTech'':
** The SDF-1's [[WaveMotionGun Reflex Cannon]] is built into its bow, which split apart into a WaveMotionTuningFork when firing in Episode 1. Several miles of irreplaceable conduit being sucked into hyperspace after [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique an in-atmosphere FTL jump]] nescessitates the ship being rebuilt on-the-fly into a full-blown TransformingMecha in order to fire the reflex cannon when in combat.
** In-between a Variable Fighter's giant robot and fighter jet forms is the attack-helicopter-like Gerwalk([=SDF=]:M)[=/=]Guardian(RT) form, which looks like half a fighter jet with arms and (mostly immobile) legs coming off of it. It's useful for [[GiantRobotHandsSaveLives rescue operations]] and [[IdiosyncraticMechaStorage storage]]. Variable Fighters can also extend thin, wiry repair arms to help fix each other out in the field.
* ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'' and ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato2199'':
** The eponymous battleship has a pair of retractable "wings" that extend from the port and starboard hull and aid the ship with in-atmosphere flight.
** The Cosmo Zero fighter craft's wings and nosecone fold upward to economize space when not in flight.

[[folder:Films--Animated]]

[[folder:Films--Live-Action]]

* ''Franchise/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy:''

* ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'': Gunstar One had an unique new feature that separated it from other Gunstars, a prototype weapon called Death Blossom Mode, installed by Grig. Panels along the engine block would open up, referred to by Grig as Petals, and expose [[PhotoProtoNeutronTorpedo Photon Orb launchers]] and extra laser cannons, which would, when engaged, allow the Gunstar to [[DeathInAllDirections spin in a spherical axis and obliterate every target in range.]]

** In ''Film/StarWarsThePhantomMenace'', Darth Maul's ship is built around a spherical cockpit, and its control surfaces ''rotate out of the way'' to open the door.
** In ''Film/StarWarsAttackOfTheClones'', Count Dooku's personal ship is able to deploy a hidden SolarSail by opening up its quadrupartite nose cone.
** By the time of ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'', the Rebellion's basic starfighter is the the X-Wing. The ship is named after its ability to, well, open its wings into an "X"-shaped configuration. This connotes DivertingPower from its engines to its quartet of laser cannons.
** ''Film/StarWarsReturnOfTheJedi'':

* In ''[[Literature/{{Leviathan}} Behemoth,]]'' the Orient Express has mechanical arms to aid in loading cargo.

* In the original ''Series/KnightRider,'' [=KITT=] could go into Super Pursuit Mode when extra speed was needed. The trunk lid would rise up revealing extra exhaust vents, the door panels would extend to provide extra air intakes, the front bumper would extend out revealing an extra spoiler to keep the car on the ground, etc.

** By the 32nd Century in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', detached warp nacelles are a standard feature of starships. Book's personal starship is basically a living space with a bunch of constantly shifting parts surrounding it, which rearrange based on whatever need is currently required.

* Classic ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' product ''Supplement 7 Traders and Gunboats''. The Express Boat Tender starship cannot maneuver while recovering smaller ships. To defend itself in those situations, it has two weapon turrets that can move around on its hull on tracks so they can fire in more directions than a stationary turret could.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Ork battlewagons can have what is called a "Grabba," a huge power klaw(sic) on the end of a mechanical arm. It grants a melee attack to the vehicle. Canonically, it's to well, grab an enemy vehicle and hold it in-place for boarding actions.

* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy:''
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime,'' Samus' Gunship has a quartet of articulated thrusters on its ventral (down-when-in-gravity) side that it uses as landing gear.
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption,'' Samus' redesigned ship has missile tubes built into its landing gear, and its main engines swivel to provide VTOL capabilities.
* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftIILegacyOfTheVoid,'' the Terran Liberator Gunship can retract its air-to-air missile batteries, open up its hull, rotate its engines over and down, and bring its manually targeted [[{{BFG}} Liberator Cannon]] to bear.

