Lego Build 81 — Highlander

This is another of my real-life builds that I had in my backlog for a while, and one I’m really proud of. Be warned, though, it is a bit too tall — it does fit the lore of the machine itself, but can be a bit of an issue given that these builds are so much larger than their “real” counterparts.

As an assault ‘Mech, this is yet another massive build (these last posts have been quite focused on large builds, isn’t it?), involving 94 parts. I made it in ComStar colors, as by this point I have probably made more builds for the Word of Blake than for the Blessed Order.

When I originally made the model I was actually trying to complete both my Capellan and Mercenary teams. I was surprised to find that the Highlander was one of the few assault ‘Mechs the Capellans could retain during the Succession Wars due to their inability to produce large machines. They were forced to either recover or capture Highlanders to rebuild them in the only dedicated factory they had.

The Highlander is quite the interesting piece of lore. It was developed still within the first century of BattleMech development, as the largest machine to equip jump jets in that time. This is because it was developed as a urban defense BattleMech, sporting heavy weapons and armor, although maneuverability remained low due to the sheer weight of the machine. The jump jets helped in mitigating this issue.

They also led to the pilots developing a deadly tactic in which they jumped in the air and dropped their 90 tons of war machine right into the opposing vehicle. This Highlander Burial tactic was essentially a variant of the traditional Death from Above. Should be noted that while this crushes the enemy machine, it also severely damages the Highlander. Although the designers reinforced the legs in future batches of Highlanders, the Burial is still considered inadvisable.

All in all, it became a very respected BattleMech that would endure the test of time and continue in service right up to the latest eras of the setting. During the Clan invasion, there would even exist a Clanbuster version of the Highlander, showing how respected it still was, 500 years after its debut.

As always, let me know your thoughts. Have fun!