Lego Set 42 — Bulldog Heavy Tank

Happy New Year, everyone! Let’s start 2022 on this blog with something I haven’t done in a while — a vehicle. And one that has been a staple of BattleTech for a while and a symbol of combat vehicles in the setting.

I like the Bulldog. It’s simple and functional, which is something to be said in a setting characterized by big stompy robots. It has a set of tracks, a turret with a laser and missile launchers, and a hull machinegun. Although practical in design, the Bulldog can be lethal if used properly, and even when it functions as simple cannon fodder in the MechWarrior series it can still put a dent in your ‘Mechs if you don’t respect it.

The baseline model acts as a main battle tank, with versatile firepower. But there are also anti-air and fire-support missile launcher varieties, which amplify the usefulness of the chassis. You can have a combat unit equipped with similar machines serving several functions, something that is quite good for logistics and budgets.

This model here is actually one of the very first Lego models at this scale that I ever did, around six years ago. It was when I was still trying to understand how to make models like this, seeing what other people did around the Internet and learning from it. Probably has a lot of elements from stuff other people did. But I hope I managed to impart my own take on it.

It still exists in real life, as I really like the small thing.

I present it here in the seldom-seen Nueva Castille colors. This small faction has a rather interesting history within BattleTech and has recently been conquered by the Goliath Scorpions, becoming yet another Clanner-Spheroid hybrid nation. Quite a few popping up in the lore and I like that.

There is more stuff to come, so keep an eye on this place.