First proper sketches I did. The first designs looked like the Raptors from Earth 2140 but with russian tank turrets, ie, they looked like crap.

Went back and looked at the MGS Geckos (obvious inspiration for the legs) as well as how the Merkava was designed. What I basically wanted was a Vehicle with superior crew protection and heavy armament mounted on the top. No arms!

What irritates me with most mecha that have arms is that, if you are hull down, you need to advance up the hill until your entire torso is exposed. This was a problem in Operation Flashpoint with the Wanzers especially, so this design choice was inspired from "real combat experience". Using an unmanned turret is another no-brainer.

Usually, Mechs also put the crews in very exposed spots, in the front, inside the head, inside the chest, etc. This isn't good for crew protection, especially when you can have 360° display systems inside the cockpit, much like the coffins in ACE combat or some of the designs seen in macross.

Also note that the driver has a seperate viewing system mounted on the chin face of the main hull: this is so he can observe what his legs are doing. Larger designs also mount a gun there to shoot at anyone who wants to get at the legs.

Note the differences between the crew in front and crew in back designs: you immediately increase the protection dramatically against hits from the front. Downside of a mecha design is that you have to put up extra armor to protect the underside of the hull and the legs, aside from the much larger silhouette.

I am still not sure that these are a good Idea. If I find that mecha are actually tactical nonsense (as I used to think up until now but am momentarily reconsidering.), they'll go back into the drawer.

Next I'll try to put more of my own twist on those. Currently they are too close to existing designs, I think, in particular the MGS Geckos as I mentioned.

Cheers