* In ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheReds,'' the American Crusader tank can swap between regular and HoverTank modes by rotating its tracks out of the way.

* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'':
** The seven destroyer-class ships that are given out as bonuses for buying a lifetime subscription all have moving parts that change configuration based on two flight modes.
** The ''Avenger''- and ''Arbiter''-class battlecruisers have armored shutters that close over the viewports, windows, and warp nacelles when the ship goes to RedAlert.
* ''Transformers'' video games:
** ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'': All Transformers have the ability to go into a tertiary mode that allows them to hover as a fairly stable firing platform. Generally, for ground-based Transformers this means their wheels (or treads) flip downwards to provide lift while weapons flip out, while for air-based Transformers this sometimes involves their thrusters moving around to point downwards or the emergence of rotors. This is carried over to [[VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron the sequel]].
** ''VideoGame/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'': Similar to the ''War For Cybertron''/''Fall Of Cybertron'' examples above, the game adaptation introduces the concept of "Stealth Force" to the various Transformers. This basically translates to various weapons emerging from the vehicle modes, and the developers described this as acting as the "armoured" form compared to the "speed" of the alternate modes and "offense" of the robot mode. It was also one of the big gimmicks of the [[MerchandiseDriven related toyline]].

* Certain real-life spacecraft have what are known as "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimbaled_thrust gimbaled thrusters]]," which are rocket nozzles mounted in a ball-and-socket joint. They're much more accurate and less bulky than the older vernier thrusters, which were little more than a cluster of five small rocket nozzles mounted on a big box containing a fuel manifold.

** Near the end of UsefulNotes/TheColdWar ('80s-'90s), both NATO and the Soviet Union were experimenting with something called a Variable-Sweep Wing or "swing-wing" aircraft. At low speeds, the wings spread wide, and at high speeds (that is, trans-sonic and mach speeds), they swiveled close to the fuselage to reduce drag. Almost all NATO signatories have a fighter jet with this feature. This is a sort of "variable geometry wing."
** Less common variable geometry wings are "oblique wings," which swivel around a central point, telescoping wings, which get longer or shorter as necessary, folding wings for storage, and to modify their atmospheric profiles on-the-fly (so to speak), and even "polymorphic wings" that can swap between monoplane and biplane configurations.
** Certain supersonic aircraft have a feature amusingly referred to as a "droop snoot," wherein the nosecone can point itself down ("the snoot would droop," according to one designer who worked on the Concord) to get out of the pilots field of view. Supersonic airplanes are very long and thin to reduce drag, and such a long nosecone can interfere with the pilot's sight.

* Offshore oil drilling rigs have four engines; one at the end of each leg. These engines are able to rotate freely in order to keep the rig stationary.

* The German Army's standard tank-transporter of WW 2, the [=SdAh=] 117, was meant to be towed with its load behind a heavy lorry or half-track. However, the forward section of the 117 was a detachable vehicle in its own right, which could detach itself and move off to one side so as to allow a tank to be loaded. It would then manoevre back into position and re-attach, then becoming part of the drone unit towed behind the prime vehicle.

* ''Transformers'' video games:
** ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'': All Transformers have the ability to go into a tertiary mode that allows them to hover as a fairly stable firing platform. Generally, for ground-based Transformers this means their wheels (or treads) flip downwards to provide lift while weapons flip out, while for air-based Transformers this sometimes involves their thrusters moving around to point downwards or the emergence of rotors. This is carried over to [[VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron the sequel]].
** ''VideoGame/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'': Similar to the ''War For Cybertron''/''Fall Of Cybertron'' examples above, the game adaptation introduces the concept of "Stealth Force" to the various Transformers. This basically translates to various weapons emerging from the vehicle modes, and the developers described this as acting as the "armoured" form compared to the "speed" of the alternate modes and "offense" of the robot mode. It was also one of the big gimmicks of the [[MerchandiseDriven related toyline]].
* In all ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' games that have one, a repair vehicle is connoted by the presence of a robotic arm mounted on a tank chassis.

