Bobcat

Specifications
Use	Scout/recon Gear
Production Code	HACS-03LG-SCT
Manufacturer	Northco
Height	4.3 meters
Speed	Walker: 49 kph SMS: 78 kph

The Bobcat is both an advanced Gear and a throwback to an earlier time. Developed in the beginning of the TN 1690s, the Bobcat was the first dedicated scout/recon Gear on Terra Nova. It featured an efficient electronic array, which included an ECM device, and is both faster and more maneuverable than a Hunter. In many ways the Bobcat was a revolutionary machine that opened the door for future developments. It featured a radical main body structure in which the pilot, instead of sitting in the main body of the Gear, laid down on his stomach on a special couch.

The forward and top armor panels could be left open during movement, making the Gear’s cockpit more comfortable. The large panels also facilitated egress from the vehicle. Unfortunately, the nearly horizontal posture of the pilot lead to frequent neck aches. The electronic equipment bay was housed just above the pilot’s legs, underneath the vehicle’s head. Whenever maintenance was required, the entire head and electronic bay assembly could be raised out of the body on twin hydraulic rails. The Bobcat’s compact head was a radical innovation for Northern designers who had employed a turret style head on the Hunter. The Bobcat design would eventually inspire more compact head designs even for Gears with normal sitting position.

The Bobcat also featured an innovative “kneel-down” SMS to counter a vertical balance problem. To engage its ground movement systems, the Bobcat would kneel forward and ride on wheels located in each knee and toes. This system provided excellent stability, but prevented the use of heavy armor plates on the leg assembly, exposing the movement system and chassis to potential damage. The weapon system was lighter than that of the Hunter with the introduction of the deployable pack gun (a collapsible light autocannon). The engineers, however, maintained the Pepperbox rocket pod of the older machine. Despite the fact that the alternate pilot positioning was abandoned and the Bobcat’s SMS layout was also discarded after the Wildcat, the first true scout Gear nonetheless paved the way for all future Northern light recon Gears.

Usage

The SC-01 Bobcat was first developed to replace the makeshift Hunter Recon that was used in the early years of the Gear’s introduction and developed during the Merchant War. The Bobcat made its debut just after the war ended in TN 1688, rolling off the Northco production line in TN 1691. It was first adopted by the forces of the United Mercantile Federation Army. When the Confederated Northern City-States came into being, the Bobcat was sold to the Northern Lights Confederacy and the Western Frontier Protectorate. Despite the technical difficulties associates with its SMS, the Bobcat served well for several decades, but was eventually replaced by the Ferret. The Bobcat remained in circulation however, because it was somewhat more versatile than the Ferret and because of the investment made in it by the Western Frontier Protectorate Army.

Bobcats remained in service alongside the Ferret until the end of the TN 1790s, when Northco shut down its production line in favor of a new trooper Gear called the Wildcat. Spare parts were still produced in Rapid City until the TN 1850s, when the maintenance contract for the Bobcat was purchased by the Fort Henry’s Karlston Engines. Most Bobcats were decommissioned at this time and sold to local militias or even to Badlands communities. The Timmins militia purchased a great number of those that had served with the Norlight Armed Forces and they continued to serve the CNCS protectorate until the War of the Alliance.

In The TN 1930s, Bobcats can only be found in the WFP, were they continue to serve with Fort militias and in the Badlands, where most decommissioned Terranovan military hardware tends to accumulate. Many of the Bobcats located in the equatorial desert have been pressed into service as makeshift work Gears by homesteaders and were stripped of weapons. The secondary movement system is often non-functional on these machines because of its unique design and the lack of spare parts. Western ranchers who use the Bobcat, however, have access to spare parts from Fort Henry and continue to use the machine as a defense against rovers and poachers. These men and women have developed a great fondness for the model and often hold semi-official Bobcat races.

Variants

• Bird Arrow

Media

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External links

• Bobcat Miniature - DP9 Store