Lego Set 06 — Mad Cat (Timber Wolf)
The target still eluded her. Star Captain Eniko moved her massive engine of war around a patch of trees as she sought her prey, a mere blotch of overheated red in her thermal sensors. As she cleared the forest, she saw it — a humanoid shape against the white cold stone of the temple behind it. Grinning, she raised the heavy dual laser batteries her machine had for arms and took aim. There would be no escaping now.
Twin emerald beams carved the atmosphere and the armored chest of the other machine. Star Captain Tobias Conners could be a more experienced warrior, and a bloodnamed one at that, but Eniko wouldn’t lose her chance to partake in the incoming Operation Revival. She would usher the Clanner way of life to the Inner Sphere, and triumph, bringing glory to the Wolf Clan.
As the Summoner the other MechWarrior drove reeled under her onslaught, she stepped forward, readying the missile launchers over her machine’s shoulders. She ambitioned the first-row place on the incoming invasion. Her Timber Wolf would claim it for her.
This week I bring you what may very well be THE BattleMech — the Timber Wolf, known in the Inner Sphere as the Mad Cat. This one is as iconic as it gets, probably the most immediately recognizable unit in the entire BattleTech universe, and used a symbol for it throughout different media.
In-universe, the Timber Wolf represented what was about to fall over the powers of the Inner Sphere when it first appeared on the Periphery. A powerful engine of war, much faster than something of its weight had any right to be, powerfully armed and armored. It was a force to be reckoned with, and at the forefront of the Clan invasion. It became known as a Mad Cat because the targeting computer of the first pilot to face it couldn’t decide if that machine was a Marauder or a Catapult, unaware as it was of the new machine’s existence. Hence, the Mad (from the code for Marauder) Cat.
The Clanners themselves were a warrior culture, hellbent on conquest - a true existential threat for the Great Houses of the Sphere. Good stuff.
As I tried to emulate its shapes, I came up with an arguably complex build. I attempted to make the instructions clear, but given that I was using the colors of Clan Wolf (for a friend) the different parts may not be as obvious as I would wish. This one also does need a base to support itself, as the feet are a bit tiny and unstable, contrary to the previous builds.
But it is a learning experience. I’ll do my best to make future builds more clear. Let me know what you think.
