Tanks: Just Add Legs

I've been doing a bit of mecha sketching the last few days.  Specifically, I've been working on establishing a look for Karic's military mecha (check the "Space Punks" blog entry from a while back to get and idea of what Karic is).

First up is a design based on something I'd experimented with in Lego form a few years back:  The Riot Mech.

"In the past, Karic experimented with all manner of vehicles for riot suppression; they had used cars, trucks, and even hovering platforms, but nothing has proven quite so effective as the riot mech.  Something about it lumbering  along on four legs simply has a profound psychological effect on mobs.  Additionally, its wide, four legged frame makes it virtually impossible to overturn."


On the military side of things, I've also done a pretty detailed sketch of a Karic heavy mech.  I'd estimate it stands roughly nine meters in height.  I've left the second chaingun pod off so you can see the cab section.

The heavy mech is essentially one step heavier than Karic's main battle tanks.  The standard armament is a pair of chaingun pods attached to the mech's shoulder-mounts.  It also has a set of descent thrusters built into the legs.  Officially, these thrusters are meant to slow the mech's descent during air-drops.  Some pilots, however, have perfected the art of firing the thrusters in unison with a "jump" motion in the legs.  Because of this, skillful pilots are able to use the descent thrusters instead as jump-jets.  The heavy mech has a crew of two: a driver who sits in the "hips" section, and a gunner who occupies the head.

I'm slowly working towards a consistent aesthetic for Karic's military/paramilitary tech.  It's getting there.

Bonus!  Here's a little freighter I doodled a while back:

I may do more with that design at some point in the future.