My wife wouldn't let me buy the 12ft tall metal chicken I found at a junk shop after I explained I wanted to mount it on top of our roof. I was inconsolable for weeks. When a deal on a giant metal chicken falls into your lap and you don't take it, you're telling the universe "no thanks, I'm good, no need to send me anything awesome any more."
I needed a way to signal to the gods that I was awake, penitent, and still receptive.
Mantids are the Apache gunships in the perpetual insect war for control of your backyard. Not great in flight, but essentially a camouflaged mobile weapon platform that can rain death from concealment on anything in range. A fitting subject for an offering to the gods of bulldada and found art.
The wings are 18v solar panels charging separate arrays of 12v 18650 cells for the eyes and the killing arms.
The lights are 12v automotive signal lamps. Super bright, low power draw, and highly weatherproof.
I think of this as a 1/6-scale model of the one I'm going to build and mount on our roof.