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The re-imagined Battlestar Galactica makes it to season 4 on the tube and wave 4 in Minimates form. This set was exclusive to Diamond Previews (the comic industry’s trade catalogue) though interestingly it has been included as part of wave 4 on the back of the wave 4 cards.

Packaging

The packaging is exactly the same as the previous waves, with the minor exception of the ‘Previews Exclusive’ Sticker placed on the outside of the blister over the Cylon ‘mate.

On the back, it shows off the figures in BSG wave 4 along with the exclusive, it’s a rarity for an exclusive to be this closely identified with a specific wave.

The Figures

Captain Kat Katraine

First up in this two-pack is Louanne (Kat) Katraine, a Viper pilot on the Battlestar Galactica who took the ‘Top Gun’ title away from Kara (Starbuck) Thrace after destroying the notorious Cylon Raider known as Scar. Starbuck didn’t make a big deal of the fact that it was she who lured Scar into Kat’s gunsights. Kat died a hero helping the colonial fleet navigate through a stellar cluster awash with deadly radiation.

This is a very difficult ‘mate to review. It’s just a female head plonked on top of a Viper pilot body. No complaints about the hairpiece and overall facial detailing, just that, similar to many other Battlestar Galactica Minimates, the likeness just isn’t there. It doesn’t bear any resemblance whatsoever to the character it’s supposed to depict, though the head and hairpiece would be a great start for a Lara Croft custom.

The body is the standard Galactica Viper pilot flight suit. There doesn’t appear to be any major (or minor) changes to it.

Kat is accessorised with a pistol and a flight helmet, like all the other previous Battlestar Galactica pilots before her.

In Conclusion: Nice to have the character but not the best of likenesses.

MMC Score – 5 out of 10

Heavy Assault Cylon

Cylons are pretty much tanks on legs; their sharp claws and arm cannons can mow down most human opposition. But sometimes there are situations where the only solution is a honking great mortar launcher strapped to a toasters back. These were first seen in the season 3 episode “Eye of Jupiter”. I’ve no idea if they’ve appeared in season 4 at all, as at the time of writing this review I’m desperately trying to remain spoiler free.

What else can be said about this Heavy Assault Cylon? The body appears to be a slightly lighter silver grey than the first issue Cannon Cylon (on which it’s based) though that could be down to aging on the original figure. The body pieces all appear to be the same though the paint apps to the legs are slightly different. This is most noticeable in the area between knee and ankle where the upside down silver triangle area is markedly wider than on the first run Cannon Cylon.

The back of the figure is where the major differences lie. There are no paint apps in the gaps of the armour plating and there’s a hole located centrally below the shoulder line which the mortar launcher plugs into. The mortar launcher itself is fairly faithful to the onscreen version (I only have a screencap from Battlestar Wiki to verify that so be gentle). The mortar backpack is quite a fiddly and intricate piece for a Minimate accessory. For some reason the mortar itself lifts away from the body of the launcher but cannot be removed as there are two rods between the mortar and launcher that are permanently attached.

Lets face it, it’s a Cylon with a backpack. We’ve already reviewed plenty of Cylons at MMC so really there’s not much more can be said.

In Conclusion: Worthy variant that army builders will simply have to own.

MMC Score – 7 out of 10

Agree? Disagree? Why not vote for yourself below, or comment further over at the Minimate Multiverse MMC Review Forum.

Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan

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