* Kett dropships in ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' have a set of six pods that wave around as the ships hover.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy:''

** The Cosmo Zero fighter craft's wings fold upward to economize space when not in flight.

%%* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The warp nacelles of ''Voyager'' shift upward when they're in use.

Compare with TransformingMecha (a vehicle is able to swap between anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic forms). If the components are able to jettison and move around entirely by themselves, they're {{Disposable Vehicle Section}}s.

!Examples:

* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}:''

** The Sovereign's ships from ''[[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 Volume 2]]'' are covered in ball turrets that are able to roll around in trenches built into their hulls, either to dish out DeathInAllDirections, or to act as a ConvergingStreamWeapon.
* ''Franchise/StarWars:''
** In ''Film/StarWarsThePhantomMenace,'' Darth Maul's ship is built around a spherical cockpit, and its control surfaces ''rotate out of the way'' to open the door.
** In ''Film/StarWarsAttackOfTheClones,'' Count Dooku's personal ship is able to deploy a hidden SolarSail by opening up its quadrupartite nose cone.
** By the time of ''Film/StarWarsANewHope,'' the Rebellion's basic starfighter is the the X-Wing. The ship is named after its ability to, well, open its wings into an "X"-shaped configuration. This connotes DivertingPower from its engines to its quartet of laser cannons.
** ''Film/StarWarsReturnOfTheJedi'':
*** The B-Wing fighter-bomber has a pair of fold-away stabilizers, and the whole ship swings around the cockpit from a horizontal to a vertical configuration when they're deployed.
*** Imperial Shuttles have very long dorsal, port, and starboard stabilizers that give the ship in inverted "Y" shape. The two ventral wings swivel upwards when the ship lands.

* ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'': Gunstar One had an unique new feature that separated it from other Gunstars, a prototype weapon called Death Blossom Mode, installed by Grig. Panels along the engine block would open up, referred to by Grig as Petals, and expose [[PhotoProtoNeutronTorpedo Photon Orb launchers]] and extra laser cannons, which would, when engaged, allow the Gunstar to [[DeathInAllDirections spin in a spherical axis and obliterate every target in range.]]

* The APC from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' has its guns mounted on a turret that can be rotated flush with the hull for storage and carrying on a DropShip. The tie-in tech manual states that it's reccommended the turret be locked in place as soon as possible after deployment to avoid fouling the rails.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The warp nacelles of ''Voyager'' shift upward when they're in use.

** The titular ship of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' has concentric saucer rings that [[WhenThingsSpinScienceHappens counter-rotate]] when the spore drive is activating. Which you might think fall under the "spinny engine bits" stipulation, but consider: the engine is supposedly in the swan-shaped engineering section, and the saucer section is all weaponry and command-and-control stations.

Examples include:

* The APC from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' has its guns mounted on a turret that can be rotated flush with the hull for storage and carrying on a DropShip. The tie-in tech manual states that it's reccommended the turret be locked in-place as soon as possible after deployment to avoid fouling the rails.

[[folder: Anime and Manga:]]

** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny, Minerva''-class space battleships can retract their combat control centers into the heavily-armored core of the ship when under combat conditions.

[[folder: Films--Animated]]

[[folder: Films--Live-Action:]]

[[folder: Literature:]]

[[folder: Live-Action Television:]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Video Games:]]

[[folder: Western Animation:]]

[[folder: Real Life:]]

** Near the end of UsefulNotes/TheColdWar (80's-90's), both NATO and the Soviet Union were experimenting with something called a Variable-Sweep Wing or "swing-wing" aircraft. At low speeds, the wings spread wide, and at high speeds (that is, trans-sonic and mach speeds), they swiveled close to the fuselage to reduce drag. Almost all NATO signatories have a fighter jet with this feature. This is a sort of "variable geometry wing."

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