by Rob Stephens

Refugees from Earth, the Battlestar Galactica fleet, and from two other tribes were brought to the planet Kallistos and given a safe refuge - for a time. But the humans knew they would have to fight the reptiles and Cylons if they are to take their place among the advanced, free races.

All sorts of mechs, treaded vehicles, ships and aircraft were built to help humans establish a foothold on Kallistos. With twin suns and multiple moons, the weather systems on the planet are fierce. And the animals have grown to the size of dinosaurs and are intelligent predators.

This is a Wolf-class mech because it is so heavily armed that it is an apex predator. An apex predator is one that has virtually no predators of its own, residing at the top of its food chain. The standard crew of 4 can live aboard for months at a time. They escort convoys, reconnoiter; resupply outposts that aircraft can't reach, and drop off or pick up pods. When at war they hunt in packs with some of them outfitted with the heavier guns and others carrying troop pods. They are equipped with powerful sensors, scopes, lights, radar, etc.

The gray pod pictured can be carried by a number of vehicles. It can be outfitted for different purposes. It is often used for ferrying supplies. Some are outfitted as emergency shelters and are placed along common routes and elsewhere throughout the planet and their locations marked. Others serve as mini-outposts or remote research stations for one or two inhabitants. They can be outfitted as mobile hospitals as well and quickly deployed at the scene of an emergency. In time of war they are used to drop a squad of troops quickly to the ground for deployment. The pod is well-armored but has little in the way of defenses. After the battle or if it is otherwise considered safe, deployed troops can utilize the pod as a shelter or base.

The Model

The Battlestar Galactica series produced some of the best space craft of any television series, but they didn't produce much in the way of planetary vehicles. So here is a mech that was used after the rag tag fleet finally found a planetary home.

This was originally a Star Wars AT-AP Walker. The three legs, rear assembly, and sensor arm came from a Mifune's Last Stand mech. The front foot is from a GI JOE Iron Hammer. The two missile pods are from a Mech Warrior Jupiter. The turret, front canopy, door and several small guns are from a Warhammer Grav Tank. The two large rectangular-ish radar dishes are wings from a toy Tie Fighter.

The large radar dish is from a Star Wars Hoth diorama. The two front gattling-type guns are parts from Cy-Girl guns. The coiled tubing from these guns are from 1/6th scale army radios. The articulated arms for these guns are from a Transformer helicopter. The medium radar dish on the front is from a very small UFO series toy truck. Several ball joints are from a Lego Bionicle. About six 1/6th scale rifle scopes and a flashlite are used all over. The large top gun is made from a Zoids cannon. Attached to it is a 1/6th scale pilot's oxygen mask hose and a small hose from a Spawn figure. Other parts are from a 1/35th scale half-trac and some greeblies from wherever.

To make the Gray Pod I used a Star Wars transport craft and covered the top and bottom with parts from a Tie Fighter model. The top hatch is from a Warhammer tank. The four feet are from a Warhammer Tau Devilfish model.

I liked the basic design of the AT-AP Walker. As a toy meant to be played with, the legs were somewhat articulated and strong. Starting with the rear legs I chopped off the lower portions leaving the two articulated upper joints. They were way too hard to move so I unscrewed them and sanded down the insides until I could rotate and pose the legs without later breaking the finished model. But I was careful to keep them firm enough to support the model. I then mated the Mifune legs to these. I sanded down some of the joints on the Mifune legs to enable greater rotation. The original AT-AP had a very narrow stance. I built a wide stance for this mech so that it would be more stable.

The front leg is made from one of the Mifune arms. I bought a second AT-AP just in case I messed up parts from the first one. I cut out one joint from the front leg of this 2nd Walker and attached it to the same joint of the original front leg. I attached the Mifune arm to these. So this front leg is incredibly well-articulated. I sanded the insides of these joints just enough to make them firm but easily pose-able.

Tranformers are loaded with articulated parts. A helicopter provided two arms. I wrapped plastic wire around the arms and covered this with cy girl gun parts. I attached bionicle ball joint parts to the ends and cy girl gattling guns to these. I also attached a pair of grav tank guns and 1/6th scale coiled phone cords from these guns to the body underside.

I carved out the back of the AT-AP and fitted in engine parts from the Mifune mech. I also used the control arm from the Mifune mech to make the rear sensor array arm. I fitted another Bionicle ball joint to the top and a zoid piece on that. Then I carved up more zoid pieces and attached the two toy tie fighter wings and radar dish. To the front I cut up a 1/6th cy girl gun scope in two and also used a real mini flashlight lens.

I removed the missile launchers from a Jupiter mech at the shoulder and attached these to the rear. I had to use styrene to secure them well. I covered outer holes with misc. parts. The side door is from a Grav Tank. It opens and rests flat on a zoid part. The ladder rails and upper rope assembly are from a German half-trac. The ladders and door railing are pre-made.

For the large top gun I used a Zoid cannon and married it to the base of the original AT-AP top gun. I also mounted a small side gun, two scopes, a small hose and large 1/6th mask hose. This gun took longer to make than I thought it would. I also kept the original AT-AP laser cannon and heavy top gun barrel. I cut off the barrel from the top gun joined it with the laser cannon end from the 2nd AT-AP so that it can be inserted in the same body hole.

I took a small radar dish and made a styrene base for it so it can fit into the front hole on the upper body. So the front upper hole can hold the radar dish, the long laser barrel or the thick stubby barrel.

The Pod is meant be carried underneath the mech. It is meant to carry supplies, troops, or serve as an emergency shelter or small 2-person outpost. This was made from a Star Wars troop carrier for some sort of game. I covered the top and bottom with 1/8” styrene and covered this with Tie Fighter parts. I added a top hatch, some lights, some hooks, and four supports from a Tau Devilfish.

Moveable Parts: The three legs, two arms and all parts of the rear sensor array are fully articulated. The missile pods move up and down and rotate. The turret swivels and its' guns raise and lower. The large top cannon swivels, raises, and tilts. The front dish rotates, tilts, and can be replaced by the two large barrels. The door opens and the two cables can be extended downward.

The decals are from a Warhammer Grav Tank.

Overall I spent around $200 on this project but it would cost more to repeat it. I bought the Mifune mech years ago when it sold on ebay for $15. They're now around $50 and hard to find. I also bought the Jupiter mech years ago and they've gotten expensive as well. The same is true for the Cy Girl gattling guns.

The mech came out very well articulated and it keeps its' poses without any need of supports. I included a lot of pictures to illustrate the variations in parts and poses but the legs are capable of much more. I'll have a good time using this mech to make illustrations.

Image: Beefy bicep

Image: Grav tank parts

Image: Heavy plasma gun

Image: Left side, with laser

Image: Missiles with sensor arm

Image: Open door

Image: Pod

Image: Top view of pod

Image: Dropping the pod

Image: Sensor array deployed

Image: From the back

Image: Lotsa guns

Image: Right side

Image: Pheonix rising

Image: Firepower

Image: Other side

Image: Sensors deployed

Image: Crouching tiger

Image: Turret