by Rob Stephens

There is a short span of about 20 years in which the humans of Kallistos - survivors of Galactica's Rag-Tag Fleet, remnants of Earth, and other scattered tribes of humanity - are able to rest, rebuild, and prepare for what would be a 300 year war. Most of the Battlestar Galactica crew settled on the planet. Humans became increasingly aware of the many alien races existing in this part of the galaxy. The planet was explored and outposts established.

Initially the most derelict 'rust-buckets' of the space fleets were cannibalized for raw materials. Others were refitted until shipyards and newer designs could be constructed. All sorts of mechs, treaded vehicles, ships and aircraft were built to help humans establish a foothold on Kallistos.

One of these is the Leopard class Reconnaissance Mech. Like many wild cats this mech is generally a loner. And no other wild cat has as wide-spread a range as the Leopard, so mechs designed for extensive long-range reconnaissance are designated 'Leopard class'. This particular mech was named Sadhaka by its crew. Sadhaka is Sanskrit for 'a seeker of truth; a looker for God.

When war breaks out some of these mechs are refitted with heavy armaments and they hunt in small packs.

The Model

For illustration purposes I want some large mechs that can travel long distances and explore vast territories. This one is obviously loaded with sensors for this purpose. And it's large enough for the crew to live aboard. The mech goes with the Shiva aircraft.

The main toy is a JoyRide Studios die cast Mechwarrior Mad Cat 2. While the original toy was 72nd scale, I have scaled this down to be almost half that, or 144. The sensor arm is a UFO SID. The weapon arm and black rubber hoses are from a Spawn Reborn figure. Two small flashlites are mounted on top. The rear gun is from a Warhammer Grav Tank. The articulated knee joints are from a Transformer Scorpion. Bionicle ball joints are used on the arms. Plastic juice cap for the waist; Misc. parts from various kits.

The Mad Cat is a good design. Unfortunately the toy is heavy and has very restricted movement. This mech is heavy because the body is metal. It has a resting position that looks pretty good but generally needs a support to make it hold a pose. It came out well-articulated. To pose real well the feet need to be articulated but I didn't see a good solution and the stock feet look good. I can make them bend in Photoshop anyhow.

I started with the knees and replaced them with fully articulated joints from the Transformer Scorpion. I added knee shields to cover the joints where they looked spindly.

The main body of the Mad Cat only rotated a few degrees. So I used a juice cap at the waist to raise it over the leg assembly giving it 360 degree rotation. I didn't want to raise the profile but it was necessary.

I cut out the guns from both arms and placed a SID on one side. I added ball joints from a Bionicle kit to give full mobility. Since the arms appear to be carrying heavy loads I also added styrene around the lower arm to add girth. I used rubber hoses from a Spawn figure and secured them wherever I could with copper-colored fittings from a Mifune's Last Stand Mech toy. I also added a BBI gun scope to side of the SID. Protruding from the underside of the sid and gun I originally had long metallic tentacles with grippers on the ends. But these didn't look right so I clipped them short, added bulbous ends, and created moveable lights. There is a cable running from the back of these lights up the arms. On the other arm I dropped in a multi-barreled gun from a Spawn figure. I added a small light or lens on top. On both arms Icreated fixtures that would hold the cables in place even if the arms are moved.

I cut off the top of the missile pods and secured small flashlites. These are intended to be power/energy nacelles for the mech. They are placed at the top so they can be easily replaced by maintenance crews and so that if they 'breach' or blow up, the explosion will be directed upwards rather than damaging or destroying the mech. They still have the bulbs in the front and also serve as high-powered lights. So all of the cables from the external devices connect to these power nacelles. I did leave some of the missiles in the pods.

I cut out a rectangle from the rear of the body to serve as a bay for loading or for smaller aircraft to enter. I screwed the upper body only, so I can take it apart and build an inside bay some day if I'm motivated. On the lower rear of the body I added a gun from a Grav Tank. It rotates and lowers. Again, power cables are connected from it to the nacelles.

On top I built a landing pad from styrene and premade railing. I kept antennae low so aircraft will be unlikely to hit anything. The top of the windowed area had an opening for a 72nd scale pilot to sit inside. I built this into a room with styrene, added a door, some steps and a platform. So this is an area where crew can be outside or have supplies lowered in.

The rest was the fun stuff - adding bits and pieces wherever I could without making it too cluttered looking.

I airbrushed with oil paints and aged it with pastels and an oil wash according to instructions from Starship Modeler home pages.

Image: Top/front view

Image: Interior

Image: Leg joint

Image: Backpack

Image: Sensor arm

Image: Other side

Image: Weapon arm

Image: Left side

Image: First position

Image: Original toy